Natura or PranaSleep

[cantsleep]

Thank you for this web site!

I’ve been looking for a new mattress after sleeping for a year on a memory foam “weightless” model that seems to be too firm for me. The bed keeps me aligned and I can move more easily in it than the original memory foam mattress we had, but I wake up all night feeling the bed pushing back up at me and my arms sometimes going numb. Wish I had seen this web site back then! Tried some better pillows, but it’s not fixing the issue. I was looking into a Tempurpedic Luxe, but then discovered latex from this site.
I liked the luxe, but do not like the quicksand feeling anymore. Mostly I sleep on my side.

I would love some input to help me in making the final choice after all this research. Let me start by saying that for this purchase I am limited to getting something at one store (involves a credit, so I won’t be able to look around to other stores this time around). Taking the price portion of my “value” out, here is what I am considering after testing several times (in order of preference so far):

Natura Eco Sanctuary Plush-
Really liked the feel of this and seems closest to the latex combination I would use if I could buy at a store online or locally that customized latex mattresses. My concern is not knowing how stable the company is after the bankruptcy, but this large chain surely would have dropped them as well if there were issues? Are there problems in quality with this brand? This looks like their “top of the line” version. How close in feel to the showroom mattress will a new one be initially? Does Latex take some time to break in? Will the wool compress to being hard over time or should I not worry about that since it’s in the quilting?

PranaSleep Vinyassa Luxury Plush and PranaSleep Vinyassa Plush-
I admit that I loved the feel of both these mattresses as well. It feels good in the showroom, but has a little more “bounce” compared to the EcoSanctuary. Coming from a Tempurpedic and not a spring mattress, this is not favorable to me. My main concern is that they are putting foam over latex and won’t it break down and change this lovely feel to something I may or may not like down the road? Seems like maybe I’ve read some bad reviews of people that had that happen at 6+ months. Maybe the company has remedied this? Oddly, I think I felt that these mattresses created some warmth each time I was on them, is this common? The Natura did not have that going on at all, perhaps it’s the Prana cover?

I’ll also add that the salespeople were great in trying to help me, but at the same time felt some were nudging me toward the Prana. (not pushy in any way, but that seemed to be their bias)

Are there other factors I should be looking at? My alignment was good for all three, the Vinyassa Luxury Plush felt “softer” in feel to me and I think I like that, but maybe I’m trying to over compensate to get relief from my currently too firm mattress?

I’m probably way over thinking this, however, I already have a bed here that I am stuck with, so want to make the best choice in my circumstances.

[phoenix]

Hi cantsleep,

My concern is not knowing how stable the company is after the bankruptcy, but this large chain surely would have dropped them as well if there were issues?

Natura was purchased by Spring Air / Sommex which later became just Sommex (see post #7 here). They are a large company and I wouldn’t have any concerns about their stability (although in the mattress industry even the largest manufacturers aren’t immune from bankruptcy).

You can see the specs of the Natura Eco Sanctuary here.

All the materials are good quality and there are no obvious weak links in the mattress so from a quality perspective this would be a good choice … especially for those who liked a thicker layer of wool in the cover.

How close in feel to the showroom mattress will a new one be initially? Does Latex take some time to break in?

Any new mattress will be a little firmer than a showroom mattress that has broken in and it can take about 30 - 90 days for the materials to settle in, the foams to lose any of their initial “false firmness”, and for the fabrics to stretch and lose any of their initial stiffness.

Will the wool compress to being hard over time or should I not worry about that since it’s in the quilting?

It depends to some degree on the weight of the wool and on how it is compressed or quilted but with thicker layers of wool you can expect some degree of compression over time (in the range of up to 30%). This is a normal part of how wool performs over time and isn’t a quality or durability issue (unlike polyfoam where visible impressions are a sign of the material softening and/or breaking down). Wool that becomes more compressed will become a little firmer.

PranaSleep Vinyassa Luxury Plush and PranaSleep Vinyassa Plush-
I admit that I loved the feel of both these mattresses as well. It feels good in the showroom, but has a little more “bounce” compared to the EcoSanctuary. Coming from a Tempurpedic and not a spring mattress, this is not favorable to me. My main concern is that they are putting foam over latex and won’t it break down and change this lovely feel to something I may or may not like down the road? Seems like maybe I’ve read some bad reviews of people that had that happen at 6+ months. Maybe the company has remedied this? Oddly, I think I felt that these mattresses created some warmth each time I was on them, is this common? The Natura did not have that going on at all, perhaps it’s the Prana cover?

I would also be very cautious about the Prana mattresses. You can read more about them in post #3 here and in post #2 here and in post #3 here. A forum search on Prana (you can just click this) will also bring up more information and feedback about them.

If I was choosing between only these and they were otherwise similar in terms of PPP and the parts of my personal value equation that were most important to me then I would lean towards the one that doesn’t have potential weak links in the design (the Natura).

Phoenix

[cantsleep]

Thank you for your response, I have looked at those others posts and it seems the EcoSanctuary is the obvious choice.

Before making a completed decision: Since I am limited to this store (you probably guessed that it is Jordan’s), I have to look at only the mattresses they sell. I am staying away from the S brands because the quality of materials in the long term seems questionable, right?

Given that, the only lower priced mattress that I can think of would be another Natura model…the Unison. It is a polyfoam/Latex hybrid. It is half the cost of the EcoSanctuary. What would be some potential issues with the hybrid? Would you recommend anything else they carry to explore?

Thanks again for any help you can offer.

[phoenix]

Hi cantsleep,

Before making a completed decision: Since I am limited to this store (you probably guessed that it is Jordan’s), I have to look at only the mattresses they sell.

How much is your credit? Is it only for a mattress or is there anything else you could use it for? I certainly wouldn’t spend much if anything over the credit amount but you may be “stuck” with an unusable credit if you spend less.

I am staying away from the S brands because the quality of materials in the long term seems questionable, right?

That’s usually a good idea but some of them use only thin layers of lower quality foam (usually firmer mattresses) so if they have any like this then they may be worthwhile considering along with a topper (adding your own comfort layer). Some also use higher quality materials (often mixed in with lower quality materials) but these are usually in higher price ranges (an example is here and here). It really depends on the specifics but Jordans is one of the very few that lists the foam quality of their major brand mattresses (and as you can see most of them are low).

Given that, the only lower priced mattress that I can think of would be another Natura model…the Unison. It is a polyfoam/Latex hybrid. It is half the cost of the EcoSanctuary. What would be some potential issues with the hybrid?

In addition to their two all latex models they carry two latex hybrid mattresses I would look at … the Taos and the Unison. Neither of these have any weak links (the quilting foam is only an inch and the polyfoam base layer is 1.8 lbs). You can read more about a latex/polyfoam hybrid vs an all latex mattress in post #2 here. Depending on the amount of your credit and whether your testing indicates either one is a good match for you in terms of PPP I would certainly consider them.

Phoenix