After months of in-store tests and online research,I finally got my wife out to try my finalists - the Naturepedic Essentials Genesis and the Latex USA 12" 100% natural latex mattress.
The Naturepedic was the winner and we ordered one yesterday. They said it will take 3-4 weeks to deliver. The mattresses are made to order by Amish “craftsmen” (though the company is not Amish owned).
The natural aspect of the mattress was not really a driver for us, it was all about PPP. The micro coils give us a soft feel (soft to us, anyway) and the bed still provides good support. The pocketed micro coil layer also helps reduce motion transfer.
I’m not sure it’s the best value in terms of materials vs. cost, We may have been able to buy a similarly constructed bed, but didn’t try for a few reasons. One, I’ve already spend a lot of time looking and researching. Two, other options would be on online and we could not try them out. I’ve found nothing highly similar in Austin, in my searches. I have found micro-coils over other inner-spring types, but the other beds that have this combo, also contain other materials (that are weak links) - layers of foam, primarily, and stuff I felt would compress over time, creating uncomfortable indentations and unevenness. This brings me to what else I like about this mattress…
I like that it has a minimal amount of batting at the top layer and relies on the micro coils for the comfort layer.
One conclusion I’d come to in my research is that I wanted to get something that would have a reduced chance of developing indentations that were part of the mattress, vs a topper or component (e.g., latex) mattress with a zippable cover so components could be replaced.
Assuming the micro coils are durable and don’t compress over time (at least not for many years), we should be good. The mattress has a 20 year warranty. Incidentally, the retailer felt that as optimistic and that we should expect closer to 10 years. He thought the manufacturer was being too generous with the 20 year warranty and that it could come back to bite him. Right or wrong, his honesty was nice.
We did not get the latex bed because my wife felt it to “jiggly”. She said it was like sleeping on Jello. Interestingly, it did have more motion transfer than the Naturepedic Essentials Genesis. Now, before anyone jumps to conclusions and is cautioned by Phoenix, let me say this. My understanding is that latex mattresses generally have a lower rate of motion transfer than innersprings. However, in this case it was not true. I think part of this is the type of latex (100% Talalay), part is the low ILD and part is the fact that the soft top layer was also thick (4"). Now, I’m not an expert, so Phoenix may have more to say (or not, since this is not a thread on the subject). The bottom line, though, don’t assume a general rule is always true. There are many variables (which is part of what makes mattress shopping such a complex think for those of us that dig into the details).
Anyway, we found the Naturepedic to have acceptably low motion transfer, lower than the latex bed that was the other finalist.
I’ll report back our experience on the mattress once we have it, may be after some time. As Phoenix repeatedly warns us on this site - others can’t tell you what’s going to be comfortable and good for you in terms of PPP. However, we can and should share information about retailer service, product durability (over time), issues (or lack of) with mattress shape, etc.
Our next decision is whether or not to add a topper. I’ll talk a bit about that here, as it relates to the mattress in question and then ask questions in the wool topper thread.
I tried the mattress with and without toppers (wool, latex). I liked it with the wool. The first two times, I really liked it with the OMI Wooly 3" topper. It felt very plush to me. However, when I went back this last time, I realized the wool topper created a layer that lessened the ability of the micro coils to do their “job”. The coils were no longer conforming to my body as much, it was the wool.
For now, we decided to just get the mattress. I’m doing research on wool toppers and will likely go back to Austin Natural Mattress to try different toppers - different thickness and brands. Also, I’m guessing the OMI topper is not the best value out there (but also not jumping to conclusions). Research will tell.
Thanks again to Phoenix and others who have provided information that helped us in our search.
Happy Thanksgiving!