Naturepedic "Essential Genesis" - Any Opinions?

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Hola. Happy New Year.

Well, I’m back to sq 1 and looking again for an innerspring mattress with no polyfoam or memory foam or chemical fire retardants - that is not too firm.

The issue I’ve been running into is my last supplier could only provide springs that were encased in polyfoam (which I loved the feel of but I can’t have the foam; or tufted (all-the-way-through) spring mattresses with wool & cotton which were all too firm for me. No amount or combination of latex toppers could fix the fact that what was under it was too firm.

So I’m looking at the (below) tufted-top.

I’m 5’3", 135 lbs and a stomach/side sleeper so I need good support but ‘some’ pressure relief.

I would love an innerspring of any type (not tufted through) that has very good support but is not hard as a rock, and with no foam encasement.

I came across this bed from Naturepedic that has a core of continuous coils (non-tufted) with microcoils tufted to the top of the continuous coils for pressure relief. It also has wool and “PLA”, whatever that is. I could use a latex topper if it’s too firm but i wonder if it’d be all-around a bit more forgiving.

I loved the feel of a similar tufted-top bed my previous supplier had but unfortunately theirs was pocket coils with a foam encasement. I’m not sure if their tufted top was actual “microcoils” but it did give the necessary pressure relief I’ve been seeking.

It is also in my $1500 - $1750 price range.

Any experience or feedback on this bed or company?
Do microcoils hold up over time? (This one has 3" of them)
Any other suggestions for similar hybrids in Massachusetts?

Thanks all, and best wishes for pleasant dreams tonight!

naturepedic.com/products/you/compare_organic_mattress_essentials.php
ADMIN NOTE:Removed 404 page link | Archived Footprint: Place link here but delete the http: //www.

2

Hi LookingNow,

[quote]I’m 5’3", 135 lbs and a stomach/side sleeper so I need good support but ‘some’ pressure relief.

I would love an innerspring of any type (not tufted through) that has very good support but is not hard as a rock, and with. I foam encasement.

I came across this bed from Naturepedic that has a core of continuous coils (non-tufted) with microcoils tufted to the top of the continuous coils for pressure relief. It also has wool and “PLA”, whatever that is. I could use a latex topper if it’s too firm but i wonder if it’d be all-around a bit more forgiving.[/quote]

I don’t have any personal experience sleeping on any of the Naturepedic mattresses but even if I did … each person’s specific needs and preferences can be very different and only you can feel what you feel on a mattress. A mattress that is “perfect” for one person can be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on even if they have a similar body type and there are just too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to be able to predict with any certainty how a mattress will “feel” or which mattress will be the best “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or "theory at a distance (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

You can read a little more about PLA (Polylactic Acid) here. It’s basically a type of semi synthetic polyester fiber that is derived from renewable plant based materials.

You can see some brief comments about Naturepedic here and a forum search on Naturepedic (you can just click the link) will bring up more comments and feedback about them as well. None of their mattresses have any lower quality materials or weak links in their design.

Yes they are a durable component. You can read more about them in this article and in post #8 here and post #2 here.

I don’t keep a record of the specific mattresses that are available at all the retailers or manufacturers in the hundreds of lists throughout the forum (it would be more than anyone could keep up with in a constantly changing market) so you would need to check websites or call the retailers/manufacturers in the Boston list here to see if any of them carry microcoil mattresses. I do know however that several of the retailers/manufacturers in and around the Springfield, MA area (see post #4 here) sell microcoil mattresses.

If you are also considering innerspring/latex hybrids then outside of any of the Massachusetts retailers or manufacturers that may have them (again you would need to check their sites or call them) … post #2 here includes some of the manufacturers I’m aware of that make them.

Phoenix

3

Thanks, Phoenix.

Yes, it’s mostly the durability of their mattresses & overall reputation of their beds I was curious about and I’m happy to hear there are no apparent weak links in regards to this. I have been reading forum searches about them as well.

I will look into polylactic acid re: my chemical sensitivities.

Thank you for the links on microcoils and again, I’m happy to hear you report they are durable.

I’m doing an internet search of comparative manufacturers/retailers but your links regarding that are helpful as well.

Hope all is well and thanks a million.

4

I’m curious to know if anyone has any experience with this mattress since these earlier posts. I tried on the other day and I really, really liked it. Micro-coils over continuous coils, with a wool and PLA wrapper. felt just like the Vispring Coronet to me. Seems like better value at a fraction of the cost.

I also tried it with a 3" wool topper (The Wooly?), by OMI. It’s now in my top three (this, Vispring, Latex USA 12" Nature Cloud).

It has a good bounce, old school feel because it’s mostly just springs. No latex, memory foams, other foams or much of anything over the micro-springs. That said, with the wool topper over it, as my wife would say, “It’s dreamy.” Super plush and soft feeling, but with enough support for my 200b frame. My shoulder could sink enough (side sleeper), but my hips didn’t “sag”.

Would call them now and order if the 12" latex I tried there didn’t feel so good. I guess my wife should try them first…

Side note: I also tried it with a 2" 14 ILD latex topper. I liked that too. Interestingly, I liked it more than Naturepedic’s latex over pocket coil beds. They felt more solid (not in a good way), more firm and had less bounce. I also tried it with a 3" 14 ILD latex topper. Nice, but not as nice. The thicker latex started to mask the work the coils want to do to give me a very soft, yet supportive feel.

I’ve attached a photo of a cutaway of the mattress I took at the store.

5

Hi AustinOski,

There is more information about the 3 most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase to fine tune the mattress or any exchange/return options that are available to you).

The first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or if you can’t test a mattress in person then your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

While other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful … I would also be very cautious about about using other people’s experiences or reviews on a mattress (either positive or negative) as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you and in many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because any mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range) and reviews in general certainly won’t tell you much if anything about the quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).

There are also no “standard” definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science so the only reliable way to know whether any mattress is a suitable firmness and will be a good “match” for you in terms of PPP (regardless of the brand) will be based on your own careful testing or personal experience.

There are also some comments about wool toppers in post #8 here and the posts it links to.

While I can’t speak to how any mattress or “sleeping system” will “feel” for someone else because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances … outside of PPP the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability and assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the quality/durability guidelines here … the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses are more of a preference and a budget choice than a “better/worse” choice (see this article).

While the price of a mattress is certainly one of the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase … there are many other parts to “value” as well and unfortunately there isn’t a “formula” that can be used to assess or “calculate” value because there are so many different variables and criteria involved that are more or less important to different people that may be very different from someone else. The “value” of a mattress purchase is also relative to the other finalists you are considering or to the other mattresses that are available to you in your area or online (if you are also looking at online options). There are many reasons that a mattress that may be “good value” for one person may not be worth considering for someone else.

In terms of durability … there are certainly no lower quality materials or obvious “weak links” in any of the mattresses you are considering so if you are confident that any one of them is a good “match” for both of you in terms of PPP and that you will sleep well on them (or you have good options available after a purchase if you aren’t) and they compare well to your other finalists based on all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course) then they would certainly be well worth considering.

Phoenix

6

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!

7

Hi AustinOski,

[quote]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.[/quote]

Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

IMO the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase are how it compares to your other finalists in terms of PPP (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are important to you relative to the other finalists that you were considering . While price is certainly part of value … there are many other parts to value as well and based on your comments the mattress you purchased was the “best value for you” which is always more important than anyone else’s definition of value.

While there is no way to quantify how long any mattress will last for a specific person or predict exactly when you will decide to replace it because it is no longer suitable or comfortable for you (because this is the only real measure of durability or the useful life of a mattress that really matters) because there are too many unknowns and variables involved that are unique to each person … I would agree that a useful life of 10 years is probably a more realistic expectation for any mattress and I would treat anything beyond that as “bonus time”. There is more about the many variables that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress in post #4 here.

There are many people that describe some latex mattress designs as “jiggly” because of the properties of the latex but I don’t think that anyone can argue with someone’s personal experience on a specific mattress because IMO personal experience always “trumps” theory.

[quote]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.[/quote]

Your experience would be typical of a thicker wool topper which can lessen the ability of the microcoils underneath it to contour to the shape of the body. Having said that … wool has an amazing ability to help maintain a more neutral sleeping temperature (it can regulate temperature in both directions) and the humidity and the overall microclimate of a sleeping surface. Wool is also often a favorite material for many people because it can provide a more “relaxed” sleeping surface and can help with surface tension or shear forces on the sleeping surface (see post #18 here). There is also some evidence that it can help people reach the deeper and more restorative levels of sleep.

There are always tradeoffs involved in any mattress or topper choice that are primarily preference issues. There is more information about wool toppers and how they compare to various foam toppers (at least in very general terms) in post #8 here and in posts #3 and #6 here and there are some additional comments about wool toppers and a list of some of the better sources I’m aware of in post #3 here.

There will be a break in and adjustment period for any new mattress or sleeping system as the mattress loses any of it’s “false firmness” and the cover stretches and loosens a little and the materials settle and your body gets used to a sleeping surface that is different from what it is used to (see post #3 here). This would typically be a few weeks but it can be shorter or longer depending on the specifics of the person and the mattress so I would generally try to give any new mattress at least a couple of weeks (if possible) before considering any changes or additions to the mattress.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts and experience in such great detail.

Phoenix