Hi Phoenix and everyone else.
I think I know what type of mattress I want and it’s down to the final 3 contenders. (Brooklyn vs Arizona Premium vs SleepEZ). The local DC mattress stores did not represent great value in my opinion. The costs were pretty similar between the stores that were listed in this site to check out. But I did get some valuable information on preferences. I hope to post some of my experiences after I get this order placed.
My wife, a back sleeper, like the all talalay Firm, Med, Med from savvy the best.
I, the side sleeper, liked the Firm Dunlop, Med Dunlop, Soft Talalay from Savvy the best.
Looking at the online choices, which are all good choices and I know you can’t help me make that choice, I do have some questions:
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Arizona and Brooklyn offer a 6 in core with a topper vs SleepEZ that offers (3) 3 in layers. Is there an advantage of one over the other? Durability, customizability, etc?
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Arizona suggested that I could get a great deal with 12 in of latex with a DIY option of the xtra firm core with a med and soft toppers. Pro’s/Con’s? Thoughts? I’m a bit nervous about such a thick mattress and having it being too firm even with the layers.
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Since my wife liked all talalay and I like the dunlop/talalay combo, how do we decide which type of latex to get for the bed?
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Given the differing # of days I have to exchange layers, is 60 days enough to know if the mattress is right for me?
Thanks!
Hi doshspy,
Assuming that the type of latex was the same with all your options … the biggest difference outside of the return or exchange policies would be that more individual layers can provide more options to customize the mattress (or in some cases add some additional complexity) before and after a purchase.
Again … this would depend on all the parts of your personal value equation that were most important to you including your confidence that the specific design would be a good match for you in terms of PPP along with the importance of the options you have available if your actual sleeping experience indicates that the specifics of the design doesn’t work as well as you hoped for. Your confidence in the suitability of the design would also be affected on whether you had tested a mattress locally that had the same or a very similar design. These are all parts of the pros and cons of each of your finalists when you are down to final choices between “good and good”. At this point there are really no mistakes in terms of quality or value but each person may make a different choice based on what they believe would be the best choice for them.
This is a question that I really can’t answer except to say that it would depend on your combined testing experiences, your discussions with each manufacturer you are considering, and most importantly your conversations with your wife. It may also depend on which of you has the strongest preference or is more sensitive to different types of combinations. In our home … if there are compromises involved regarding anything involving the bedroom furniture or environment … we have happily agreed that my preference counts a “little less” than hers :).
The comfort layer will be responsible for much of the “feel” and the pressure relief of the mattress and the deeper layers will have more to do with support/alignment (although of course they are also a lesser part of the “feel” of the mattress as well).
In almost all cases I would say it would be long enough yes although there will always be some people that may feel they need a little longer for various reasons that are more unique to them.
I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding but for what it’s worth … final choices where there are really no bad options any more and where there are no clear winners between your finalists can sometimes be more difficult than all the rest of your research and testing combined. 
Phoenix
Quick update:
I just got off the phone with Greg from Arizona mattress. He walked me through the process and we settled on a
Medium firmness Blended talalay core with an #19 all natural talalay topper for both sides! I’m very excited to get the mattress in 3.5 weeks, can’t wait. He did a great job of helping me out with it.
Decision process:
I talked to all 3 stores and I really just came away with a gut feeling that Arizona would be the best for us. Price wise it was very similar, specs were similar. Arizona’s 60 day return policy was the shortest but 60 days seems like plenty.
I’ll try and update after we get the mattress.
Thanks for your help, Phoenix
Hi doshspy,
Congratulations on your new mattress
You certainly made a great quality/value choice and I’m looking forward to your feedback when you receive it.
I’m curious about the reasons behind choosing a 19 ILD comfort layer for both sides?
Phoenix
I went in initially thinking one layer at 19 for myself and 28 for my wife. After talking to Greg extensively, he recommended we go with 19 on both sides. I’m relying on his expertise/judgement on this one.
We’ll see how it turns out
Hi doshapy,
I thought you meant “both sides” in terms of top and bottom but I see you meant left and right which makes more sense to me … thanks
Phoenix
Update:
My wife and I have been very happy with the mattress. My only concern right now is that when I roll onto my back while sleeping which happens about 10-20% of the time I end up with lower back soreness in the morning. I"m guessing that is because the ILD 19 is a bit too soft. Would it make sense to try and move up to the firmer level or is the jump to the more medium level going to be really noticeable when I sleep on my side?
Thanks!
Hi doshspy,
In general terms … lower back soreness in the morning would be because your pelvis is sinking down too far and as you mentioned this is more common with back sleeping than with side sleeping (which generally needs a little thicker/softer comfort layers to relieve pressure points than back sleeping). The two factors that control how far your pelvis sinks down would be the thickness/softness of the comfort layers (how far you need to “travel” before you reach the firmer support layers) and the firmness of the support layers (which affects how quickly any further sinking down is “stopped”).
Each change you make will have some tradeoffs. In many cases if you are just “on the edge” then changing the support core to a firmer version can be “enough” to maintain good alignment on your back and would have less effect on the pressure relief of the comfort layers when you are sleeping on your side.
Changing the thickness or firmness of the comfort layers will also affect how far your pelvis sinks down but will also have a bigger effect on pressure relief when you are sleeping on your side. There are many people who would do well with a medium comfort layer for side sleeping but there are also others where it would be too firm … especially under the shoulders. It depends a lot on your body type, physiology, and your sensitivity to pressure and there are so many variables that it’s not really possible to use “theory” to know whether it would work well for you. These are the types of issues that I would normally suggest talking through on a more detailed phone conversation with the manufacturer. There would certainly be a noticeable difference between 19 ILD and 28 ILD when you are sleeping on your side. If you have a medium support layer then I believe it’s in the range of 32 ILD (you could confirm this with them) and it may be an idea to reverse the mattress so that you are sleeping on the firmer layer (which is “one step” firmer than a 28 ILD) to see how a firmer layer works for you on your side and use your experience on this as a guideline to help assess how switching to a 28 ILD comfort layer may work for you.
Phoenix