Need a new Latex mattress

Mattress Talk General Mattresses Questions
1

Hello,

Thank you for an excellent forum and community.

A few years back this forum led us to visit The mattress factory in Fort Worth, TX where we ended up buying an excellent 10’ firm latex mattress. It’s the best mattress we’ve ever owned and we would never have found it without this forum.

As it is, we have a home in Norway and we are not so happy with our current bed. I think they call it a continental set up. The bed consists of two pocket spring mattresses resting on a frame of pocket springs. There is also a 3- or 4-inch soft latex topper. We would like to get rid of the pocket spring mattresses and replace them with a latex mattress. The question is if I can keep any of what we have, or if we should just get rid of it all together and start anew.

This is a picture of what we have.

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One idea would be to keep the very bottom frame and use it as a base for the latex mattress. The base consists of smaller pocket springs than what we find in the mattresses. I like the idea of keeping the latex topper we have and get a 6- or 8-inch firm latex mattress under it. Would such a set up have very different characteristics from what we have with the 10’ latex mattress from The mattress factory?

My wife is skeptical about keeping the latex topper we currently have, and she would like to just get rid of it. I am rather like it, but it’s not that important. It’s just a shame not to use a perfectly good quality latex topper when we have one. If we go this route I guess we would get a 10’ latex mattress and put on top of the base frame (if it will hold it).

I should add that the current pocket spring mattresses are 6 inches tall. They fit into two big pockets connected to the base frame. If we got two 6 inches latex mattresses we would be able to fit them into the pockets, which would keep the two mattresses in place, as well as help maintain the stock look of the bed. I guess the worry then is that such a setup will not at all feel like the Texas (The Mattress factory) set up.

This last option would also open up for a custom solution where we got a 10’ latex mattress for my wife and say a 6 inch for me, and I cut the current latex topper in two and we only use it on my side.

Sorry for rambling on. I struggle with too many options and wants.

I should add that my wife admits she finds the firm 10’ latex mattress from The Mattress factory a tad frim, but she tried the medium and she thought it was too soft and returned it.

Any thoughts on any of this?

2

Hi Foggy,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

What you’ve pictured appears to be a Jensen Continental bed set. I’m not completely familiar with this product, and I’m not quite sure from your description of the exact componentry, but it seems that the bottom part of the sleep set has a built in wood perimeter frame network, which provides a base into which the legs may be attached to the base. Within the perimeter of this frame there appears to be placed some smaller pocketed coil (like a microcoil), which they call the Reflect (7 cm). Above this is their Support (12.5 cm) pocketed spring unit. The fabric of this is stapled to the top of the wood base underneath it, and this is surrounded by some polyfoam to make up an edge reinforcement system, which is also stapled to the wood base beneath it. There also appears to be a thin padding or fabric layer above and beneath the Support spring unit. And from your explanation, it seems that the fabric surrounding all of this is zippered and removable.

The top mattress consists of different pocketed spring units, like the Aloy (12.5 cm), depending upon the model. This is also encased around all six sides by polyfoam. And the covering around this top mattress has a zipper and may be removed.

Then there is a separate topper, and in your case you state that it is a plush latex.

In instances like you describe, it is more common for people to keep the bottom base unit as is, and replace the top mattress with something different (in your case, a firm all-latex mattress). And then the topper could be used atop this if desired.

The caveat in such a case is the “working” bottom piece you would have, which would of course change the comfort of your mattress, as it was originally designed to work in conjunction with the pocketed spring mattress above it, and in a zoned fashion as well. This would most certainly change the feel of your proposed latex mattress, and some latex mattress manufacturers do not wish their mattresses to be placed upon “working” foundations.

Your other thought of unzipping the bottom layer and replacing the Support pocketed spring unit with 6" of latex, and then replacing all the componentry within the mattress with 6" of latex, would also create new concerns. You’d in effect be creating a “new” 12’ latex mattress, but it would be zippered into two separate encasements (6" per encasement). This could be most closely aligned to having a 12’ latex mattress component system using four 3" latex pieces. Granted, having the extra zippered encasement surrounding both the top and bottom pieces of the sleep set would modify the comfort a bit (firm it up a little). You’d also have the Reflect pocketed springs to consider in the bottom base piece, which would allow for more deflection of the bottom pieces.

So I think in your situation it would come down to keeping the base piece as it and simply replacing the top mattress with a latex one (and perhaps having to place a firm item (covered slatted network, coir bed rug) between the mattress and the existing base unit, or go full-on for a DIY project with the latex replacing both the Support and Aloy pocketed spring units in the base piece and the mattress. In that case I would attempt to go with four layers in allow for customization.

If you have more specific questions, please feel free to post them here, but with what you’ve provided this would be my initial “evaluation” of your situation.

Phoenix

3

Foggy:

Norway? Very cool! I spent quite a bit of time in Lillehammer back in the day. Beautiful place. But the mattresses provided in the Olympic Village were not quite as nice as your current set up. :lol:

Jeff Scheuer
Mattress To Go

4

Hi Jeff

I take it you were there? :slight_smile: I have no idea about the beds in the Olympic village. I slept on the floor in an office building, and I hope your sleeping situation was a bit better than that!

I still remember how ridiculously cold it was though.

5

Phoenix,

Thank you for your excellent reply. Your description of our current setup is quite accurate. I am impressed. There is one misunderstanding about the bottom layer though. As you say the bottom layer consists of some smaller pocketed coil (like a microcoil). On top of this base layer lays the mattress itself, and it fits into a zipped encloser that serves the purpose of holding the mattress in place. If I unzip the enclosure, I can take the mattress out, turn it over etc. I understand I gave the impression that I could unzip the bottom layer, but that is not the case.

I think this is the way to go. The all-out DIY alternative is not on the table. Either this will work, or I have to start a new with a new bed and base layer.

Since we have two mattresses now, I am wondering if it could work just to replace the one on my wife’s side of the bed.

Regardless I need to find a mattress outlet that sells late mattresses. In Norway all you can get is latex toppers. Looking to the UK we found one company willing to ship to Norway.

They wrote:

[quote]Thank you for the email and your interest in our products.

We specialize in latex mattresses and can supply 100% natural Dunlop and Talalay latex mattresses or a combination of the two latex types. Please have a look at our Superdeluxe, Bellagio, Opulence and Bliss models, all of them are approximately 24-25cm deep.

Hope this helps, please let us know if you need further information or assistance.

Kind regards,

Latex Sense[/quote]

We looked at this mattress here because we think it is the one that most closely resembles the one we have from TheMattressFactory. Latex Sense Superdeluxe Latex Mattress

We could either by one or two 90 cm x 200 cm or one 180 cm x 200 cm. The latter would replace both our mattress and cover the entire bed.

For some reason, everyone in Europe insists on some fancy 7 zone system that my wife hates, at least in our current bed.

Latex Sense does this in their beds too as described here: https://youtu.be/O7A7UlSkK3E

What’s your take on this mattress? We have emailed them and asked if we can get a mattress without the 7 comfort zones, but have yet to receive an answer.

Merry Christmas!

6

Hi foggy.

European Dunlop Latex mattress producers have been using “zones” in their mattresses for many years, as a way to differentiate their products from others.

This can be

What’s your take on this mattress? We have emailed them and asked if we can get a mattress without the 7 comfort zones, but have yet to receive an answer.

I am not familiar with this LatexSense which appears to be a brand by Latexco. Neither of them are a trusted member of The Mattress Underground, but the video you linked is informative and states both facts and opinions. The product is has Dunlop latex and the zoning in a Dunlop process is achieved using different size pins to increase or decrease the amount of material in a section of the foam which in effect alters the amount of material in that particular section which will change its overall density. Depending of the pin size used for this results in a softer or firmer feel. One of the problems with zoning is that people have different body configuration and height and this zoning might not work for everyone as the zoning does not adjust to the size of the people.

While I can’t speak to how any mattress will feel for someone else or whether it will be a good “match” in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP … in terms of durability of the latex mattress you listed "would use lower quality materials or have any weak links in their design that would compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.

The high TrustPilot rating and the large # of reviews should provide you some confidence about the company

The 105 day mattress trial will allow for you to effectively evaluate the mattress in your home
The company seems to have a wide range of latex mattress designs; since you are working directly with them, they can best answer tour product specific questions and how this would apply to your particular body configuration.

I hope this brings some clarity and I’m looking forward to your comments and feedback about your decision

Phoenix

7

I have 3 latex mattresses in the house from latex sense. They will do you a non zoned one but is a custom order so will take a bit longer to receive plus there’s no trial period on custom orders.

I’m sure they’re busy during the holiday season and their sale. Maybe try phoning them.

8

Hi Tanzanite,

Welcome back … all the way from UK :slight_smile:
Thank you for the additional information. I much appreciate it.

Phoenix

9

Hey Foggy:

Yes, I was there for the Games (coach, USA Luge). The coldest Opening Ceremony since they’ve tracked that sort of thing. I remember how cold it was marching into the stadium. Beds in the Olympic Village were worse than what we had as coaches, but we were so tired it really didn’t matter. :lol:

Jeff