Need Assistance Deciding on a New King Mattress

Talk To The Experts
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I’m in the market for a new king size mattress and looking for suggestions from the experts!

Our current Lucid mattress is just over 6 years old and has been uncomfortable for at least the last 2 years. Not sure what I expected for a $300 mattress but now I’m financially ready to buy a PROPER mattress. Thank you all for opening my eyes to the vast array of bedding options that exist. I didn’t realize there were options outside the big manufacturers, box stores, amazon, etc. I cancelled my trip to the mattress store yesterday and instead spent the last 24hrs digging into the vast knowledge on this forum.

Me: 5-11 and 180lbs, 40yrs old
Wife: 5-4 and 110lbs, 40yrs old
We both are primarily side sleepers, but I also sleep on my back ~1/3 of the time.
I have pain in my hips while side sleeping and lower back pain soreness but nothing serious.
We both sleep on the hot side, so a cooler mattress is important.
We both toss and turn and wake each other up. I’m hoping a better mattress will limit our tossing – if we’re more comfortable maybe we won’t wake up as much.

The most comfortable mattress I have ever slept on was a tempurpedic memory foam. It was on the firm side but very comforting of my pain points. However it was VERY hot and that’s a deal breaker for me.

Questions/concerns:
With our size differences should we plan a different firmness on each side of the bed?

What would be better for us: all latex vs. wrapped coils with latex core and topper? Money isn’t a concern as I just want a good mattress that will help us sleep comfortably. I live in a pretty rural area and I’m not sure any of any mattress shops around here that offer all latex mattresses that I can try out. We do sleep on latex pillows, which I know is not the same comparison, but does give me some kind of idea what latex feels like.

I understand the differences of Talalay vs. Dunlop but then I get lost in the details/options of multilayers of latex, mixing Talalay/Dunlop, firmness etc.

Will my existing box spring (it’s probably 14-15 years old) work with this new mattress or do I need to a new box spring/foundation?

And help and guidance would be much appreciated!!!

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Hello SOB and thanks for reaching out on this! If you have the option for a mattress with split firmness options, I always think it’s a good choice because of the short term AND long-term adjustability it offers. Just based on the information you’ve provided, we would normally recommend the 10" organic mattress with soft Talalay over medium Dunlop over firm Dunlop for both sides of the mattress, but I’d still recommend splitting the layers, even though both sides would be the same.

A layered, all-latex mattress would offer MUCH more adjustability than a latex and coil hybrid, even if that Hybrid has the option to adjust the top layer. With a mattress like our 10" organic, you can make the mattress slightly softer, moderately softer, much softer, slightly firmer, moderately firmer, much firmer, you can increase the back support or pressure relief a lot, a little, etc. etc. With latex and coil hybrids, not only do you have less options to adjust the feel, normally any change you make will be a big change. Aside from all that, a latex and coil hybrid should last 10-15 years, whereas an all-latex mattress normally last 15-20 years or even more.

There is a noticeable difference between Talalay and Dunlop, and it’s not really that Talalay is softer than Dunlop. Most people and companies say Talalay is softer just because that’s an easier way to explain it. You can actually have a soft Dunlop layer that’s softer or firmer than a soft Talalay and a medium Talalay that’s softer or firmer than a medium Dunlop, etc. The real difference comes down to how they react when being compressed. Talalay is bouncier and springier and is generally better at contour and pressure relief on your hips and shoulders. Dunlop is denser and is generally better at support and maintaining proper spinal alignment so our most common configuration is Talalay for the top layer and Dunlop for the bottom 2 layers. We will recommend Talalay for two or more layers for customers that have things like fibromyalgia, shingles, chronic hip pain, chronic shoulder pain, or anything where they’re sensitive to pressure, or for customers that just prefer a bouncier / springier feel. Outside of those circumstances, a combination of Talalay and Dunlop offers the best chance to be successful for the average person. Again, the best way I can summarize the differences would be to say that Talalay is better at pressure relief on your hips and shoulders and Dunlop is better at maintaining proper spinal alignment and avoiding back pain. However, Talalay can also be helpful in avoiding back pain because it provides more of what we call secondary support. Secondary support fills in the gaps between your body and the mattress. For side sleepers, this is normally the area between a person’s ribs and waist. For back sleepers, this is normally the area between the small of your back and the mattress. If these parts or your body aren’t being held up by the mattress, your muscles will work all night to hold those parts of your body up, which can lead to back pain. Aside from that, women tend to be curvier, especially around their hips, and having a top layer of Talalay can help avoid hip pain and keep the mattress from pushing their hips up, which can also lead to back pain. As such, most of our customers definitely benefit from having one layer of Talalay on top, and Dunlop for the rest of the mattress, but it’s completely up to you what you would like to order.

Most foundations / box springs should be replaced in 5-10 years, so it’s probably a good idea to replace the foundation. Anything solid and sturdy will work just fine, including the floor in fact. The only types of foundations you want to avoid are slatted foundations where the gaps are more than 3" apart or box springs (with actual springs in them). Latex foam is a naturally breathable, open celled product and a slatted foundation is not necessary for the mattress to sleep cool. A slatted foundation will enhance the breathability but certainly isn’t necessary because the mattress will breathe on all exposed sides.

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Thank you for the detailed and thorough response. With this information I have ordered my all latex mattress as you recommended and a new foundation. We’re excited for this upgrade and will report back with our experiences!

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Congratulations, very exciting just waiting for the new bed to arrive!

Best of luck, use your new sleep system in good health!

Maverick