Hi lmcgehee,
Thanks for sharing some great feedback about your journeys,
As you mentioned … the Mattress Factory is not designed as an “organic” or “natural” mattress from the ground up and while they offer great value … I can also see why they don’t fit your “value equation”.
The Berkeley Ergonomics at Sovn is also an excellent mattress but as you mentioned they charge more for the same mattress than the other manufacturers that sell them across the country.
SleeplessinDallas’s posts (you can just click this) may also be helpful to you and while she originally chose the flexible slatted base … she ended up exchanging it for a firm foundation which was better for her in the long term. Hopefully she’ll notice your post and provide you with some of her updated insights about Sovn and her mattress as well.
I wouldn’t automatically assume that the tension adjustable slats are better but if the benefits are clear for you in terms of either pressure relief or alignment (compared to a firm slatted base) then the flexible base would be a good choice but of course like so many other things connected to mattresses … it’s always a tradeoff between the benefits it provides for you and cost. You are right though that the tension is adjustable and that the lower back and knee section of the base can be adjusted for firmness. You can see a description of it here.
The other Berkeley Ergonomics dealers across the country that I’m aware of (not all of which may carry every model or use the same names) are …
http://scottjordan.com/ New York, NY. They are a member of this site.
http://www.urbannatural.com Paramus, NJ. They are also a member of this site.
Calgary, Edmonton & Sherwood Park Mattress Stores | Mattress & Sleep Co. The only dealer in Canada and will ship across the country. They are also a member of this site.
http://www.flybynight.com/ Northampton, MA
http://sc41.com/ Soquel, CA
http://designsleep.com/ Yellow springs, OH
http://www.sleepdesign.com/ Folsom, CA
http://www.sovn.com Dallas, TX
http://www.ergobedroom.com/ Las Vegas, NV and http://www.ergocomfort.com/ Laguna Niguel, Newport Beach, CA
http://goodnightbeds.com/ San Pedro, Redondo Beach, CA
http://www.scottsdalebedrooms.com/ Scottsdale, AZ
http://www.theorganicbedroom.com/ Raleigh, NC
http://www.naturalmattressmatters.com/ Johns Creek, GA
http://www.berkeleyergo.com/store-locator.html Will ship across the US for those that don’t have a store near them.
I think that outside of Sovn that most of these are in the same “ballpark” although there are some differences.
This post talks a bit about Sovn and my conversation about them with the BE main store.
From your experience with SavvyRest and others it seems that you may do better with an innerspring/latex hybrid rather than all latex (and you certainly wouldn’t be alone in this) unless of course one of the other all latex mattresses you tried compares well to the BE. How did some of the others compare in a “price no object” comparison with the BE or is it the clear leader out of what you’ve tested?
I put up a somewhat “hidden” paypal donation button here a little while ago as a result of several requests and while it’s in no way “necessary” … I’m very grateful for the thought … thank you!
Phoenix