Need help with choices plz! Information overload!

[phoenix]

Hi SeaLifeLover,

We are currently sleeping on a mattress that is WAY past its life (15 yrs old) so would like to purchase one soon. It is a two-sided innerspring with a deep body impression on my husband’s side and not so deep, but equally annoying on my side. He is 5-9" approx. 180-185 lbs. I am 5’5" approx. 103 lbs. We both wake up with aches and pains that subside as the day goes on. We don’t feel this way when we go on vacation or stay at a hotel. The mattress has gotten so uncomfortable lately that we both wake up multiple times during the night from pain. So we are both exhausted in the morning!

I would keep in mind that 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 your 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 your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

I or some of the more knowledgeable members of the site can certainly help you to narrow down your options, help you focus on better quality/value choices that are available to you either locally or online, help you identify any lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress you may be considering, act as a fact check, answer many of the specific questions you may have along the way that don’t involve what you will “feel” on a mattress, and help with “how” to choose but only you can decide which specific mattress, manufacturer, or combination of materials is “best for you” regardless of whether anyone else has the same criteria or would make the same choice

I’m assuming that you’ve read the mattress shopping tutorial but two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase 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 you are considering.

Here is what we want:
POCKET COILS…as we would like to minimize motion transfer when one of us gets up in the middle of the night or rolls over

NO MEMORY FOAM prefer LATEX…don’t like the sinking in feeling or the hotness of memory foam And like the fact that there are no chemicals in the latex. Well…the talalay at least, I believe.

WOOL FIRE BARRIER…as I personally don’t think the chemicals they use are safe. I don’t know why they ever came up with the idea and thought it was a smart one in the first place…but that is a whole other topic.

We are willing to purchase online or even drive a couple of hours to test out. But due to us not having any luck so far would need to purchase somewhere that we can return if it does not work out. We do not want to have to as we are desperate for a good night sleep …but have unfortunately learned the hard way that it doesn’t always work out as expected! So our zip is 47201 and we live close to Indianapolis, Louisville and Cincinnati. But like I said, we will drive up to 2-3 hours away. (We went to the Chicago store due to them using a Wool Fire Barrier and other natural materials)

The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Indianapolis area (subject to the making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines I linked earlier in this reply) in post #2 here.

The list for the Louisville, KY area is in post #3 here and for the Cincinnati, OH area is in post #212 here and for the Bloomington, IN area is in post #2 here.

I don’t keep a record of the individual mattresses that the retailers and manufacturers in the hundreds of forum lists throughout the forum carry on their floor (it would be a bigger job than anyone could keep up with in a constantly changing market) but checking their websites and making some preliminary phone calls to the retailers/manufacturers that are on the list that are in reasonable driving distance is always a good idea before you visit any store anyway. This will tell you which of them carry mattresses that would meet your specific criteria, are transparent about the quality and durability of the materials in their mattresses (see this article), and that carry the type of mattresses that you are interested in testing in the budget range you are comfortable with and that have exchange or return policies that you are comfortable with. Once you have checked their websites and/or talked with the ones that interest you then you will be in a much better position to decide on the ones that you are most interested in visiting based on the results of your preliminary research and conversations.

I believe that a two-sided mattress will wear better and have a longer life expectancy. Maybe you could give me your opinion on this as I have read different opinions for both sides (one and two sided mattresses)

There is more about the pros and cons of one sided vs two sided mattresses in post #3 here. While a one sided mattress that meets the quality/durability guidelines here and that doesn’t have any lower quality materials or weak links can certainly make a durable choice … a two sided mattress would last longer than a similar mattress with a similar support system that used the same comfort layers on only one side of the mattress as long as you flip and rotate it on a regular basis (see post #2 here).

Another question would be…do you recommend the wood slat foundation (such as at IKEA…the Lonset model or other) or traditional box springs or a platform type which looks like it is solid plywood or other wood all the way across?

There is more information about different types of support systems that are generally the most suitable for different types of mattresses and some examples of each of them in post #1 here. A wood slat foundation that has a suitable distance between the slats would be suitable for most foam mattresses.

You normally won’t find any box springs any longer (that have actual springs inside them that flex) although there are a few manufacturers that make them for some of their two sided mattresses. They normally wouldn’t be a suitable choice for a one sided mattress.

A foundation with flexible slats will change the feel and performance of the mattress compared to a foundation that has slats that don’t have any flex. They would provide suitable support for most mattresses but they may not be the best choice if the mattress itself is already a good match for you in terms of PPP when it’s on a rigid support system that doesn’t have any flex because it would add some additional softness to the mattress which could have a negative effect on your alignment in some cases. There is more information about the pros and cons of a flexible slat support system in post #2 here.

Phoenix