Need new mattress ASAP; would love feedback on hybrid latex and all latex online & local options

[phoenix]

Hi rand,

The Brooklyn Bedding Total latex mattress and the Healthy Back Essence use exactly the same type of blended Talalay latex (except the Healthy Back versions use a thin layer of Talalay GL on top which is blended Talalay latex with some gel blended into it to help with temperature regulation).

With two mattresses that use the same type of materials … the quality of the materials would be identical. The only difference in terms of durability would be that softer layers are generally less durable than firmer layers of any material but this is secondary to the type of material itself.

In terms of the value of a mattress purchase (vs the “commodity value” of the mattress itself) this would depend on the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you. You can always take the price of the mattress and divide it by the thickness of the latex layers to get a price per inch of latex and then adjust the numbers to take the extra cost of the wool in the quilting in the Dreamfoam into account and then spec out the cost of the cover in each mattress and you would end up with the relative “value” from a raw materials point of view (assuming you could find out all the information you needed in the first place) but this would be meaningless in any practical terms and would have nothing to do with how well you sleep on each mattress because the designs would still be different.

The most important part of the “value” of a mattress is the suitability of the mattress design and how well it matches your specific needs and preferences in terms of PPP. Only you and your own experience and/or testing can assess this. The next most important part of “value” is the relative quality and durability of each mattress so that you have a reasonable expectation that the materials won’t soften or degrade prematurely. In terms of quality/durability (which is all I can speak to) they would be close to identical because they use the same materials.

If you can’t test a mattress in person then you would also need to decide on the “value” of any return or exchange options that were available to you to offset the risk of an online purchase that you can’t test beforehand in person that may not be suitable for you. While accurate and objective testing isn’t always perfect … it will usually be “close enough” for most people (if you follow the testing guidelines) that if anything only minor fine tuning will be necessary (using mattress protectors, mattress pads, toppers, sheets, and bedding).

All of this is part of each person’s personal value equation and each person may have a different set of priorities which is why for one person a mattress that costs $3000 may be better value than a very similar mattress that uses similar materials and only costs $1500 but where the more costly mattress is a better “match” for all the criteria that are most important to them.

My role is to help the members here find better manufacturers and retailers that are more open and transparent, provide better service and guidance, and use better quality materials at better prices than most of the mainstream mattresses that the majority of consumers end up purchasing so you can find out what is in your mattress, learn which materials are more durable than others, make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses, and avoid the worst choices that use lower quality materials that will soften or break down much too quickly that are so common in the industry.

You can compare any two mattresses in terms of the quality of the materials (and there are also different definitions of quality besides just durability as you can see in post #4 here) but only each person can compare two mattresses in terms of the value of the purchase because each person’s definition of value may be very different (see post #13 here for more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase).

I think the one I tried that felt so good was the more expensive and softer Bliss Elegance, but plan to try the Essence tomorrow. If that feels about as good as the Elegance (real good) would the “bird-in-the-hand” of having actually tested it outweigh, say, a few hundred dollars savings from getting the Brooklyn Bedding all latex?

This is an example of something that only each person can answer for themselves. If you are on the “I can sleep on anything” end of the scale then the answer may be no because the differences between the designs of the mattress may not be so important and there may be a configuration of the Total latex mattress that is “close enough” even though it wouldn’t be exactly the same. If you are on the “princess and the pea” end of the range then the answer may be yes because even small differences in layer thicknesses, ILD, or the type of cover and quilting materials may make the two mattresses different enough that one would work well for you and the other one wouldn’t. The comfort exchange options for the BB all latex may also be a factor because you could also exchange a layer in the Total Latex mattress which may make it more suitable or even better than one of the Healthy Back versions but it still wouldn’t be the same because the designs would still be different. You can read more about the different ways that one mattress may “match” another one in post #9 here.

So overall … only you can decide whether a few hundred dollars is significant measured against the risk of the purchase, the options you have available to make changes or exchanges after a purchase, the accuracy and objectivity of your testing, the confidence you have after a more detailed conversations with Brooklyn Bedding (including any specifics of mattresses you have tested and liked that you know the specifics of the mattress) that their mattress has good odds of being a good match for you, the accuracy of your testing for PPP, and all the other parts of a mattress purchase that are most important to you including your confidence that the mattress you end up purchasing will be the one that gives you the best possible quality of sleep over the next decade or more which is by far the most important part of the value of any purchase. In general I use a guideline that a difference of about 20% between an online purchase and a local purchase that is similar in terms of materials and design as being “equivalent value” but this would be different for each person depending on their risk tolerance and the amount of further customizing or exchanges that are available after a purchase to help offset any risk.

Looks like Ultimate Dreams also makes an all latex, if you can compare it to the Brooklyn Bedding one.

this is an example

Dreamfoam and Brooklyn Bedding both sell the same Total Latex Mattress at the same price but Brooklyn Bedding also makes another all latex mattress called the Essence which uses 100% natural Talalay, 100% natural Dunlop, and only wool in the quilting which isn’t available from Dreamfoam.

One other complicating factor I haven’t seen mentioned is the price difference between different size mattresses. I’m on the fence about whether to get a King or Queen. Some lines, like Brooklyn Bedding’s all latex, are only about $100 more for the King over the Queen, whereas others have much more of a difference. For instance, Healthy Back’ Bliss Essence is $600 more for the King than the Queen. So a good value for a King may not be such a great value in a Queen, even though the actual cost for the King will still be higher. If you have any comments on this I’d be interested in hearing them.

The size of a mattress is a personal preference that would depend on the preferences and sleeping style of the people sleeping on the mattress and the amount of room you have available in the bedroom and of course to some degree your budget. Most people would prioritize the size as one of the most important factors at the beginning of their mattress research and then only look at and compare mattresses in the size they had already decided was best for them but for those that would be happy with either a king or a queen then the relative differences in pricing between the different sizes for two different manufacturers could also be a factor in their personal value equation.

Phoenix