New Mattress advice for couple in Maine

[phoenix]

Hi JustMaine,

I took the advice i found on here and went to the two local manufacturers near us in Maine.
Daly Brothers in Biddeford, and Portland Mattress Makers in Portland.

Thanks for taking the time to share your comments and feedback and you are certainly looking at two of the better options available in the Maine area. You’ve probably seen this already but some of the other options that may be reasonably close to you as well are listed in post #2 here.

A little bit about us my wife and I are both side sleepers so a medium firmness or softer is preferable.
I am 5’10" 250lbs and my wife is 5’5" 125lbs. Given the difference in weight it can be difficult to find a firmness we can agree on.

I would keep in mind that there is no “standard” definition or consensus of opinion for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently from others. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that is firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. A mattress will generally feel softer to someone that is heavier than the same mattress will feel for someone that is lighter and firmness/softness in general is relative and is as much an art as a science. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress (see post #15 here).

There are also some comments in the first part of post #2 here about choosing a mattress for a couple that have very different needs or preferences or body types that may be helpful. The most reliable way to know whether any mattress or “sleeping system” is a good match for both of you is based on your own careful testing and personal experience (hopefully with both of you on the mattress).

At Daly brothers i liked the Luxury, and the Regal. My wife liked the Ultra Supreme. unfortunately due to our work schedules we could not be there at the same time to test the motion transfer. Considering these are inner spring that could be an issue. Although they did not seem to bouncy. We may have to go back and try these together.

I think it would be a good idea to test this mattress together because it uses a miracoil (continuous coil) innerspring which may transfer more motion than you are comfortable with. There is more about the different types of innersprings in this article and in post #10 here.

At Portland Mattress Makers there Acadia line seemed comfortable enough but the motion transfer was very bad. We tried the Boothbay which they call a Hybrid. Similar to our previous mattress with the pocketed innerspring. They also had a 9" all dunlop latex mattress that we tried. So far i am thinking this may be the mattress. Currently I can get this mattress for slightly less than our budget price, because it can be ordered with a normal cover. It is almost double the price to go to the all organic wool/cotton cover.
The motion transfer was minimal and I only had slight pressure on my shoulders, and my wife seemed to like it.

My concern is it is only a 9" mattress, and i don’t know if i need a different type of box spring or foundation to fit on the bed. It is also slightly firmer than i would pick but i could add a topper in the future if needed, and keep the support.
It seems the price is too good to be true for a 9" all Dunlop latex mattress, so that has the warning bells going off. $950 delivered.
Does anyone have any experience sleeping on this mattress?
Or any good input about the quality etc. of this latex?

There is more about the different types of support systems (foundations, box springs, or platform beds) that are generally most suitable for different types of mattresses in post #1 here. Whether the box spring or foundation you currently have (a box spring has actual springs and more flex while a foundation doesn’t contain any springs and has limited to no flex) would be suitable for a new mattress would depend on the type of mattress you end up purchasing and whether it meets the warranty criteria for the mattress.

They don’t mention the type of innersprings that are used in the Acadia line but they are likely to be innersprings that are connected together with helical wire (continuous coils, bonnell coils, or offset coils) rather than pocket coils which would explain the motion transfer.

The thickness of a mattress is just a side effect of the design and by itself isn’t particularly meaningful. The thickness of a mattress or of individual layers doesn’t necessarily make any mattress better or worse … it’s only one of the specs that affects the overall feel and performance of the mattress “as a whole”. There is more about the effect of thickness in post #14 here but regardless of how thick or thin a mattress may be … the most important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase is your testing and personal experience which will be the most reliable way to know whether a mattress “as a whole” is suitable for your body types, sleeping positions, and preferences in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences).

I would be very cautious about using other people’s experiences on a mattress (either positive or negative) as a reliable source of information or guidance about how suitable or how durable a mattress or any specific material may be for you and in many cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person may be completely unsuitable for someone else (or a couple) to sleep on either in terms of suitability or durability (see post #13 here).

The only reliable way to know for certain whether any mattress is a good match for both of you will be based on your own careful testing or personal experience.

In terms of the quality and durability of the mattress … their website doesn’t show the specifics of the 9" Dunlop mattress you are considering so if you can provide the information listed here about the type and thickness of all the layers and materials inside it and post it on the forum I’d certainly be happy to make some comments about the quality or durability of the materials and the mattress as a whole.

I am also considering the Casper and Leesa mattress, as they fit the budget and seem to get good reviews. Any advice would be of great use on any of these mattress’.

You can read more about Casper and Leesa and some of the other “one firmness choice fits all” mattresses in post #3 here and there is also more information about them that would be relevant for higher weight ranges in post #3 here but once again I would be very cautious about using other people’s experience as a reliable way to decide whether any mattress will be a suitable choice and your own personal experience will be the only reliable way to know whether a mattress is a good “match” for both of you. In the case of the “one firmness choice fits all” mattresses the free return policy allows you to try them out in your own home with little risk outside of the time and effort involved in testing it out and returning or donating it and starting all over again if it turns out that it’s not as good a match for either one or both of you as you hoped for.

Phoenix