New Purebliss Beautiful too firm?

Hello everyone,
I just purchased a PB beautiful after a years worth of nightmare returns and defective mattresses which I now learn here were probably not defective just poorly made. My last mattress was a simmons beautyrest black ultra plush PT the salesperson swore would not flatten due to it having pre compressed foam. What a joke. I chose this mattress due to the fact I have multiple heath issues, three brain surgeries, tethered spinal cord surgery, connective tissue disorder and others. I live in pain everyday and my bed is the only place that I can get any relief. The PT mattress was great until it wasn’t.

So with lots of research and the help of this forum I went with the PLB Beautiful. I thought about going the layered latex direction but was trying to avoid returns and I have limited help to get things set up. I loved the feeling of this mattress at the store but the one I received is so much firmer. I realize the floor model has been there for about fourteen months but does it soften up that much? The one I received feels more like the nature model. My boyfriend agrees with me so its not just me.

I also have an adjustable foundation if that makes any difference. I have had 2 other beds delivered in the last 6 years that were wrong, one was mislabeled the other the wrong bed entirely. My whole family has this problem and its kind of a joke that we should buy something and go around the block and exchange it because something will be wrong with it. LOL!!!

Any experiences you all have had with latex or the Pure Bliss line would be much appreciated. I have spoken multiple times with the company and they have been nothing but wonderful. I am getting a 2 inch topper from them and that should help but I hope it gets here in a hurry because I can’t sleep and my pain has been made so much worse. Thank You for your help, Laura

Hi Sunshinegirl,

The Beautiful for most people is a very soft mattress but because of your health challenges I can understand the need for a much softer than average mattress. The topper is even softer yet (in the 14 - 15 ILD range depending on the topper) and should also help.

In terms of the difference between your mattress and the floor model that you tested … I’ll take the possibilities one by one so each of them can be ruled out as a possible cause.

The first possibility of course is that you have the wrong mattress. You can check the law tag to make sure it really is the Beautiful and you could also measure it to make sure it is the right thickness.

The second possibility is that the base you tested the mattress on in the store is softer and has more give than what you are using. If you tested the mattress on the regular non flexing PLB base (not the World’s Best Bed base which has latex in it), then I think it’s safe to assume that your adjustable bed would have an equivalent non flexing surface.

The next possibility is that you tested a different mattress in the store (the only one that is softer is the World’s Best Bed (either with or without the latex foundation) and the salespeople somehow believed or told you that it was the Beautiful. The WBB is also 12" thick so a measurement wouldn’t show a difference and you would need to look at the law tag.

Next is the possibility that you tested the mattress with a topper in the store (either their 2" or 3" version) and this is your frame of reference and yours doesn’t have the topper (or at least it’s still coming) but it doesn’t seem likely that this is what is happening since it’s probable that you would have taken this into account.

Next is the possibility that you have something on top of the mattress such as a mattress protector, mattress pad, or even possibly sheets that are reducing the compression of the latex and making it feel firmer. The most likely culprit here would be a mattress protector or a mattress pad. Sometimes even sheets can create a “drum” effect if they are tight and increase the firmness of the latex for people who are more sensitive.

Finally if none of these helps solve the problem … then it’s probably just part of the initial break in period of the mattress where covers stretch and foam softens to some degree (although latex does this less than other foam). You can speed this up by walking (or crawling) carefully and evenly across the sleeping surface of the mattress for a while.

There is also the possibility that it is a matter of your subjective perceptions that comes from any differences you feel in testing a mattress vs sleeping on it over the course of the night. It seems to me that the difference is clear to you so this may not be the case but this needs to be added as a possibility so the list of possibilities is complete.

There is also one other possibility I can think of which is that your mattress somehow was made with the wrong ILD latex layers but this is also not very likely.

Hope this helps … and I hope you let us know what you discover and if any of these and/or the topper solves the problem.

Phoenix

well when i tried PLB in the store i felt the need to put a topper on their thickest and softest model ( world’s best bed ) and i’m a 230 pound former bodybuilder / powerlifter so i don’t really understand it when Phoenix says that a certain model PLB may be too soft for some type of sleepers in certain sleeping positions - as far as i am concerned they are all too firm for me, and somebody who is lighter than me could probably use a much softer bed than i can use.

even though Phoenix knows that it is a myth that firm beds are automatically good for the back i think he still is trying to be conservative with his advice and try to steer people such as myself in the firmer direction.

what happend when i tried PLB in the store is at first i thought they were very soft, because i was coming from a much firmer bed that was painful to sleep on, but as i ( following Phoenix’s advice ) spent more time on the PLBs ( like 20 minutes ) my impression of too soft changed to too firm as i started to feel my pressure points while initially it felt like i was floating in the air …

so i think it can be two things:

1 - the latex may need to break in

or

2 - you didn’t test the bed in the store long enough

proably it is a combination of the two …

the good news is, as long as your bed surface is perfectly flat ( no uneven springs or body impressions ) you should be able to “fix” it by softening it with toppers IMO.

i don’t think you need a 14 ILD topper to soften the beatiful - i think a 19 ILD topper would still soften it simply by making the comfort layer thicker even though it would essentially be same ILD as beautiful itself.

also Phoenix is absolutely right - anything you have on the mattress unless it is super stretchy or made out of foam will make it feel harder - even putting the sheets on a very soft topper can make it feel harder.

Phoenix will probably remember better but i believe you are not the first person to complain that a PLB feels firmer than in the store - i think this is pretty much normal

Hi g1981c,

Let me be direct with you because I won’t give you another warning.

You are in the process of building your own mattress … and struggling to do it.

You are asking questions that have little relevance or connection with real life or based on some deeply flawed assumptions and looking for overly specific answers that don’t exist … and worse yet either not reading or at least clearly understanding most of the replies and information you have been given.

And now you are offering ill considered advice or opinions based on the subjective perceptions of a single person (you) that not only contradicts the firmness ratings of Pure Latex Bliss itself … but decades of experience by almost every manufacturer in the country that manufactures latex mattresses.

I won’t argue with your perceptions … they are yours to experience no matter how much outside of any average they may be.

But as soon as you extrapolate them into the likelihood that someone else will feel what you feel or that your experience is the “norm” (or even that you fully understand your own experience) then it needs to be replied to, clarified, and “corrected”.

I would recommend that you stick with trying to build your own mattress and if you choose to provide “advice” to other forum members … I would make clear that you are sharing your personal experience (or more accurately inexperience) that is not likely to apply to others and not based in fact and refrain from offering so called “authoritative advice” or opinions about what you believe will or won’t work for others … at least until you gain enough personal experience and knowledge to put your own mattress together successfully.

I am happy when most people make comments and suggestions to others here based on their own experience or based on the knowledge they have gained in their own mattress search and testing and recognize the concept of YMMV your mileage may vary) but your advice, comments, and questions are beginning to become tedious. This is not your personal playground. This is also not designed to be a forum (like others I know of) where anyone can present themselves as knowledgeable “experts” where the information on the forum ends up becoming a mish mash of conflicting advice and opinions where nobody can tell anymore what may be based in fact and what is based simply in opinions masquerading as fact.

If you persist in flirting around the edges of what I consider to be acceptable on this forum … whether you consider it to be reasonable or not … I will simply put your “offending” posts and future posts into a single thread with an appropriate label so that those who want to can read them all at once

As a point of reference … the most common complaint about the Beautiful on this forum (and elsewhere) for people who are heavier (and some who aren’t) is that it doesn’t provide them with good spinal or joint alignment because of the softness and thickness of the upper layers and that and various Pamper/topper combinations are probably the most common complaints about the PLB lineup.

Phoenix

Hi Phoenix, Thank You for your fast reply. I do have a mattress protector on and did read about these possibly affecting the feel but since my last mattress was much thicker I didn’t think it would be an issue but will unzip it tomorrow to see if it helps.

I did go back to the store twice and lay on all three models they carried. The worlds best, the nature and the beautiful. The worlds best seemed too soft and I was trying to adhere to what I have learned that this is not usually the best choice. The nature seemed too firm but the second time I went back I spent a considerable amount of time trying both the nature and the beautiful alone and adding both the 2 and 3 inch toppers primarily to the nature as I was looking for that delicate balance of comfort and alignment. I found the nature still feeling a little too firm and thought the beautiful would be the best choice even though I know I had read that you felt many people found it too soft.

I am 130 pounds and 5"6. I look even slighter as I have a rare bone disease that makes my bones very heavy. I do have a small waist and carry more weight in the hip area. My boyfriend is about 180 pounds but we don’t sleep together due to his snoring issues and me often being up late at night not feeling well. We do spend lots of time watching TV together in my bed so we usually have picked what feels the best for me.

Last spring we were looking for a replacement mattress after my 6 year old, again a simmons mattress, developed large dips but thank goodness was still under warranty. That is a very long story but the bottom line is the store where I purchased it sent me a mattress that was found to be defective a week after having it delivered and it was labeled wrong. I ended up going to another store as they had nothing that was even close to comfortable and at that time I could barely walk and holding a glass was almost impossible due to my arthritis in my spine. I later took them to conciliation court and thank goodness they settled before I had to go.

My boyfriend and I had tried so many mattresses then and I am always asking his opinion. He said as I felt that the beautiful was the first time he said he could say without a doubt “this is the one.” The store that I just purchased the Beautiful from does have a comfort exchange which is good. I had some concerns before purchasing as this is the only store that carries PLB in my area and these are the second generation models not the new ones.

The sales person said he knew nothing about the new models which I found hard to believe. He is the head of a very small department and couldn’t even tell me if they are going to carry the PLB brand in the future. He spoke to his purchasing person and he new nothing about the active gel either but was speaking less then favorably about it saying everyone was jumping on the cooling bandwagon and they wanted to stay as natural as possible.The store had two kings of the old model in there warehouse I was told they had been there he said since December. Maybe I should have had them order me a new one.

Goodness I don’t know It just seems if something is defective in some way I will always end up with it. It usually works out in the end but it is a process. This is why I wrote in trying to find out how much latex softens up because my understanding is that it doesn’t change all that much hence the longevity of the product. Sorry about such a long post. I am so thankful for you and your website. I truly believe this will get worked out and latex is what I have been looking for. Any more thoughts? Thank You, Sunshine girl

Hi Sunshinegirl,

I think with your lower weight there would be less risk of alignment issues with the Beautiful than if you were heavier and in your circumstances I would probably put more emphasis on pressure relief than would be normal (normally alignment is the most important function of a mattress because it allows the discs in the spine to decompress and re-hydrate and the muscles and ligaments to relax and recover). I would also make sure that you do good objective testing (along the lines of the testing guidelines in post #1 here) if you go into the store to re-test mattresses rather than going by “feel” alone which can be deceptive although your own sleeping experience will be even more accurate than testing in a store and you have some time to make sure the mattress is working for you.

Latex like any foam will soften over time and even develop some slight impressions … it just does it over a longer period of time and to a lesser degree than other types of foam. A mattress will also go through a more rapid softening period over the first 30 - 90 days or so as the foam loses any of it’s initial stiffness and covers stretch somewhat. You can read more about the factors involved in durability in post #4 here and the posts it links to.

I’ll be interested to see what your detective work uncovers about why your mattress may feel firmer than the one in the store and what the cause ends up being.

Phoenix

Hi Phoenix,
I forgot to add that one of the first things I did was to check the tag and measure the height of the mattress
which came in at 11 1/2 not quite 12. Just wanted to let you know I can check those two off the list.
Thank You again, Sunshine girl

Phoenix you have a very Authoritarian view of knowledge - kind of what people in the East Asia might have, or in the Middle East - where ancient teachings are strictly adhered to and nothing is questioned.

I am more about the Wikipedia model - where everybody can contribute - and in fact i have edited articles on Wikipedia and nobody complained. I don’t represent myself as expert on here and i don’t think anybody believes that i am or would take my opinion as if it was some kind of final judgement.

I think it is very telling when you say that you don’t intend this forum to be a forum. I was wondering if you realized that you’re not allowing this forum to be an actual forum and i am glad to see you do realize it.

Obviously nobody can tell you how to run your own site and you have every right to ban anybody, delete or move anything. At this rate however you’re lookign to spend the rest of your life answering questions that have been asked 100 times before simply because you’re afraid somebody else might answer them “wrong” …

These things happen you know ? Not everything we are told is 100% correct. In fact from my experience 90% of what we’re told is deliberate lies. People need to learn how to process information to separate fact from fiction. And if you don’t have a problem with answering every single question yourself forever - maybe you should rename “forum” into something less misleading - like “ask Phoenix free expert advice” or something.

Hi Phoenix,
I have been meaning for weeks to write back and let you know what the resolution to my new Pure Latex Bliss Beautiful being too firm was. I have not been feeling well but I don’t want to forget so here is what happened.

PLB sent me out a 2 inch topper for the mattress thinking it was too firm for me due to the initial break in period. The topper helped some but I was still waking up feeling bruised and I just knew something was not right. My salesperson was of no help at all but thank goodness PLB did not leave me stranded. They replaced my mattress under warranty and like I suspected, something was wrong.

The replacement mattress felt like the mattress I had chosen… It has support but also has the softness I need. My guess is somehow the layers were marked wrong. So, I hope if anyone in the future is in my same situation they will find my post and fight for a resolution. Things happen and I just am so grateful to Michelle in PLB customers service department for all of her help. How wonderful to actually have a company stand behind their product and care about their customers. Thank You Phoenix, for a website with such a wealth of information. You are truly appreciated. Sunshinegirl

Hi Sunshinegirl,

Of all the possibilities I listed in the earlier post I thought that the last one (which was listed almost as an afterthought) was the least likely and that appears to be exactly what it was.

I’m really happy that your issues were resolved and I have to agree that PLB really does stand behind their product and looks after their customers.

Thanks for bringing up to date … and it’s great that now you can focus on sleeping on your mattress instead of “fixing” your mattress :slight_smile:

Phoenix