I visited the Mattress Factory / Organic Sleep Products and laid on several (many) mattresses. The one that I liked the best was a Novopure Victoria Falls.
I need a King, which is fourteen hundred fifty dollars (mattress only—I don’t need a base.)
Speaking with the owner as to the “layers” of the bed, he did not have the ILDs, and wasn’t optimistic that the factory would be willing to share the detailed specs of the bed with him. But, as a manufacturer himself, he gave his best guesses as to what ILDs he thought thought they would have used in each layer.
6" soy-polyfoam base (ILD guess: 35)
2" Talaylay latex (ILD guess: 30)
2" Talaylay latex (ILD guess: 24)
** Note: the marketing literature specified this:
Ecotex extended life foam
Zoned Talaylay latex
Hybrid latex
The cover is bamboo, silk, cotton and wool… very comfortable.
The warranty is 25 years, the last 10 of which are pro-rated.
I like the mattress, but here are my concerns:
I know I like the comfort. Support though, needs to be determined and there is no provision for returns, as the factory does not manufacture this model (someone else does.) I plan to return with my wife to have her look at my spinal alignment (I’m a side sleeper) but still…
Value: I think the value seems decent but nothing extraordinary. However, in looking at Parklane models (I plan to drive to Salem tomorrow to check out some options at Parklane), I need to factor in delivery, which I expect will be $200 or more. (I would pay no fee if I select this mattress–it is local.)
I’m unsure of how the soy-foam base would compare to latex or springs in terms of longevity. Based on the warranty, I would expect it to fall somewhere between the two (?)
Out-gassing: how nasty is the soy foam in comparison to regular foam? I expect somewhere in between regular foam and (clean) latex, based on another thread in this forum.
I’m interested in any thoughts people have on the component/value proposition here, as well as expected longevity.
If you are testing a mattress in person then knowing the ILD’s or any other “comfort specs” isn’t necessary at all because careful testing will provide you with much more reliable information about whether a mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) than any specs.
The information and specs that you would need though are the “quality specs” listed here which can tell you whether there are any weak links in the mattress and so you can make more meaningful value comparisons with the other finalists that you are considering.
I would want to know the blend of the Talalay latex (although either way it would be a good quality and durable material) and the density of the polyfoam base layer and I would also make sure that the mattress was about 10" high to confirm that there aren’t any missing layers in the description.
Post #13 here also has more information about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses.
If you are part of a couple that sleeps on the same mattress I would always make sure that you test a mattress together anyway before you purchase it (using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post). If you are confident that the mattress will be a good match for you in terms of PPP when you sleep on it then a return/exchange policy isn’t as important but if you aren’t confident then a return/exchange policy may become a much more important part of the “value” of a purchase. There is more about the different ways to choose a mattress (online or local) and how to reduce the risk of each of them in post #2 here.
Value is always relative to the other mattresses you are considering and how they compare based on PPP, the type and quality of the materials inside them, and on all the other parts of your personal value equation that are important to you so there really isn’t a way to assess the “value” of a mattress without making comparisons to other mattresses that you would be able to purchase.
I would keep in mind that a mattress warranty has little to nothing to do with the useful life of a mattress or how soon you may need to buy a new one (see post #174 here). There is more about the many variables that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress relative to each person in post #4 here.
In most cases though the upper layers of a mattress (the top 3" to 6" or so) are the weakest link of a mattress (depending on your body type and sleeping style) and the deeper support layers or components are generally not the weakest link … although I would still want to know the density of the polyfoam in the bottom layer because it could still have some effect on durability depending on your weight and body type.
So called “Soy foam” is basically the same as any other type of polyfoam except it has replaced a small percentage of one of the two main chemicals used to make it (the polyol) with a soy oil based chemical derivative (see post #2 here). If it is made in North America and/or is CertiPUR certified then there shouldn’t be any issue with VOC’s or offgassing (although there will typically be some “new material” smell for the first few days to couple of weeks).