Hi!
This forum and your tutorials are great and very helpful - thank you! I have a few specific questions I would like to ask. First, a bit about myself - I am a 5’8" female weighing ~135lbs. I sleep with my husband who is 5’10" and ~170lbs. I am mainly a side sleeper but also go on my back. My husband is a back sleeper. We often have our two large dogs on our bed with us - for this reason we thought memory foam would be good to lessen motion transfer. The top of our budget is $1500 (canadian).
I did some mattress research and I learnt (just as your mattress forum says) that the mattresses at big box stores like Serta + Sealy are not high value. So, we turned to the online mattress world. After reading about various options we decided to order The Leesa. We chose this because we thought memory foam would be a good option for us, it fit our budget, they had a great return policy and trial period, and they got good reviews online from what we found. After sleeping on it for just over 2 months, I find it uncomfortable on my side - it presses against my hip causing discomfort. It’s not overly comfortable on my back although I can’t pin-point why exactly. I also find myself waking up feeling stiff, and sometimes I have mild lower back pain. Is there something about this mattress that could be the reason for this? My husband has no issues and finds it comfortable.
We have recently moved to Ottawa so the options for local mattress companies is greater. I saw a previous post where you listed good options including Hardy Mattress, Obasan, and Matelas Lapensee. Do you have any addition comments or tips to provide regarding these mattress options.
Based on the information provided about our sleep situation, and our experience with the Leesa mattress can you offer any advice about selecting a new mattress?
Thank you!
Alyssa
Welcome to our Mattress Forum! Thank you for your kind words.
Assuming that you read the first The mattress shopping tutorial here which has the basic information, steps, and guidelines including suggestions about how to test a mattresses for what I call PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that can simplify your search and help you make the best possible choices, a good starting point for your initial research would be to find the perfect combination pressure relief and support needed for all side and back sleeping positions for both human partners and two dogs,:lol:
There’s some good information about sleeping style, preferences, and statistics along withputting the layers together and the page on tips and tricks here ) that can give you some general concepts, guidelines, and insights about the effects of different body types, sleeping styles, and mattress designs for different people and you would need to adapt them to your particular body type, sleeping positions, and circumstances. (May be more complex than you really need to know.)
You are correct in being cautious when considering products from major brands such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta as they all tend to use lower quality and less durable materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors. The materials in their products will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay which is why I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (along with the major retailers that focus on them as well) regardless of how they may feel in a showroom along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here. along with post #3 here. and post #12 here. and post #404 here.).
Leesa specifications are as it follows:
Comfort Layers:
2" 3.65 lb Avena polyfoam (20-26 IFD),
2" 3lb Memory foam (9 IFD)
Support Layers:
6" Polyfoam 1.8 lb density (32-38 IFD)
The 2" of 3 lb memory foam is a potential weak link in this mattress.
You can read more about Leesa in post #2 here. The 2" of 3.75 lb high performance “latex like” Avena polyfoam is good quality, but I would be cautious because of the 2" of 3 lb memory foam in the comfort layers which could be a weak link in the mattress in terms of durability.
There is some information about the many different symptoms that people may experience on a mattress and some of the most common causes behind them in post #2 here that may be helpful but the most common reason for lower back pain is a mattress that has comfort layers that are too thick/soft or a support core that is too soft. Pressing against the hip could be an issue of sinking in too deeply and concentrating weight on one specific area (comfort/transition layers that are too soft) or also could be an issue with a mattress that is too hard. I suspect that this is not the case with Leesa, but I cannot pinpoint exactly how this may have applied to your particular circumstance as I cannot feel what you feel on a mattress nor can I diagnose this in a discussion on the forum because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances.
Subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here a search on our forum Ottawa key term here will show some listings and suggestions I used to offer for this area, however I have decided to discontinue the provision of such listings of potential retailers in various geographic regions (unless they are already approved site members), because of the difficulty in maintaining such lists in a retail landscape that is constantly changing, and most importantly the confusion it was creating with the consumer members who incorrectly assumed that these businesses had indeed gone through the strict qualification process and were approved as members of The Mattress Underground. Such an assumption is unfair to both the consumers seeking assistance, as well as the very businesses and manufacturers who have indeed qualified to be members here of The Mattress Underground.
Below are some of the best options that I know of that ship across Canada and are trusted members our site
Memory Foam ComfortCustomizable after purchase options + Free shipping in CA has their Presto Classic line that may work for your budget range
Sleep Boutique Canada wide shipping with their foam mattresses options also fit your budget range. You can give them a call and ask for a more personalized experience
There are also US site Members with Memory Foam mattresses shipping to Canada which you may wish to consider.
There are also US site Members with Memory Foam mattresses shipping to Canada which you may wish to consider.
Addable Has a good “simplified choice” mattress. They use good quality materials with 2" of 4 lb gel memory foam on top of a 2" transition layer of 1.8 lb polyfoam on top of a highly resilient 2.0 lb base layer. (Ships to Canada as well) Bedmasters makes the 2 sided memory foam mattresses such as The Journey and the Genesis Cool. (Ships to Canada) Beloit Mattress Company (Ships to Canada)
Aside from that, I would always confirm that any retailer or manufacturer that you wish to visit is completely transparent (see this article) and also make sure that any mattress that you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here. If you have any questions about specifications or certain products, feel free to post back on the forum and I’ll do my best to provide answers.
While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … It’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, or combinations of materials or components because 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.
I suggest that you start by reading the mattress shopping tutorial here and perhaps contact a good online retailer or manufacturer who can make suggestions that they honestly believe have the best chance of success based on the information you provide them when you talk to them on the phone because this is in both your own and their best interests but again … at the end of the day the only way to know for certain whether any specific mattress is a good match for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP will be based on your own careful testing and/or your own personal experience so if you can’t test a specific mattress in person then the options you have available after a purchase to either exchange the mattress or individual layers or components or return the mattress for a refund (and any costs involved) would generally become a more important part of your personal value equation just in case a mattress you purchase doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for.
If you are looking at anything in particular and have more specific questions, please feel free to post the actual specification of the mattress you are considering and I’ll do my best to comment upon them.
I am moving in 2 weeks and i need to find me a new mattress. I had to give up on my last one when my appartment complex got a bad case of the bed bugs a few months before we moved out. Buying that mattress was a pretty unsatisfying experience. I ended up trying a couple of mattress at Sleep Country and picked a $1000 Kingsdown mattress after trying it out for 5 minutes. About a month after, i started feeling pain in my lower back so i bought a 3’’ memory foam topper and that made it much better. With that said, i don’t want to make the same mistake. I want to make sure that the mattress i buy is gonna be a better match right out of the store.
I am 5’11’', male, and weight 180 (BMI of around 25?). I’m also about to turn 30 in a little over a month, if that’s relevant. I am a side and chest sleeper (can’t sleep on my back at all) which is pretty annoying considering it’s often adviced to go for a soft mattress as a side sleeper, but a firm one as a chest sleeper.
From my personal experience with the foam topper, i personally prefer a soft mattress. I don’t recall which Kingsdown i bought but the firmness made it impossible to sleep on my side.
I’m also very intrigued by Latex. Everything about it seems very appealing although i’ve had very few experience sleeping on them.
So far i have visited 2 mattress store in my area;
Matelas Lapensée, which has great reviews, and Matelas Dauphin.
My experience with both has been pretty underwhelming.
The salesman at Lapensée seemed adament that i should buy one of their pocketed coil mattress at all cost. When i questionned him about Latex, he went as far to say that Latex is only a fad, are not durable and have no advantages at all over a coil mattress (i am not exagerating). Their website contains very little information about what’s in their mattress and doesn’t even show all latex options (everything seems to have coils as their support layer?). It’s very disapointing considering the great reviews they have.
Matelas Dauphin’s saleman wasn’t very informative but at least gave me time to try out a few mattress without following me everywhere. Their display mattress all have neat little displays to show what each layer is, and they even had an all-latex mattress (Matelas Euphora 8", 40ILD support layer and 19ILD comfort layer if i recall correctly). Unfortunately, although the salesman claimed the latex was all-natural, he wasn’t aware of any certifications which makes me uncomfortable. He also claimed the mattress was worth $4430CAD but if i bought before September, it was only $2600CAD! (major red flag).
It’s sad because they are the only 2 non brick and mortar mattress store that i’m aware of in Gatineau and neither of them came across as very transparent. I’m sure Ottawa has a few more but i’m not sure what to expect.
With all of that said, i’ve spent hours reading the articles on this site and it has been very helpful. Although i still have few questions.
1 - I despise trying out mattress in a store. Something about being dressed, being in public and having a nosy salesman follow me around makes me really uncomfortable. I am not confident in my ability to tell a good from a bad mattress in-store.
PPP is often mentionned as something to pay attention for when trying out a mattress. It sounds great but i have no idea how to test if a mattress is a good match for me simply from trying it out in a store for a few minutes. Any advices on how to best try out a mattress, and how long should i realistically lay on one to get a good idea?
2 - I have been looking at some of the latex options online (mostly from the trusted members of this site) and have found that many of them have vastly different costs for otherwise similar mattress. Dormio’s mattress sound great but they seem to be significantly more expensive than, let’s say, sleepEZ or Amazon Premium Mattress (even taking the currency conversion). It’s even worst when comparing with SleepOnLatex which has ridiculously cheap latex mattress. What’s the difference between those that justifies such a huge gap?
3 - Anything i should look for in a bed foundation?
PS: My budget is around $3000CAD for a queen size but i’m willing to spend more if the value is there.
Mattress shopping has been rather overwhelming. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
A latex mattress will break-in after the first 3 months of use and will feel different than when you tried it in store. This is one of the reasons we suggest a customizable mattress that will allow you to change the firmness of the mattress once the break-in period is over.
Price is determined by type of latex used (organic dunlop, synthetic talalay or all natural talalay), the cover (wool quilted 100% organic cotton, or a synthetic blend) the volume that a retailer buys, and their overhead.
When ordering a mattress from the USA into Canada, you also need to add the 10% tariffs, the brokers fees ($75 to $125) , the sales tax, and any duties if it doesn’t fall under NAFTA.
You need to check with each latex mattress manufacturer to see what specifications the foundation needs to meet in order for the mattress to be covered under warranty
I have similarly bad experience at big mattresses stores (Sleep Country Canada, Bay, etc.) … sales people in general don’t know mattresses at all, and with the constant huge sale on mattresses you just know there’s a ridiculously high profit margin in the industry. I had a mattress sales person told me it’s normal for mattresses to sag after 5 years, that’s why you keep coming back to buy more (well, at least he is being honest with the mattress industry … )
My suggestion is why not give the bed-in-a-box stores a try? They all have a 100-ish days no questions asked return policy. If it doesn’t work out for you, you just return it.
And there are a good # of Canadian companies like Endy, Silk and Snow, Fleep that are Canadian based and ship from Canada. I just went to Silk and Snow store in Toronto today, the staff is super friendly, and very helpful. She knows mattresses and explains things to us very clearly not just about her mattress but mattresses in general. We’re very happy with the mattress as well as with the company, so we’re ordering their hybrid mattress to give it a try.
The Presto definitely looks interesting. I love ability to customize the mattress by simply unzipping it open and changing the layers. With that said, i have never laid on Dunlop latex mattress before. The stores i visited only have Talalay.
I have read the differences between the two in theory, but is the difference in comfort significant enough that someone could love one but despise the other or do they both feel similar enough, both of them being latex?
I realize it comes down to personal preference but i’m just wondering in general if that’s a frequent issue when shopping between Dunlop and Talalay.
As for my question regarding how long i should lay on a mattress to get a good idea if it’s a good fit for me, i meant more in-store. My guess is that i should lay no less than 10 to 15 minutes on a mattress to get a good idea if it’s a right fit for me.
As i mentioned, i haven’t had great experience trying out mattress in-store. I find it difficult to feel at ease in that setting but also i’m not sure what to pay attention to when laying on a bed for a short period of time. I am wondering if anyone has any advises so the next time i go try out mattress, i have more of a game plan.
Yes, the difference is significant as the dunlop is denser and firmer than the Talalay. One can say that dunlop is more like pound cake, while Talalay more like angel food cake. I suggest you go and try an Obasan in the Ottawa region, they carry organic dunlop latex mattresses. This will give you an idea of how dunlop latex feels and you’ll be in a better position to make a choice on your future mattress.
I visited Obasan and got a quote for a very nice queens mattress at $3800. I haven’t pulled the trigger on it and i’m pretty hesitant. The mattress was nice but i’m not sure i’m a fan of Dunlop latex. Also the price tag is not unreasonable but pretty steep for a mattress i am not convinced by. I believe i’d much prefer a softer Talalay with more contouring. They were selling an optional topper that did make the mattress more comfortable but i was shocked to find it’s 899 just for the topper alone (Organic Wool Mattress Toppers | Made in Canada | Obasan).
With that said, i can’t find anything online or in Ottawa for Talalay latex mattress with a good reputation? Matelas Lapensée has an all latex Talalay mattress but they are not really transparent and are insisting on selling their 1000 coil mattress instead (considerably more expensive than their 800 coils for some reason, justified?). Honestly had a hard time between the difference between their all latex and their coil mattress with 2 inches of latex on top. Overall i’m not convinced.
I am moving in a few days and it looks like i will be sleeping on an air mattress for the foreseeable future seeing as i can’t find anything convincing in the area.
Thank’s for following up with us on your Ottawa latex shopping experience. I agree with you that organic dunlop latex is more supportive and firmer than Talalay. In the end it all comes down to your PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) and your budget.
Did you know that HR foam (high resilience) has a similar feel to Talalay latex, especially in the the softer 12-20 ILD! You may want to try it out on your next shopping trip.
Thank you for your kind words.