Our Spindle mattress purchase & some foundation questions.

[phoenix]

Hi HoosierDaddy,

Thanks for taking the time to share such detailed feedback about Spindle Mattress. As they mentioned they will very soon be listed as an “official” member here and I believe they certainly have some great quality and value.

Lastly, the accessible layers meant they could be flipped and/or rotated. I may be wrong but that seemed like it could extend the life of the mattress.

It turn out that with the firm mattress, all three layers of latex are identical. So if flipping is a benefit, we will have 6 identical topmost surfaces available.

Yes … this can extend the life of the layers. You can also re-arrange the layers if they are all the same firmness (reverse the order) because the top layers of a mattress will soften faster than the deeper layers.

One question I didn’t think to ask at the time was why three 3" layers instead of the more common 3" top layer over a 6" bottom layer for a 9 or 10" mattress? Maybe Phoenix can explain. I suppose its possible that this requires fewer total different components needed to make all firmness levels.

3x3" layers provides more layering and design choices than having only two layers because you can re-arrange or exchange layers in more ways. For some people who are more sensitive or may need more fine tuning with their mattress it can add value to the mattress purchase that is worth any additional complexity or cost vs a similar two layered mattress. You can read more about the potential benefits of having more layers in post #2 here.

I was a little uncomfortable with them being such a new company (less than a year). That meant there were not much in the way of reviews, plus new businesses are more likely to fold rendering any warranty meaningless. But it turns out Spindle is a branch/subsidiary of WJ Southard which has been making their own and private label mattresses for stores for decades. Spindle is their internet sales arm although none of the products are identical.

As you mentioned … Spindle itself is quite new but they have some deep roots in the industry. I normally wouldn’t consider a new company for membership here but I don’t consider them to be “new” because of their connection to Sleepmaster/WJ Southard and their many years of experience in manufacturing mattresses. They are clearly “mattress people”.

But there was ONE exception and that was I had not come across info on pure synthetic latex mattresses which an Abscond in firm would be,

I didn’t want to be worrying about it the whole time I owned the mattress, so I called back first thing in the morning and changed the order to Natural latex. I suspect either would have performed and lasted about the same but I went for the peace of mind.

You are right that all latex … including synthetic … is a durable material but natural latex is more elastic and is a higher performance (and more costly) material than synthetic latex has and IMO would likely have an edge in both peformance and durability. Although the testing done by mountaintop foam which makes the latex doesn’t show any significant difference between them … testing and real life don’t always agree so I’m still a little skeptical although I do agree that synthetic latex is still a good quality material. I think that the firmest versions of synthetic latex (firmer than the C3 which is the firmest layer they use) would certainly be less durable and more prone to impressions than their equivalent in natural latex. You can read more about some of the differences between natural and synthetic latex in post #2 here. Unless a limited budget was the most important factor … I would choose natural over synthetic with Dunlop.

So I still need to buy a foundation. Since its upstairs and may need to be shipped, I am leaning toward a KD but would go postal if it started squeaking on me. I understand many of them are prone to that. And most of them have too much space between the slats. And lastly most seem to include a cover that goes over the slats.

The foundation thread here has several KD foundations that have gaps less than 3" and would be suitable for a latex mattress and I haven’t heard any negative feedback about squeeking (which can usually be fixed anyway).

I understand the reasons for slats opposed to a solid surface is so the latex can breath. Doesn’t a cover negate most or much of that ability to breath? And if so, can the covers be cut to expose the slats without it falling apart?

No … a fabric cover isn’t an issue if its breathable and can also be a benefit because it can protect the mattress from any splinters or sharp edges from the slats. It can also enhance the appearance of the foundation as a side benefit.

And since these foundations all are being sold as excellent for foam mattresses, why do 90+% of them have gaps that exceed the mattress manufacturer recommendations for size? Yeah, I get that non latex mattresses can get by with bigger gaps but it makes no sense (to me) they they all don’t have an option of more slats. When I asked one (the most commonly sold) manufacturer if they offered additional slats, either more tightly spaced slats on the positioning strips or just loose, the answer was no, and came with a comment that you couldn’t even make your own slats and add them. That makes no sense to me because the slats seem to just rest on a ledge that runs the full length of the side rails. Is there ANY reason you can’t just roll the ones that came with it out but bunched them up closer and then added more slats at the end. I realize none would then not be held in place by the strip that they come attached to, but couldn’t they just be screwed to the ledges to keep them from moving?

This is probably because the majority of foam mattresses use polyfoam as the base layer and not latex so they are made to be suitable for the majority of mattresses they are used with at the lowest possible cost. I don’t see any reason that you can’t replace or add to the slats if you secure them to the foundation (although I would probably just buy a slat KD foundation that already had appropriate slats).

Spindle offered to sell me two for a good price and pay for the freight shipping (and sending the mattress in the same shipment). I am tempted to do that if nobody sees any downside of bolting them together to make a single foundation. I would worry them making noises if left unattached. Has anyone done that (bolted together)? I need to decide that by Monday morning because the mattress is due to be shipped then (was delayed by my change from blended to natural latex).

I don’t see any problem in doing this and most king size foundations are a split twin anyway that fit together into the bedframe (they don’t make king size wood foundations because they are too big to move around corners or up stairs).

Thanks again for the feedback and most of all … congratulations on your new mattress

Phoenix