Overwhelmed by Options: Have to Purchase Online

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Hello–I am in overwhelmed with mattress choices (and reading about them), health considerations, not a big budget, and in a part of the country with few mattress showrooms. Can you help me narrow things further to a manageable set of choices, or I will never buy a new mattress?

I am tall female, 5’8", 160 lbs. I have mixed mattress needs of a much lighter weight tall skinny person from the waist up and a much heavier average height person from the waist down. I have a long (bony) neck, torso, and arms AND a heavier bone structure in hips and legs. A bad mattress sinks too much in the hips and bum area, so throws off everything else.

After months of research, I’m stuck on a few key factors:

A. Narrowed* to one of these three options–because I sleep hot, have hypermobile joints, sensitive pressure points, and chemical smells really bother me:
(1) 100% latex,
(2) Latex hybrid, OR
(3) Inner spring mattress PLUS a high quality 2-3" Talalay latex topper.
*Based on months of online reading, plus trying mattresses at Macy’s and Mathis Bros. showrooms (not many other options here):
-100% Latex sounds good in theory.
-Liked ecocomfort Champlain at Mathis Bros. w/ 2" talalay latex + other foams below. Pricey at $1700 for little latex. Concerned about synthetics.
-Did not like memory foam. Feels too hard against my skin.
-Liked a $$$$ Tempurpedic hybrid but not as much as the ecocomfort; did NOT like Serta iComfort Hybrid.

B. WEBSITES WITH REVIEWS (Consumer Reports, yours, SleepLikeTheDead, etc., etc.) Consumer Reports shows just one latex mattress and has almost nothing on hybrids. (Sleep on Latex Pure Green Firm.) I’m in a blur from the others at this point.

C. Can a great mattress really come rolled up in a box? I know a lot about marketing, so for me, winning an award for marketing (what Saatva touts) is completely irrelevant, even suspect, as meaning or saying anything about the quality of their mattresses. So many of them tout the “hip-ness” of receiving a bed rolled up in a box, but I truly need a great mattress that will work for me for as long as possible and won’t bankrupt me now.

D. I want a vendor with a low risk/cost return policy as latex and hybrids are new to me. Costco has the best return policy, but I don’t see much info about their hybrid and latex mattresses (Spring Air hybrid and Sleep Science latex).

E. PHYSICAL ISSUES. I need a mattress that is like what I’ve worked out for my pillow–a soft contoured foam pillow on top of a much harder foam contoured pillow. I need to be held in place AND cushioned softly at the same time. I need the hard one to hold the s-curve, and the soft one to cushion my skin. I need the same in a mattress for my back.
(1.) I have hypermobile joints so need a firm layer of support that contours and holds me in place. A lot of adjusting during the night creates friction in joints, so best to be able to get in a comfortable position and stay there.
(2) I ALSO need a soft cushiony layer on top because of sensitive pressure points. Too hard a top layer and my skin falls asleep and hurts.
(3) I have to sleep on my back or my shoulders compress and my arms fall asleep.

I would grately/deeply appreciate help narrowing this down. If you refer me to other responses, please no more than 2-3. Ok? I am going snow blind with all the reading. There’s a great TED Talk by Barry Schwartz about the stress created by too many choices. If only I was buying a car in the days of the Model T when the choices all were black!!!

THANK YOU!!!

JZJ

2

Hi JZJ,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

I can help with information about “how” to choose a mattress, but not “what” 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 about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience.

Regarding limiting links, you’re asking quite a few questions here, and it isn’t possible to address all your concerns without linking to various sources, and this thread will be visited by others doing their own research, but I’ll attempt to make my replies to you in a more concise manner and then if you should desire to “flush out” those responses you can always investigate further by clicking upon any hyperlinked material.

This mattress is all polyfoam except for 2" of Talalay latex on top. There is no meaningful information about the density of the foams used in the mattress on their web site, and you would need to find out that information before being able to make an educated decision about that mattress. The information you need to learn about is listed here. I’m not sure if you’re interested in learning about “What’s Safe Enough For Me”, as it is a bit of a complex subject, but if you are there’s more information here. Latex will be the foam that tends to pass the more “strict” safety certifications, so you may want to stick with that as you mentioned earlier.

While Consumer Reports may be a good source of information about more “objective” purchases, I would consider them to be an unreliable source of information or guidance about purchasing a mattress and their “ratings” are somewhat nonsensical and meaningless. My thoughts are also shared by most of the more knowledgeable people in the industry (see post #5 here for an example). You can read more if you like in post #2 here and in this topic. Review sites that amalgamate mattress reviews from all around the internet, such as Sleep Like The Dead, and then “rate” mattresses (and other products) based on these amalgamated reviews, don’t take into account the quality of materials within a mattress and also are not a reliable manner in which to select a mattress. That’s one of the reasons that this site isn’t a mattress review site, and instead focuses upon teaching how to select a mattress.

Yes, it is possible.

Agreed, marketing doesn’t tell you anything about quality or durability.

Many online vendors will have generous exchange/return policies, and you’ll want to confirm those policies before considering any purchase.

Because of your physical issues, a detailed phone conversation with any company you are considering will be your best starting point. Their detailed knowledge of their mattresses and how they fit with different body types and sleeping positions along with your feedback from local testing, a customer base of many people that they can use as reference points, and any exchange, return, or any options they have available to customize a mattress after a purchase can help lower the risk of an online purchase. They can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs, options, and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.

Per your earlier supposition, latex could be a good choice for you with its ability to provide pressure point relief, offer good surface support and have the ability to pass more “strict” VOC and harmful substance testing. A good place to start your online searching would be to use the experience and expertise of the members listed in post #21 here who are all very experienced and knowledgeable and specialize in providing the type of help and guidance on the phone that can help you make good choices. There are a wide range of latex options included in the choices there and I believe that all of them compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, and transparency.

Overall, I’ve tried to keep the responses more simple and direct, and I hope that all of this is helpful to you in your mattress search. If you come up with more specific questions, please let me know.

Phoenix

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Hi Phoenix,

Thank you for your quick reply!! The information you provided is very helpful in focusing my efforts and thinking. Much appreciated!!!

JZJ

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Hi JZJ,

I’m glad the information was helpful and not too overloaded. I did my best to keep it focused.

Phoenix