Overwhlemed, Hoping for some guidance, Leaning toward Latex

[phoenix]

Hi BCIARIWDC,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum!

I feel as though a firmer bed is better for me. My wife feels as though a softer bed is better for her. When she lays on a firmer mattress (on her side) she can feel that her back is tweaked a little and when she is on a more plush mattress, she seems to line up better. What are typically the best options that make for the best possible sleep for a stomach sleeper and a side sleeper?

There’s more information about popular levels of plushness for different sleeping positions in this article. It is common for side sleepers to prefer a bit more surface plushness, but this of course varies with the individual, their particular needs, somatotype, levels of flexibility, strength, sensitivities, pre-existing conditions, and so on. Stomach sleeping, which is the least recommended and “weakest” sleeping posture, generally requires a bit of a harder surface comfort.

We live in Southern NH. We went to Gardner mattress in Mass to test drive. Sales guy had all kinds of info on how great Gardner is, but did not know density or many specifics about the components

Gardner mattress is a site member here, and I do think highly of their products, their knowledge and the quality of their advice. When looking at the latex mattresses you were considering, you wouldn’t rate them by density. Latex (specifically Talalay) is described by ILD, and when you are testing a mattress locally then disclosing “comfort specs” such as ILD/IFD isn’t really necessary or even an important part of transparency because with careful testing your body will tell you much more about whether any specific combination of layers or components or any specific mattress is a good “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) than knowing the ILD/IFD of the individual layers regardless of what the actual numbers may be. In other words … I would consider ILD/IFD information to be a legitimate part of what many manufacturers consider to be “proprietary” information and it would be completely meaningless and only add to the confusion for most consumers anyway. You’d want to know about the latex layers on the inside, whether it is Talalay or Dunlop, and if it is natural, blended or synthetic. But overall you’d want to trust you impression of the product as it rates to your PPP more than anything, as most latex you’re likely to encounter will tend to be a good quality and durable material.

They had a 9" 100% talalay latex “Organic Harmony” bed there they he called “Medium” and my wife immediately said it was way too stiff. I kinda liked it the best. We tried their “Soft Support”(pocketed coils w/latex topper) and my wife liked the one that had the 3" talalay top. I preferred the same one but with a 2" talalay top because it was firmer and I did not feel like my center section was dipping into the mattress when I laid on my stomach.

It definitely seems that you are leaning toward a bit of a firmer feeling product and your wife a bit more plush, which would make sense based upon “averages” for people who sleep upon their stomach and side. One thing you may wish to consider moving forward would be a latex configurable mattress where you may have a firmer and softer feel on the left and right side of the same mattress.

not sure of anything that is good and also close to us in the seacoast NH area.

The closest site members to your location, besides Gardner Mattress, are:
Spindle
Yankee Mattress Factory
Comfort Sleep Solutions

You can perform a forum search on major towns in your area and see what other businesses have been discussed in that region which may be helpful to you.

I have discontinued the provision of 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 vetting and qualification process that is part of becoming an approved member 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 the be members here of The Mattress Underground.

Whatever business you’re considering, 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 you discover, feel free to post back on the forum and I’ll do my best to be assistive. And in case you haven’t read it yet, you may wish to browse through the mattress shopping tutorial here, as it provides quite a bit of good information about shopping for a mattress.

I have seen a lot of online sellers that I was tempted to try. Zenhaven, Nest, SleepEZ, but I really wish there was a way to try them somewhere. Then I get to thinking that just trying them for 10 minutes is probably useless.

Testing out a mattress in person, even for 10 minutes, can actually tell you quite a bit about your personal preferences for certain comforts and materials, as you did discover in your most recent visit to Gardner.

When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc.) 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. Post #2 here and this topic have more about the pros and cons of a local vs an online purchase.

Phoenix