Please help! Need some guidance searching for a new mattress.

Mattress Talk General Mattresses Questions
1

Hey everyone, I appreciate any help that you can offer here- Mattress shopping has been a real pain for me lately, and I really need some guidance.

To start, I live in the Austin, TX area. 78701

My wife and I have had a TempurPedic “Rhapsody” mattress for the past 9 years. It was never ideal for either of us, more of a compromise due to the large difference in our weights at the time (I would have liked a firm mattress, she would have liked a soft one, so we ended up in the middle).

I’ve since lost weight and am now 153 lbs at 5"8", while she is 110 lbs at 5"4". We are looking for a mattress that will suit us better, as the TempurPedic is too firm for us both at this point. We are both side sleepers.

I did some research and became interested in latex mattresses- I liked the hypoallergenic, cooler sleep, and durable qualities it seems to offer. Arizona Premium Mattress seemed like a great way to buy one for an affordable price, assuming we could figure out what firmness level we liked. Austin Natural Mattress carried some locally, so we went to check them out.

We really liked their “Posh and Lavish: Refine”, and worked with Arizona Premium Mattress to determine what a similar configuration would be. In the end, we opted for the following:

Her side:
3" 14 ILD Talalay
3" 28 ILD Talalay
6" 32ILD Talalay

My side:
3" 19 ILD Talalay
3" 28 ILD Talalay
6" 32 ILD Talalay

We put a flexible cotton-knit mattress shell on it to hold the layers in place, a flexible cotton-knit mattress protector around that, and then our sheets.

It didn’t feel anything like the P&L Refine. We both experienced shoulder pressure immediately, and pain by morning. We tried changing it up, putting all the soft layers on one side:

3" 14 ILD
3" 19 ILD
6" 32 ILD

My wife slept on this for a few days. This felt much more like the Posh+Lavish, and it helped with the shoulder pressure, but now she was experiencing lower back soreness (never an issue before). I slept on it, and experienced the same thing. Seems like we weren’t getting enough support. I reached out to Arizona Premium Mattress to ask for some direction and was told to try the following:

3" 19 ILD
3" 14 ILD
6"32 ILD

This yielded the same results. No shoulder pressure, but lower back pain the next morning. I researched the issue and found that we should be looking at our spinal alignment, which should be horizontal and straight. For both of us, our spine was at a significant angle sloped down towards the hips. It’s a straight line, but definitely angled. We went back to the local store to lay on the Posh+Lavish, and there we see the same thing. It feels good, but apparently isn’t supportive enough for us.

We switched back to the original, progressive firmness configuration, and all Arizona Premium Mattress can tell me is to give it time.

After a few more days of shoulder pain and side soreness for us both, we tried removing our percale sheets. This offered some relief. Apparently, a latex mattress requires extremely flexible sheets (like jersey) to allow your body to conform properly to the latex?

In the end, however, it just isn’t enough. Three weeks into this, I’m still waking up at 2-3 AM nightly from shoulder pain, unable to go back to sleep. My wife is in the same boat. We’ve tried a few different pillows of different loft- nothing seems to help.

I went back online to search for alternate options, and found this site. Based on the advice here, I found Urban Mattress in Austin, and we went in with an open mind. Based on their suggestions, we zeroed in on their pocketed coil + high resiliency foam mattress line, the “Silver Lake” and the “Uptown”

Both felt incredible to me, and my wife preferred the “Uptown.” After laying on it for about 15-20 minutes, there’s no shoulder pressure, and our spines are not sloped down. For both of us there is a SLIGHT incline up from the shoulder blades to the neck, but shoulder blades to hip we both look flat parallel with the mattress.

From what I can tell, the Uptown is built from quality materials. Urban Mattress discloses everything that goes into the mattress, which is the following:

Outer: Stretch-knit fiber over 2 layers of 1.5 inch Certi-pur 3 lb HR Cold Foam
Comfort: 2 inches of 3 lb Certi-pur 3 lb High Resiliency foam; 2.5 inch 1353 micro-coils
Support: Firm: 884 6 inch pocketed coil 14.5/13.5 gauge / Plush: 884 8 inch pocketed coil with quantum edge 15.5/13.5 gauge

My questions at this point:

Is $3,000 a reasonable price for this mattress? Is this price typically negotiable from a place like Urban Mattress? I’m not trying to run a local shop out of business- I simply want to pay a fair price for a quality mattress.

Should I check out other options? If so, what? It seems like every other store in Austin is a Mattress Firm selling only Serta, Sealy, Simmons, etc.

Are not-so-flexible sheets going to greatly impact the feel of any plush mattress, the way we have experienced with this latex mattress? I don’t want to be required to use Jersey sheets just so I can enjoy a plush mattress properly (I’m not really a fan).

How does an inner-spring mattress like this fair in terms of controlling allergies and sleeping cool?

I’m afraid of rushing into a second mattress purchase and regretting it, as I have with this latex mattress. So, should I be looking for something else to compare the Urban Mattress “Uptown” to, and if so, where? I literally cannot find any other reputable looking mattress shops in Austin.

All advice is welcome. Thanks for help!

2

Hey Strata5,

Welcome to the Mattress Underground :slight_smile: ! Thanks for your question.

Congrats on your new mattress shopping journey and weight loss, Strata5 :slight_smile: ! It only takes a few pounds in one direction or another to impact sleeping issues such as sleep apnea and pressure point soreness (you don’t mention either of those in particular, but other consumers who are following your posts may have that experience), so hopefully you are enjoying some positive rest benefits from that.

Congrats on your new mattress purchase :slight_smile: ! Thank you for your support of Arizona Premium Mattress, long-time trusted member of the TMU. I regard them highly in terms of product knowledge and quality construction.

For brevity, I won’t address your first split layering arrangement as it changes several times during your post. Regarding sheets, it is worth noting that Talalay latex’s lively responsive “feel” could be influenced by the type sheets, mattress protector, etc. that are used over the mattress as they can potentially make the bed feel firmer. Generally speaking, the more layers of coverings between you and the Talalay comfort layer, the less you will “feel” Talalay latex’s pressure relieving qualities.

If you are sinking into the mattress more in the hip area, it seems as though while the plush 19 ILD/ super plush 14 ILD comfort layers are relieving shoulder point pain, their softness is allowing your hips to bottom out onto the firm 32 ILD support layer, resulting in the angled spinal alignment. From a dealer’s Posh + Lavish Refine mattress’s description, it is referred to as “the softest model in our collection” one of both Talalay and Dunlop latex construction. Perhaps an all latex mattress, after coming from years of sleeping on a TempurPedic memory foam mattress has been a bit of a transition in terms of alignment for you both.

After years of sleeping on a firm TempurPedic memory foam mattress, your body would require a bit of a “sleep adjustment” period for the quite different response of talalay latex. It can take anywhere from 30- 45 days for a body’s alignment to adapt to any new mattress’s feel, one of the reasons many manufacturers now offer 100 day “risk free” sleep trials to consumers.

As mentioned above, the type sheets or other protective coverings added to a mattress, especially a latex mattress can increase the feel of firmness as your body is further separated by the latex’s uplifting “feel”, depending on their thickness or relative size to the overall mattress dimensions.

Good to hear that you’re also trying different pillow configurations, Strata5. New pillows/ different pillow arrangements are often ignored in the new mattress shopping process and can definitely have an impact on the overall sleep experience. Thinking of a new mattress purchase more in terms of a “sleep system” and replacing all of those parts at the same time when possible can dramatically improve overall sleep quality. It is disappointing that despite all your efforts, neither layering arrangements nor different pillows are easing your pressure point pain.

While microcoils are more expensive than lower grades of polyfoam that can be used in the upper layers of a mattress, they are less expensive than a good quality foam like HR polyfoam, latex, or high-quality memory foam. Microcoils also have a high level of resilience and point elasticity and like latex or HR polyfoam can provide support to the recessed areas of the body that are not in direct contact with the support layers of the mattress. They are also more durable and less prone to body impressions than the lower quality foams that are often used in mattresses. You can read more of Phoenix’s thoughts in the article"Mattress comfort Layers: Microcoils". The $3,000 price tag seems a little steep for a foam/ coil on coil construction, a google search indicates pricing starting around $1,599 for a king size. I am not familiar with either Urban Mattress or their product line, but you should always ask whether any discounts are available where ever you shop as some manufacturers are willing to negotiate a little.

You could ask Urban Mattress who they may recommend as a source for a second opinion; that would also give you a better feel for their customer service ethic as a reputable manufacturer would always strive to serve the customer’s best interest.

Jersey fabrics or other softer synthetic materials are not necessarily required for latex mattresses. Of more concern would be to use fitted/ flat sheets, mattress protectors with the correct overall dimensions for your mattress components. Those with a closer, snug fit would firm up the feel of the mattress. Ask questions and seek advice regarding sheets, mattress protectors, etc. of the manufacturer whose mattress you purchase as they have the knowledge of what type materials perform best for their products and often carry ones supported by their product warranty.

From Urban Mattress’s web site, their polyfoams are Certi-Pur US certified, which should indicate they are free from VOC’s and possible harmful chemicals. I have no personal knowledge of their mattresses and cannot comment on any potential allergy risks but if that is a concern, try a site search of the TMU forum and see if other consumers have shared their experiences with Urban Mattress products. As far as sleeping cool, that would be more a function of the HR foam comfort layers rather than the pocket coil innerspring support layer. For a better understanding of the functions of an innerspring mattress, Phoenix’s article “Mattress Support Cores: Innersprings” as well as “Different Types and Categories of Mattresses” are both informative.

Again, consider asking Urban Mattress who they recommend in the area that would offer like mattresses of interest. Good job on all of your product testing, layering research and store visits, Strata5. You are getting closer to solving your comfort/ support preferences, keep up the good work :wink: .

Thanks,
Sensei