I have found the info on thid site very helpful and decided to replace our crappy (but expensive and only 5 years old) innerspring mattress with a latex mattress. My options are limited as in Nova Scotia I have found no independent latex mattress builders and many online shops do not ship to Canada one shipping costs are crazy. I did narrow my choices to two possibilities and would feedback on which may be better and if either are even a good choice. This will be a queen sized mattress. My husband and I are160 and 190 lbs, side sleepers and he has shoulder and knee pain.
Option 1: Factory Direct Mattress Shopping Specials | Foamite Mattresses the special on the top of the page, Latex Hybrid. I am no sure if I should be considering the med or meld firm. I am a little nervous about the memory foam core and side guards as my original idea was all latex but the company felt this was a great product when I talked to them.
As you can see in mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here … I’m happy to speak to the quality of a mattress or help you make value comparisons but comfort choices should always be based on either your own personal testing or on more detailed conversations with a manufacturer or retailer that makes or sells a mattress you are considering. There are too many variables and unknowns to use “theory at a distance” to choose a mattress based on height, weight, and sleeping position information unless you aren’t able to test a mattress in person in which case the manufacturer or retailer would have the most personal experience and information about the mattresses they make or sell and can use the “averages” of their customers to provide some guidance to help you choose between the options they offer.
They certainly do use good quality materials (latex and polyfoam) in their mattresses but they are also in a higher budget range than other manufacturers that use the same or higher quality materials (such as all latex). They also only have one firmness level available for their latex as far as I know (at least when I last talked with them). They would certainly be better quality and value than a mainstream mattress made by a major manufacturer though.
You can read more of my thoughts about Foam by Mail in post #2 here and post #2 here. They don’t sell Talalay latex in spite of what they say and advertise. I would be very cautious before buying anything from them.
I’m not sure where you are in the Nova Scotia but if you are near the Halifax / Dartmouth area then post #3 here may be helpful.
Post #21 here also includes a list of some online manufacturers or retailers that ship to Canada which has some good options including some of the members of this site.
After much searching and consideration, we have a new latex mattress and platform bed. I want to thank you for your time and input. I was not able to source any latex in Nova Scotia and shipping/duty costs from the US suppliers were quite high. However, I located, and would highly recommend, Sleepers and Waterbed Gallery in Ottawa. Joe there was able to order in the natural latex foam I needed from a Canadian supplier and recommended a great cover. He took the time to pack the mattress extremely well for travel and arranged delivery to NS. I was pleased with quality of the product, price and service so would suggest Joe be one of the sources you recommend to Canadians
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There is actually no duty on shipments across the border … only shipping costs, GST, and a brokerage fee (which varies by shipping method and is not usually significant) although the shipping from the US is higher. In most cases the costs are reasonable especially with some manufacturers who ship to Canada regularly and have worked out the lowest cost way to ship their mattresses and components.
I’d certainly be happy to talk with them to find out how much information they are able to provide about their mattresses and to get a sense of the value they offer. They sell mostly Springwall and Marshall Mattress on their online sites (outside of waterbeds and airbeds) which are both long term Canadian independent manufacturers. Marshall Mattress actually invented the marshall coil (pocket coil) which is where the name came from. They don’t list any latex on their sites so it’s good to hear they can supply this.
It would be helpful if you could let us know the layers and components that are in the mattress you purchased and the price you paid to get a sense of how well they compare to other options.
If everything looks good then it would certainly be worth adding them to the Ottawa list and to the online list for Canada as well.
I talked with Joe today at Sleepers Mattress in Ottawa (aka the waterbed gallery) and they are one of the Sleepers franchisees but they are independent and don’t offer the same Marshall and Springwall mattresses that are listed on the main Sleepers Mattresses sites and have their own component design (as you know).
I’ve included them in the Ottawa list here and when they list the current designs they offer on their website (which he thought would be about a month) he will call me and I will also list them in the online list for Canada as well.
Thanks for the heads up … and it’s great to see another good option for Canada
NOTE added April 23, 2014: Their phone number is out of service and they appear to be out of business so I’ve removed them from the Ottawa list.
