I am so thankful for your website. Bless you for your time and effort to help so many people make the right purchase based on honest information and unbiased opinions.
My husband and I have been trying different mattresses over the last 5 months. We went from coil springs to memory foam and now the Sleep Number i8. All three did not work because they left body compressions within 2 months to a few years. Based on some research, it sounds like latex mattress would be the answer for us.
We were thinking of Astrabeds or Plushbeds because they seem comparable in what the have to offer. However, after reading one of your posts, we are scratching Astrabeds of our list. I believe you mentioned Sleep Ez as being a good company, but what are your thoughts and knowledge of Plushbeds? Do they really manufacture their own mattresses? Are there any other companies or brands that you would recommend?
Here are the important factors for us in deciding who to go with. (not in order of importance)
A true free trial period with no or little fees. Most companies require a return shipping fee which would be very costly due to the weight of the latex.
A truly organic latex mattress. Is there a difference between âall naturalâ vs. âorganicâ?
Great Warranty
Type of latex that will last a long time and will not sag. Is that even possible? Do all mattresses sag?
Excellent customer service
Weâve researched so many sites and are not sure which information is correct when it comes to going with all natural/organic Talalay or all natural Talalay and Dunlop combination. Is there a difference between âall naturalâ and âorganicâ My husband is a side sleeper and Iâm a back and side sleeper. What type of firmness do you recommend? I read somewhere that itâs important to get the right ILD for the core or lower layer to provide the right support? Is this correct?
Sorry for all the questionsâŚthis is a huge investment and we want to make the best decision based on true facts and honest opinion which we believe you are able to offer.
The first place to start your research is the tutorial post here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choices, know how and why to avoid the worst ones, and make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses.
Yes ⌠the tutorial post includes a link to some of the members here that sell latex mattresses online that include many different features, options, and in a wide range of budgets that would be well worth considering if you are looking at online latex mattresses.
A forum search on Plushbeds (you can just click this) will bring up more comments and feedback about them. They certainly use good quality materials with no weak links in their construction and would be a âbetter than averageâ choice compared to most mainstream options but I would make some very careful value comparisons with some of the other options you have available here that use the same or similar materials and offer more options and/or lower prices and donât spend as much on online advertising.
Each company that offers component mattresses has their own exchange policy which may be even more important than a return policy for people who know they like latex and only need to fine tune their mattress rather than return. They also have a good return policy and I certainly agree that itâs a good idea to factor both of these into the âvalueâ of the mattress purchase as of the important parts of each personâs personal value equation. They are certainly not alone in having good exchange and/or return policies. I should also mention that while it can be costly to return a whole mattress with a common carrier (they are too large to ship with courier), component mattresses that can be shipped through courier are much less costly to ship.
This depends entirely on what you mean by âa truly organic mattressâ since this is probably more of a marketing term than anything else. There is more about organic Dunlop latex in post #6 here and more about organic certifications in post #2 here and post #2 here that may help you decide if an organic latex certification or which level or organic certification may be worth the extra cost to you. Some of their mattresses include GOLS certified organic Dunlop but there isnât any certified organic Talalay and their mattress isnât made in an organic factory so it would be more accurate to say that some of their mattresses include some organic components.
Warranties are also mostly about marketing and have very little to do with the useful life of a mattress or how long you will sleep well on it before you need to replace it. Warranties only cover manufacturing defects which will generally happen very early in the life of a mattress ⌠not the gradual (or sometimes rapid) loss of comfort and support that will be the most likely reason you will need to replace any mattress. There is more about warranties in post #174 here but I would pay much more attention to the type and quality of the materials in a mattress than the length of a warranty.
While all foam materials will soften or impress to some degree over time but latex is the most durable of all the foam materials and will do so less and over a longer period of time than other types of foam materials such as memory foam or polyfoam (even if they are good quality) There is more about all the factors that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress in post #4 here and the other posts it links to. There is also more about the different types and blends of latex in this article and in post #6 here.
There are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved in terms of PPP for me (or anyone) to use only specs (yours or the mattress) or âtheory at a distanceâ to choose a mattress for someone else (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here). When you canât test a mattress in person for PPP then the best source of guidance would be more detailed phone conversations with the online retailer or manufacturer you are working with who know more about their mattresses, the options they have available, and which ones are likely to be the best âmatchâ for different people based on âaveragesâ than anyone else.
All the layers and components of a mattress including the comfort layers, any transition layers, and the support layers are an important part of choosing a mattress that is the best match for you in terms of PPP yes.
There may also be some local options available to you as well and if you let me know your city or zip code Iâd be happy to let you know of the better options or possibilities Iâm aware of in your area. Either way ⌠you have some very good options to choose from.
Thank you for the quick reply! I really appreciate your help and guidance during this process of searching foe the right bed. There is so much information that it can be eye overwhelming.
Based on some websites, 100% all natural Talalay offers more resilience so therefore it wonât sag, but then other sites say combination Dunlop is best because a Dunlop core/lower layer is great for support and longevity (no sag) and Talalay as the top layer for comfort. Which is true?
In your response below regarding comments and feedback on Plushbeds.com, you said to âyou can just click thisâ but I didnât see anything to click on. Unless I missed itâŚ
I read that you prefer blended Talalay or 100% Dunlop. Would you mind clarifying what you mean by âblended talalayâ? Do you mean that itâs part natural and part synthetic? If so, our concern with synthetic is that it produces a lot of off-gassing whether this is a true fact, Iâm not sure. This is why we were leaning towards 100% organic. We arenât wild about the cost of organic but we are concern about our health. We would consider all natural vs. organic but I think one of your posts said that synthetic latex has sand which does not provide a long lasting mattress. It is more prone to breaking down quicker. Is it true that the only difference between all natural latex and 100% organic is that the organic mattress has organic certifiications?
Does it matter how thick a mattress is? Do the less thicker ones (8-9") last longer and wonât compress as quickly as the 10-12"?
That would be great if you could provide some local retailers in our area so we can get a feel for the different latex combinations before making our purchase. Weâve checked out Pure Bliss Latex and really liked the 100% organic Talalay mattress (specifically the Sustain model). Besides the Pure Bliss Latex and Plushbeds.com, who else would you suggest we check out (online and local)? We live in Irvine, CA.
Neither one is âtrueâ and I would treat the choice between different types and blends of latex as a preference issue not a âbetter worseâ issue. Each one has advantages and disadvantages in certain applications and based on the preferences of different people. The resilience of latex has nothing to do with its durability and is only a measurement of how high a ball bounces when it is dropped on the material. There is more about the different types and blends of latex in this article and in post #6 here and there is more about the difference in the âfeelâ and performance of Dunlop and Talalay in post #7 here but the most effective way to know which one you prefer would be based on your personal experience. They are just different from each other.
The word âplushbedsâ (before the bracket that says âyou can just click thisâ) is a link that you can click that takes you to the results of a forum search.
Yes ⌠blended Talalay is latex that is made using the Talalay production process and uses a blend of 30% natural rubber and 70% synthetic rubber. You will also find 100% natural Talalay that doesnât use any synthetic rubber in the formula.
I personally would have no concerns with VOCâs or offgassing with any type of latex whether itâs Talalay or Dunlop and made from synthetic or natural rubber or a blend of the two. All the latex you are likely to encounter will have been certified by either Oeko-Tex or Eco-Institut for harmful substances or offgassing.
The only organic latex is Dunlop and itâs basically the same material with the same performance properties and durability as 100% natural Dunlop except it doesnât have the certification. There are some types of latex that do contain fillers which in some cases and depending on the amount and type of filler can reduce durability. Itâs not something you are likely to encounter in 100% natural Dunlop. Latex International uses some percentage of fillers in its Talalay but itâs still a very durable material and is used to add to the firmness of the Talalay and of course it can also reduce the cost of production.
You can read more about organic certifications and about organic Dunlop in post #2 here and the posts it links to.
The thickness of each layer and of the mattress itself is one of many factors that combine together that can affect the feel and performance of a mattress and which mattress may be a better match for someone in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). The type of materials, the firmness of the materials, and other specifics of a mattress design (including the cover) will have more effect on which one is a better match for you than thickness by itself. There is more about the effects of thickness in post #14 here. If the materials are exactly the same then outside of some small theoretical" advantage of a thicker mattress (because there is more material to absorb compression forces) in âreal lifeâ thickness wouldnât be a durability issue.
Some of the better options and possibilities Iâm aware of in the Greater Los Angeles area are listed in post #2 here.