Question on muli-layer latex and re-arranging them (and confusion on selecting them)

I’ve been doing a ton of research and this site is fantastic. I’m convinced that latex is the way I want to go. I initially had found the Habitat furnishings page, and then read Phoenix’s opinion that their quality is good, but the price/customizability options don’t make it a good “value”.

I live in Northern Vermont, so I’m not aware of any “local” companies that carry latex mattresses, so I’m going to have to fly blind from a comfort perspective. When checking out local mattresses, my wife and I seem to prefer one “firmness level” different. I like a deeper comfort level and she like it just one notch firmer. Of course, this is just us laying on a brand new mattress for 15-20 minutes, and getting a perception of what feels good. None of these were latex either.

After reading the guidelines, I think with latex we might be compatible with the same comfort layer, as we are both average weight, but I"m a predominantly side sleeper, and I think she is predominantly a back sleeper, but she is also very curvy, so when she does sleep on her side, she’ll need that support. (In fact, she may really be a side sleeper, but doesn’t because her shoulder goes numb on the current crappy mattress we have… it’s a pillow top mattress, which of course is comfortable for all of about 8 months before it start having dips).

Which brought me back around to she might actually need a deeper comfort layer than me, and yet she seems to like firmer beds when we lay on a bed. This has put me in a spot that I really can’t figure out what I should get.

I was looking at a Sleep EZ, which I can then pick different layers for the two of us. The claim is that you can move these layers around until you get something that feels right. I’m a little confused as to how this would really work. Lets say I get the 10000 line, and get firm, medium, and soft layers (all 3"). We try it out in that setup, and then my wife decides she really wants something firmer, and we make her side, and we swap the top soft layer for the Medium middle so now it would be firm, soft, medium (looking from the bottom up of course). Wouldn’t that kind of screw up the support system (having a soft layer under a medium layer?). Or, are you really going for a differential setup, and not progressive, so the lower layers have less effect and as long as they are “close” in density, your fine.

If that is the case, would I be best going with the 10000 so I have three layers that are all 3" deep, or would the 9000 be sufficient?
One last question is there any issue with these “systems” where your just layering latex with respect to the layers shifting once you have the bed together (or separating int he middle over time, so you have to reposition them)? It will be king size

If anyone knows of a latex outlet in VT let me know (My zip code is 05452).

Thx!

Greg

Hi connerfamily,

Without personal testing the best way to choose your layers is based on a conversation with the manufacturer who will provide you with suggestions based on the “averages” for people that are similar to you.

The only layering combination I would avoid in the long term would be a soft layer on the bottom. The rest are all possibilities as long as they provide you with good PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences). For some people a layering that is medium over soft over firm would work very well … for others it wouldn’t. Normally the soft would stay on top for those who liked the surface softness for better pressure relief and you would move the firm up one level to change the support if that was necessary (or exchange for a firmer layer to replace one of the lower layers). If you wanted to create a firmer sleeping surface then you could put the medium on top and then the firm and the soft on the bottom (temporarily because the bottom layer has the least effect on the surface feel) and if this worked better then you could exchange the soft on the bottom for a medium or a firm. Everything depends on whether you are trying to change the comfort/pressure relief (upper layers) or the support/alignment (deeper layers) and how you want to shift the balance between these two basic functions.

If you test mattresses locally and you find that a 2" softer layer over firmer layers works best for you then the 9000 would be a good choice. If you are a primary stomach sleeper and didn’t sleep on your side or back and thought you wanted a comfort layer that was thinner and closer to the firmer layers (because of the alignment risk of stomach sleeping) then the 9000 may also be a good choice. Of course these are just two possibilities and there is more information about some of the basic “theory” in the mattresses section of the site which has more information about different types of layering and designs but I would tend to just talk with the manufacturer themselves who already knows what you would otherwise have to learn. Your own personal testing and more detailed conversations with SleepEz who know more about their own mattresses and which design “in theory” tends to work best for different types of sleeping styles and body types than anyone else is the best way to answer the types of questions that are about which design or layering combination would work best for you.

Latex is sticky and doesn’t tend to shift or separate once it’s in place (and the cover also fits tightly around the layers) so this isn’t an issue in normal use but if for some reason they do (because you moved the mattress or turned in on its side etc) then it’s easy to unzip the mattress and “wave” the layers back into position.

The most important part of any online purchase is to make sure you talk with any manufacturer you are considering and ask them all the questions that are important to you.

You are in somewhat of a “mattress desert” but the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area are listed in post #4 here. A few other lists that are further away are listed in post #5 here.

Phoenix

Thank you for the quick response! I’ll definitely call them and discuss.

Thx again!