Hello all and many thanks to the creator of this excellent site for all your help.
I am shopping for a mattress and leaning toward latex because it sounds like the perfect middle ground between pressure relief and support. We did like the foam feel that we felt in the store. Having that feel but also having support and being more springy so that it’s easier to move around sounds great. I also like the fact that it should be less hot. However if there is a foam mattress that reasonably meets these concerns I’d be more than happy to try that.
Me: 6’3", 210 lbs, combination of sleep positions but most often side sleeper. Sometimes stomach
Wife: 5’7", 125 lbs, combo sleeper
Based on some reading of the pages on this website, it sounds like I want a comfort layer that is on the thicker side. My wife likes a softer feel but of course I am a bigger guy so everything feels extra soft compared to what she feels. Therefore I think we should aim for the medium to slightly medium-soft range.
Is there anything else I should be thinking about?
I’d like some recommendations for either an online purchase or something local in the lower West Michigan area. I’d love to be able to pull the trigger on this purchase very soon without much more messing around! Looking at King or C-King or maybe Olympic Queen As for budget, I’d like to spend toward the lower end of the spectrum simply because we are young and I think we’ll be happy with anything of decent quality. But the more important thing to me is getting a good value (which is why websites like this are so great). Thank you very much in advance.
After some more poking around, I really like the sound of the DreamFoam mattresses on Amazon. I have a question about those – where do you select the firmness of the mattress like you are supposed to be able to do?
Other than that, the Aerus at Sam’s club is incredibly cheap and the NuForm on overstock seems interesting. What else am I leaving out?
As you have read … thicker/firmer would be the “norm” for someone who was heavier who also was a side sleeper … stomach sleeping has opposing needs though (thinner for better alignment and less risk of sleeping in a swayback position) so in cases like this … “just barely enough” would be the way to go. Zoning can also help with opposing needs. Because all the layers interact with each other … what works best for you will depend on the combination of materials (comfort and support layers) that are in the mattress but these are good guidelines that can be used as a beginning point subject to what your own testing shows is best. As a general guideline as well … if there is a choice between two mattresses that seem to be roughly equivalent … then a little firmer is usually “safer” than softer because the softness can always be improved but it’s much more difficult to “firm up” a mattress that is too soft and doesn’t provide adequate support.
A fairly thin layer of softer material (that you will tend to “go through” more) may help the same mattress work well for both you and your wife. She may “come to rest” more on the upper layers and feel more of the surface softness while you may come to rest more on the middle layers and the slightly deeper (and slightly firmer) softness.
You can do this either on the phone or in response to an email they will send you asking for your preference. This is also the time to let them know you are a member of “The Mattress Underground” so you will receive their free shredded latex pillow with your order.
I would normally recommend at least some local testing to get a better sense of your needs and preferences. I’m not sure exactly where in SE Michigan you are but post #273 here along with post #4 here may be helpful.
Thank you very much for the excellent local recommendations. I’m near Grand Rapids so it sounds like I have some great local options and Holland and Muskegon are also close. Will these options generally be more expensive than the online options or big box retailers?
This seems to describe the Dreamfoam mattress. I’m reading that it has a 1.5 inch “super soft reflex foam” and under that 3 inches of Talalay. Does that sound right?
this varies from place to place but in general, local manufacturers and in some cases better sleep shops will generally be in a similar value range (price comparisons are only valid if the quality and product is the same) of the better factory direct online outlets but this would depend on the specific outlets you are comparing and is only a generality. You may find an online outlet has a specific product with better value than you can find elsewhere while with other products the value at a local outlet may be better than anything else you could find. The better factory direct manufacturers and outlets will also usually have better value than the box stores although the box stores may occasionally have a particular mattress or product that is also good value. Their advantage is generally their refund policy which may make up for their lack of knowledge and ability to help a customer make their best choices.
Many local factory direct manufacturers or some of the better sleep shops have among the best value in the country in my experience and those that are close enough to some of the better ones (including the members here) are very fortunate. Value is also relative of course to what is important to each person outside of just price alone. Price comparisons are difficult unless two products are exactly the same so value comparisons (based on what is important to each person) are much more meaningful IMO and there are many local choices across the country which would be my first choice if I was in the area.
I was thinking more of an example (and this is an example only to make the point) of say 2" of 19 ILD latex over 2" of 28 ILD latex over a firmer support base. She may be fine with the 2" and a little bit of the middle layer while you would more “go through” the top 2" and use more of the the full 4" of the top and a bit of the support layer. The middle layer would be more of a transition layer for here (part comfort and part support) while it would be more of your comfort layer.
While the dreamfoam could work well (and local testing on similar mattresses would give you an indication of the differences between you in terms of needs and preferences) … the 1.5" of quilting foam is more of a “modifier” for surface feel than it is a separate comfort layer because even very light people would “go through” it to the layers below. She would still feel more of the upper layers though and you would feel more of the support layer. You would have a choice of firmness for the top layer and again local testing could help you determine the best “compromise” between you (and Chucks advice would also be helpful as well).