Retailer in 61820?

[phoenix]

Hi longtimematspring,

Thanks for the update and for sharing your experience … I appreciate it.

Denver Mattress Co. – They claimed they made an all-latex mattress but didn’t have it in the showroom. They told me to check their website for information on their all-latex mattress, but I couldn’t find one on their website.

They don’t make an “all latex mattress” but they do make a “mostly latex mattress” which you can see here. The same base mattress is available with either a 3" memory foam topper or a 3" latex topper. I would avoid the memory foam because it’s only 3 lb density which is lower quality/density than I would consider but either by itself or with the 3" latex topper there is only an inch of lower quality materials (the 1.35 lb memory foam) which is inside the quality/durability guidelines here which suggest "no more than about an inch or so of lower quality/density materials in the upper layers of a mattress) so there would be no weak links in this mattress.

Lebeda Mattress Factory– They carry and had one all-latex mattress in their showroom. The two-sided mattress was made out of 8 inches of 24 ILD Talalay latex with a bamboo cover.

Latex is made in a 6" molded core and doesn’t come in 8" layers so I suspect that the top layer may be 24 ILD and the deeper support layer would probably be a firmer 6" layer but if the mattress only contains 8" of latex (and you have confirmed that the mattress is about 8" thick or possibly just a bit thicker to account for the thickness of the cover and any quilting in the cover) then there would be no lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress.

I weigh about 180 pounds and am about 6 feet tall. The mattress was soft and pleasant. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. This being my first latex mattress. What I didn’t expect: if I jumped onto the mattress or moved up and down forcefully, I would hit the bottom. The mattress was on plywood. I’m not sure what was underneath. So… in the end, I was surprised at how normal a latex mattress feels, but also surprised at how I could hit the bottom.

Jumping on a mattress isn’t part of the mattress testing I would normally suggest since it won’t tell you anything about how well you will sleep on a mattress (and it could be particularly misleading if you are “butt bombing” a mattress because not only would you be applying the additional force of jumping but you would also have most of your weight concentrated in a much smaller surface area which would compress the mattress much more deeply than you would when you sleep on it) but if “normal” or even “vigorous” movement causes you to feel like the mattress is bottoming out then it could either be too soft or it could be too thin,

Bender Mattress Factory – This place was interesting. The showroom wasn’t fancy, but they had many models on the floor. The most interesting part was the same building contained their small factory. The Sales Manager I interacted with said they had something like six employees. Even he helps build mattresses. He went on the say the owner delivers most of the mattresses. The factory wasn’t building anything when I was there, but the “salesperson” gave me a quick tour. Most of the components in the mattresses you could see and touch. He was extremely nice in a not salesperson kind of way.

On their floor, they had a two-sided three zone mattress with 7 to 7 1/2 inches of 32-34 ILD Talalay latex depending on the zone. Over the core, they had 2 inches of 2.0 quilted foam (It is a multi-layered affair.) on either side. I guess, the foam disqualifies the mattress from being all-latex. This mattress felt more substantial in a good way, but I’m disappointed I didn’t get to try another all-latex mattress.

It’s very common to have a relatively thin layer of quilting foam in the cover of a latex mattress and there are many people that prefer the slightly lower resilience and surface “feel” compared to sleeping more directly on the more resilient latex itself. There is more about quilting layers in post #12 here and the posts it links to. All of the materials in this mattress are high quality and durable materials (including the 2 lb polyfoam which is a higher density than you would normally find in quilting layers) and it would also have the additional durability benefits of any two sided mattress (see post #3 here). There are no lower quality materials or weak links in this mattress either.

I certainly wouldn’t be “disappointed” with a mattress that uses a quilted cover if it’s a good “match” for you in terms of PPP.

I should also add since Bender has their own onsite factory. They will custom make mattresses - unique sizes, swapping specific components to request… So, the mattress I tried out could be made with a latex instead of foam top with an organic cotton cover. They also will just fix stuff if something goes wrong on one of their mattresses. Just a matter of getting it to the factory and back. I don’t mean to sound like an advertisement, but I was impressed.

One of the benefits of dealing with a manufacturer is that they can often customize the mattress before a purchase and they can also make some fine tuning adjustments after a purchase as well if your mattress doesn’t turn out to be as good a “match” for you as you hoped for once you actually sleep on it.

I wish I would have found more all-latex mattresses. Since I found a model with soft latex, I really wanted to try something with firmer latex. I really like to try things out before I buy or at least, very similar things. I’m hesitant to try an online seller until I have more experience. I’m really intrigued by something like Brooklyn Bedding’s Best Mattress Ever or at the higher-end, something like SleepEZ’s 2 or 3 interchangeable layer mattresses.

I would keep in mind that all the layers and components in a mattress (the type and blend of latex or other materials in each layer, the firmness of each layer, and the thickness of each layer) will affect the feel and performance of every other layer in a mattress and the mattress as a whole and that you will usually find softer latex in the top comfort layers of a mattress and then firmer layers in the deeper support core.

There is more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between “support” and “pressure relief” and “feel”.

Verlo may also carry latex or latex hybrid mattresses on their floor but I don’t keep a record of the individual mattresses that the retailers and manufacturers in the hundreds of forum lists throughout the forum carry on their floor (it would be a bigger job than anyone could keep up with in a constantly changing market) so you may need to call them to find out if they carry any latex or latex hybrid mattresses although their nearest location is some distance away from you.

It also appears that Mattress Depot is now closed so I’ve removed them from the list and I checked the Pure Latex Bliss retaile store locator on their website and Sweet Dreams Mattress in Champaign carries their Talalay latex mattresses so I’ve added them to the list and they may be worth testing as well.

Phoenix