We have been on an on-again-off-again hunt for a mattress for some time (it becomes exhausting). I found this forum and THANK you for hosting it and for the many thoughtful and interesting posts herein.
We wanted an āorganicā or ānon-chemicalā (didnāt know exactly what to call it at the time) option that had a good amount of softness but stability, too. Traveling a lot, we have tried lots and lots (and lots and lots) of mattresses.
I found Neal and Spindle mattresses (spindlemattress.com) online through searching for natural, organic, and latex mattresses and then read several reviews and thoughts posted here, too. Thank you for this forum. From this forum: I loved the idea of a person (Neal) being a family/generational business and that he was in Massachusetts where you could visit the store. I loved hearing that he had been very informative and patient in listening to customers describe their needs and in fielding many (probably daily and repetitive) questions and concerns. And I also knew that because I live in CA, I would neither have the opportunity to go to the showroom nor try out the bed firsthand. Still, after loads of research, I was almost already completely convinced sight unseen. Then, we called to speak to Neal directly.
Neal was generous with his time, clearly educated about mattresses in general (not only his) AND advised us on what would probably be the best āfitā in terms of degree of firmness (soft, medium, firm in that order) for us of an Abscond 10" King size latex mattress. He made me feel confident, too, that if for some reason the firmness wasnāt right that there were adjustments that could be made and that heād be available to troubleshootāall while also feeling confident that the decision was going to be a good one from the outset (even though so many people advise trying out the bed, going local, etc.). We made the decision pretty quickly (within 10 minutes of conversing and proceeded with the order). Being in CA and naturally wanting to receive it as soon as possible (allowing for cross-country shipping of course), he said he would try his best to expedite the packing and pick-up if possible to up the normal process by 1-2 days (the normal timeline is very reasonable already). And it happened. The next day I had a UPS confirmation that the boxes had been picked up from his location and were en route.
Feeling confident about Nealās advice for the mattress (and getting a real education about the natural latex that made me feel very comfortable with our decision to go organic/chemical free), we were pleased with our decision. And having done a good deal of research externally on other latex mattresses, his prices were very reasonable and extremely competitive given that a mattress is still a good-sized investment.
I asked Neal about his recommendations or favorites for organic bedding, mattress covers, pillows and sheets on a whim. I loved his response: he said he had none. He said he was ā2 inches wide and a mile deepā in mattresses (in my estimation, he knows everything there is to know about mattressesānot only latex but other conventional styles) and little to nothing in what accessories go on them. The humor and honesty were so appreciated. (I have since found fabulous organic super-soft bedding, mattress cover, and Kapok silk stuffed pillows, and a perfect organic blanket.) Somehow the way he responded made me feel even more comfortable with our decision about the mattress.
The mattress arrived in 3 boxes (as described) and we prepared to assemble it. I must say that this was the only slightly intimidating part going into this kind of mattress, but it worked out to be relatively easy and actually fun. I did call Neal before we got underway just to do a quick check-in that I understood the instructions about what was top and bottom and sides, especially on the bottom layer which had to be fit into the cover and appeared to be āoversizedā (needed to be squeezed in a bit like a rubberband). Neal had some quick tips and ideas about how to get it all balanced and fitting perfectly. In the beginning, I did wonder if it would fit, but with a little patience and a willingness to readjust carefully a number of times by creating āwavesā from one side of the mattress to the next, it all fit perfectly. It took about 30 minutes from unboxing to having the whole mattress zipped up. Zipping up the final layer felt like quite an achievement and I have to say, that now knowing and seeing exactly what my mattress is made of, feels very good on some level. The idea also that we could unzip it and reconfigure it if desired is also nice. Actually āseeingā the guts of the mattress for this customer was a nice reassurance that I didnāt desire or expect from the outset.
Weāve now had the mattress for about a month and I really look forward to sleeping on it at night. When we travel, I look forward to coming back to sleep on it. It was such a good decision for us.
History:
-Previously we had a Beautyrest Cal King, non-pillowtop, pretty firm mattress.
-Current (and future): 100% organic latex, Spindle Abscond 10", soft, medium, firm (top-to-bottom) configuration, Eastern King.
-We did not purchase the box/frame from Neal but purchased that locally in SoCal with 3 inch gaps between slats in a platform configuration.
Hereās wishing others on this forum success like weāve had no matter the mattress you decide on. And if youāre in the market of a high end latex/non-chemical mattress with genuine customer service and no pressure, we definitely recommend you talk to Neal at Spindle.
Warmly, W & J
