We finally decided on and ordered a latex mattress from Sleepez. With Shaun’s help we went with a 10000 in the blended talallay. My husband is a back sleeper and is 5" 10 , 165 pounds. I am a side sleeper 5" 6 and 150 pounds. He recommended the soft/medium/firm for both of us. We ordered the foundation from mattress.net which had it cheaper, but it hasn’t come in yet. We expect it to come in in a few days but we decided to go ahead and put our mattress together and try it out with the mattress flat on the floor. Last night was the first night we slept on it and I tossed and turned all night and my arms fell asleep. Once I woke up with pain throbbing down my arm and into my wrist. Today I have been down in my back. My husband thought it felt great, but he could sleep on anything.
How much difference does it make that it is directly on the carpeted floor instead of its foundation?
I also wonder about the cover on it. It came with the quilted cotton/wool cover which seems very thick and rough. My first impression when I layed down on it was that it didn’t feel any different than an ordinary firm mattress. I couldn’t tell it was latex at all. Could the cover make it feel that firm or the lack of a foundation or both? The only other latex we had tried before this was the PLB Nature which felt good without a topper and the Pamper which we liked with a 2 inch topper. I didn’t realize that the covers would be so different between these and what we were ordering.
Hi Akirk70,
A solid non flexing foundation shouldn’t make any difference and would be similar to the floor.
The first thing I would suggest if you can though is to give it a little bit of time. The mattress you have has the softest “standard” comfort layer that SleepEz offers but it’s slightly firmer than the 19 ILD talalay in the PLB Nature (although it’s not what most people would call firm or even medium). It may also be firmer than what you were used to sleeping on (depending on the mattress it is replacing). The Nature also has a stretch knit cover and while the quilted wool cover in the SleepEz is also a stretch knit, the wool quilting will tend to make the latex a little bit firmer and it may also need a little bit of time to “break in” and stretch and loosen a little. It would also be somewhat unusual to have symptoms like you are describing with soft latex so I would also make sure that your experience is consistent and not something that may somehow be an exception unconnected to the mattress.
If you have split layers … you could also try re-arranging softer layers on your side to see how it feels (for example two soft layers over firm or two medium layers under the soft).
I would also talk to Shawn to see what he suggests. They have an unquilted stretch knit cover without the wool which may help and if necessary you could even talk to them about the possibility of special ordering some even softer latex if it turns out to be necessary.
The first thing though is to go slowly before making any changes so that you know for sure that what you are experiencing is a pattern and not an exception and also to give your body some time to adjust to a new sleeping surface so you don’t end up making changes faster than your body can “catch up” to them.
Phoenix
Hi Akirk70,
I should have mentioned in my last post that another possibility is what you have over the mattress (your mattress protector and sheets) because this can also make a difference in the depth of your pressure relieving cradle and the response of the top layers in the mattress. Sometimes either the protector or the sheets can create a “drum” effect which will affect and reduce pressure relief on the mattress.
Phoenix
I have a Guardsman Comfortmark II mattress protector. It is a terrycloth cotton outer layer and a polyester material that draws away moisture. It is waterproof, breathable, stretchy and very thin. The sheets I have are about a 400 thread count cotton and don’t have any stretch.
I need some new sheets, what works well with latex?
Are you sure that Sleepez hasn’t changed the cover they use since you last checked? The one I was sent is a heavy cotton canvas material with 4oz. of wool. It definitely isn’t a quilted “stretch knit” as you mentioned. II doesn’t have any stretch at all to it. I’m sure it’s durable because it it feels a lot like denim.
Hi Akirk70,
If the mattress protector is thin and stretchy and the sheets are cotton … it’s unlikely that these are the issue although you could easily check by removing them and seeing what the difference was. good quality sheets that are breathable make a good choice for latex (or any mattress). Some good choices IMO in terms of materials include cotton (such as you have), bamboo or other rayon fabrics, and linen. The type of weave and thread count would depend on budget and preference. I would tend to avoid polyester or polyester blends.
They have actually just recently changed the cover. They used to have a stretch knit on one side of the wool quilting and a weave on the other for the backing and after some testing they just recently changed to a knit material on both sides. Did you talk with them about your cover and what they are currently including in their mattresses? Your description doesn’t seem to “match” and I’d be curious to know what they say.
Phoenix
I finally talked to Shawn at Sleepez about the cover on my 10000 latex mattress. We really had trouble agreeing on which cover I had. He said they used to use a woven cover with “no stretch” but were now using a knit cover with" some" stretch and wool. He said they also had a “four-way stretch” cover without wool. After I insisted that I believed I had a woven cover , he called Jeremy to ask him. Jeremy said they still had some wovens left and had been sending them out, so that is what I would have been given.
After talking, I told him to send me the “four-way stretch”. I really wanted the wool because of all the benefits, but wasn’t sure from his description if the new knit would stretch enough to keep my mattress from feeling too firm.
With this four way stretch cover and my waterproof mattress cover is there anything else I need to put on it for the fire retardant ? I want it to be safe but I need it to be comfortable. What does everyone else do that gets this cover?
Hi Akirk70,
No … the fire retardant is built into the cover and all their combinations are tested as a unit so you don’t need to add anything. The manufacturer is responsible for passing all the fire testing before they can sell a mattress.
I guess that solves the mystery of the cover 
According to my conversations the new covers are more stretchy than the old ones but there is no doubt that the unquilted 4 way stretch ones are very nice and there has been some good feedback on them (a few people have said they were nicer even than the Pure Latex bliss covers). You can see some pictures of it here (with bad lighting that makes it look darker than it is).
Phoenix