Hi Phoenix,
I love your website. I am considering purchasing either of the following two mattresses:
https://www.roomandboard.com/catalog/kids/randb-kids-mattresses/encased-coil-mattress-with-natural-latex-foam-medium
https://www.roomandboard.com/catalog/bedroom/randb-mattresses/natural-latex-foam-mattress-medium
For both, I was wondering what your thoughts are on the wool component of the comfort layer? I have not seen comments by you relating to wool, and I am trying to follow your advice of having no more than an inch of lower quality materials in the comfort layer. I also cannot tell from the descriptions in the links whether the “encased coils” are pocket or continuous? Do you know? Also, I am trying to get the vendor to answer what is the ILD of the latex in the comfort layer? Finally, the edge support system is latex – 4.5 lb density, ILD of 22.
Your advice/feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Allison
Hi Allison,
You can see some comments about the pros and cons of a wool quilting layer in post #6 here. Wool is a high quality material and in a quilting layer wouldn’t be a weak link in the mattress and it can significantly improve the temperature regulation of a mattress.
They are pocket coils.
I personally wouldn’t take the time to find out the ILD’s because with a local purchase ILD information for the various layers is mostly meaningless and will generally only add to confusion. With a local purchase choosing a mattress in terms of PPP based on what your body tells you with careful testing is much more reliable that choosing a mattress based on complex combinations of specs that can take many years of experience to understand how they all interact together.
While for some people that have a great deal of experience in the industry or who design mattresses knowing the ILD information of the layers in a mattress can be helpful or even essential, the ILD of a material is only one of many variables that determines how soft or firm the materials or a mattress that uses it will feel (see here) and ILD numbers are not comparable between different materials or in many cases between different versions of the same material anyway.
For most people specs are overwhelming and for those that do know a little bit about foam specs they can often tend to make choices based on specs alone or believe that they know more than they really do (for example making choices based on foam density or ILD alone when these are just two of many variables that can affect the feel and performance of a mattress). Too much information and too little information can both result in poor choices. In many cases mattress manufacturers don’t provide the ILD of their various foam layers because they are well aware of the risk of providing too much information to a customer and understand that for most people it would be more misleading than helpful. While knowing the quality specs of a mattress that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress is an important part of making an informed choice … knowing the “comfort specs” of a local mattress isn’t nearly as important as listening to what your body tells you with careful and objective testing.
Phoenix
Many thanks Phoenix. The innerspring I listed is no-flip while the latex mattress is flippable. Considering all of these facts, which do you think sounds better? I am price agnostic. I am 5’4, 130 lb female…no back or other orthopedic issues of real consequence.
Hi Allison,
I don’t make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial)or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
Having said that … there is also more information about the 3 most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase to fine tune the mattress or any exchange/return options that are available to you).
Assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the guidelines here (which they do) … the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses (see this article) would be a personal preference and a budget choice rather than a “better/worse” choice.
There is also more about an innerspring/latex hybrid vs an all latex mattress in post #13 here and the posts it links to but again the choice between them would be a preference choice.
Both mattresses use high quality materials and there are no lower quality materials or weak links that would compromise the durability of either one of them. The Natural Latex Foam mattress is two sided and a two sided mattress would generally be more durable than a similar one sided mattress but each side has a different firmness level so once you have decided on which side you prefer it’s likely that you would only sleep on that side anyway for at least most of the time so in practical terms it would really be a one sided mattress (although you would be able to change the firmness from time to time if you wished to sleep on a softer or firmer mattress on occasion).
I or some of the more knowledgeable members of the site can certainly help you to narrow down your options, help you focus on better quality/value choices that are available to you either locally or online, help you identify any lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress relative to your weight that you may be considering, act as a fact check, answer many of the specific questions you may have along the way that don’t involve what you will “feel” on a mattress, and help with “how” to choose but only you can decide which specific mattress, manufacturer, or combination of materials is “best for you” regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label or whether anyone else (including me) would have the same criteria or circumstances or would make the same choice.
Once you have narrowed down your options to a list of finalists that are all choices between “good and good” (which you have) and none of them have any lower quality materials or “weak links” in their design (which they don’t) and if there are no clear winners between them (which is usually a good indication that you have done some very good research) then you are in the fortunate position that any of them would likely be a suitable choice and post #2 here can help you make a final choice based on your local testing or mattresses you have slept well on, your more detailed conversations about each of them, your confidence about PPP and the suitability of each one, their prices, your preferences for different types of materials, the options you have after a purchase to fine tune the mattress or exchange or return the mattress or individual layers, any additional extras that are part of each purchase, and on “informed best judgement” based on all the other objective, subjective, and intangible parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Phoenix