My husband and I are purchasing a new mattress soon. I really want to do something more natural that will hopefully have less toxins and off gassing. My husband has minor lower back disk issues, and my back has recently started hurting due to a newborn and carrying her around non stop. So, we really want a new mattress that will help with these issues. I also prefer to be super cool at night, so prefer a mattress that runs on the cool side.
After doing a bit of online research I have narrowed it down to savvy rest and loom and leaf. We were able to get to a savvy rest store and really liked the way the felt - narrowing down the many options to a top layer talay (sp) followed by medium Dunlop and firm Dunlop. The mattress felt pretty great. Nearby was a healthy back store. They had a pura bliss latex bed that felt decent and ran about $500-800 less. A significant amount, but not a deal breaker.
I have also seen good reviews on the loom and leaf by saavta. But, being online only, cannot try it out.
Any advice or recommendations on any of these three would be appreciated. I am drawn to the savvy rest, but I do not know if it simply bias in thinking that because it is the most expensive it must therefore be of the best quality. As a side note, we share our bed with a 60 pound dog and a six month old is with us often, and likely will continue to sleep in our bed with us as she grows, so, a mattress that has little motion transfer and little sinkage would be fantastic.
The only reliable way to to assess the “safety” of different materials in more general terms is based on lab tests and the certifications they have for harmful substances and VOC’s so that you have some assurance than the VOC’s are below the testing limits for the certification (see post #2 here for more information about some of the more reliable “safety” certifications). If the materials in a mattress or the mattress itself has a reliable “safety” certification then for most people they would certainly be “safe enough” … regardless of the type of material or the name of the manufacturer on the label.
While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … it’s not possible to 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 (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable 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).
I’m not sure what you’ve read and what you haven’t since you found the site but just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place I would start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase 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 all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
While I can’t speak to how any mattress will “feel” for someone else because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances … outside of PPP the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t see or “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label (or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new) so I would always make sure that you find out information listed here so you can compare the materials and components to the quality/durability guidelines I linked to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.
While it’s not possible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use (which in many cases can have just as significant an effect on sleeping temperature as the type of foam in a mattress) and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range and because there is no standardized testing for temperature regulation with different combinations of materials … there is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range.
Two of the mattresses you are considering are latex mattresses (Pure Latex Bliss and Savvy Rest) and one of them is a memory foam mattress (Loom & Leaf).
Latex and memory foam are completely different materials with very different properties and there is more about the general differences between memory foam and latex in post #2 here. The best way to know which type of materials or mattresses you tend to prefer will be based on your own careful testing or your own personal experience.
Some types of memory foam are more breathable than others and/or have less effect on sleeping temperature but memory foam or gel memory foam in general tends to sleep warmer than other types of foam materials (latex foam or polyfoam). There is more about the different properties that can be formulated into memory foam in post #9 here and post #8 here but latex in general is the most breathable and temperature neutral of all the foam materials. While only a minority of people will have temperature regulation issues with memory foam to the degree that they will be uncomfortable … if you tend to sleep hot then the odds are higher that you may be one of them.
[quote]After doing a bit of online research I have narrowed it down to savvy rest.
They had a pura bliss latex bed that felt decent and ran about $500-800 less. A significant amount, but not a deal breaker.[/quote]
Savvy rest is a component latex mattress that allows you to choose the type and firmness of each individual latex layer. They give you a choice between organic Dunlop latex or 100% natural Talalay latex in each of the layers but in most cases they will suggest the Dunlop in the bottom layers and then either the Dunlop or the Talalay in the top layer. There is more about the pros and cons of a component mattress with unglued layers and a zip cover (like the Savvy Rest) vs a “finished mattresses” that has glued layers (like the Pure Latex Bliss) in post #15 here and post #2 here. A forum search on Savvy Rest (you can just click the link) will bring up many more forum posts with many more comments and feedback about it. I would also make some very careful value comparisons because Savvy Rest mattresses are also in a higher budget range than many other similar component latex mattresses (especially that are sold online).
Pure Latex Bliss mattresses have several different models in different firmness levels but they all use blended Talalay latex from top to bottom which is also a very high quality and durable material and there are no lower quality materials or weak links in any of their mattresses either. A forum search on Pure Latex Bliss (you can just click the link) will also bring up many more comments and feedback about their various models as well.
There is more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here and more about how Dunlop compares to Talalay in general in post #7 here but the best way to know which type or blend of latex you tend to prefer will be based on your own testing and personal experience.
All the latex you are likely to encounter (either Dunlop or Talalay that is made with either natural or synthetic rubber or a blend of both) will have a reliable certification such as Oeko-Tex, Eco-Institut, or Greenguard Gold and based on actual testing I would consider any type or blend of latex to be a very “safe” material in terms of harmful substances and VOC’s. The polyfoam in their quilting and in the base layer is also CertiPUR-US certified so fo most people it would also be “safe enough”.
Latex in general is also the most durable of all the foam materials so there would certainly be no lower quality materials or weak links that would compromise the durability or useful life of either mattress.
You can see some comments about the Loom & Leaf along with many of the other “simplified choice” online mattresses in post #2 here in the simplified choice mattress topic and the first post in the same topic would probably be worth reading as well. There are also some more detailed comments in post #5 here. A forum search on Loom Leaf (you can just click the link) will also bring up more comments and feedback about it as well. I would be somewhat cautious with the Loom & Leaf because of the convoluted layer of 4 lb memory foam (which is less durable than a solid layer of the same material) in combination with their 1.5 lb base layer which is a lower density and less durable material than I would normally like to see in this budget range and which together is more likely to be a weak link in their mattress.
The mattress shopping tutorial also includes several links to lists of many of the better online options I’m aware of (in the optional online step) that include many different types and categories of mattresses in a wide range of budgets, firmness levels, and with different return/exchange policies that may also be worth considering.
One of the links is to a list of the members here that sell mattresses online and many of them sell latex and latex hybrid mattresses that use different types and blends of latex that have a wide range of different designs, options, features, return and exchange policies, and prices and many of them are in lower budget ranges than the Savvy Rest mattress you were looking at.
If you let me know your city or zip code I’d also be happy to let you know about any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area that may be worth considering as well.
The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Washington, DC area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here) are listed in post #2 here.