Searching for a mattress...take 4

[phoenix]

Hi camb,

At Texas Mattress Makers, I will check if there are any “missing” layers. I’m just a bit hesitant on that model because I had a preconceived notion that latex offered the best long term value and had other benefits (breathability, heat dispersal, dust mite resistant, hypoallergenic), and now I’m focusing on a mattress with no latex at all. Would it make sense to ask about switching the 2.5# 33ILD polyfoam comfort layer for a 33ILD latex layer?

Post #13 here that I linked earlier has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase based on each person’s individual needs and preferences and the most suitable choice or “best value” for one person may be very different from the most suitable choice or “best value” for someone else.

There is also more about the many variables that can affect temperature regulation in post #2 here but springs are more breathable than any type of foam (although the support components aren’t as big a factor in temperature regulation as the materials and components of a mattress that are closer to you). There is also more about dust mite allergies in post #2 here

Switching out the 2.5 lb polyfoam may not be an option they even have available but even if it was it would be a different mattress that may not be as suitable for you in terms of PPP. The ILD of latex also isn’t comparable to the ILD of polyfoam (see post #6 here). Unless you had the chance to test a different mattress in person … it probably wouldn’t make a great deal of sense to make changes that can add to the uncertainty or risk of the choice you are making.

The salesman did a test where I laid down on my back, and he put his fists on either side of me, pretty close, and pushed down. On the Quantum coils, I could not really feel it. On the latex, I could feel it a bit more. I’m not sure what that test shows, however. Is that a standard test in the industry?

I aren’t really any “standard” tests for testing for PPP but they were helping you to experience the difference between different materials in terms of motion isolation and how much one person’s movement can be felt by someone else that is sleeping on the mattress. It would also show the “point elasticity” of the materials (how exactly a material can conform to a body shape without affecting the surface area around it) which can also affect how much one person sinking in to the mattress can affect the other person on the mattress if you sleep close together (the heavier person can create a valley that the other one may roll into). The “best” test to check for motion isolation or for a couple to know how much one person will affect the other one though would be to test a mattress together.

Phoenix