Trying to decide on a latex mattress and considering the Sleep Science 9" Latex versus the Thomasville Elite III Latex Hybrid. The Sleep Science is 3" Talalay Latex on top of a 6" Latex Support Base. The Thomasville has a 12" total consisting of a 4" Gel Infused Latex, 3"x4" Perimeter Edge Support, 3" Gel Flex Engineered Latex Foam, 5" Trivent Airflow Foam Base with Trizoned Lumbar Support. I’ve also considered the Serta’s iComfort Savant III Firm, although that is memory foam. Since the Sleep Science and Thomasville are both private labeled offerings, it is hard to compare and of course through Costco, difficult to test. I’ve also considered the Helix and Casper. I’m about 230 pounds and my wife is under 200. I am approaching 60 and thinking about an adjustable base as well. Your thoughts or suggestions would be helpful. We live in Central NJ so, if you also have some recommendations on retailers, that would be great.
Hi regal2800.
I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site but just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place to 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 nobody can speak to how any specific 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 and you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress … outside of PPP (which is the most important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase), the next 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 (see this article) regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label (or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new).
You can see some comments about this mattress in this topic. This is a latex/polyfoam hybrid mattress which includes 1" of Talalay GL (which is a blended Talalay latex which has phase change gel infused in the latex) on top of 1" of soft blended Talalay latex on top of 2" of slightly firmer Talalay latex (for a total of 4" of Talalay latex) on top of a 5" polyfoam support core. I would want to confirm the density of the polyfoam base layer to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress and to be able to make more meaningful comparisons with other similar latex/polyfoam hybrid mattresses.
ADDED:
The previous comments were about the 9" Sleep Science Latex GL mattress but I just realized that you may have been talking about the Sleep Science 9" natural latex mattress.
You can see some more detailed comments about the Sleep Science 9" Talalay latex mattress and it’s “relative” value compared to other similar mattresses that have more firmness and customization options and are in lower budget ranges along with some of the pros and cons of buying a mattress from Costco in this topic. A forum search on sleep science latex 9 costco will also bring up more comments and feedback about it as well. There is also more about some of the general differences between a latex/polyfoam hybrid and an all latex mattress in post #2 here.
Unfortunately the specs they listed aren’t complete and I would want to know all the information in this article (including the type and blend of the latex, the thickness and density of all the other polyfoam layers, and the density of the polyfoam edge support as well. Without this information it’s not possible to make any meaningful comments about the quality or durability of the materials or identify any weak links in the mattress. The “engineered latex” they list also isn’t latex at all and is really just polyfoam with surface modifications that will “feel” something like latex but won’t have nearly the same durability. The Trivent airflow foam base is also polyfoam.
If you can confirm the missing specs in both mattresses I’d be happy to make some further comments about both of them.
The major brands such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta all tend to use lower quality materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors that will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay which is why I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here along with post #3 here and post #12 here and post #404 here).
You can see some comments about the type and quality of the materials in the Helix and Casper mattresses along with many of the other “simplified choice” mattresses in post #2 here in the simplified choice topic. The first post in the same topic would be worth reading as well. Since you are in a higher weight range I would be cautious with both of them.
I’m not sure exactly where you are in NJ but the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Monroe Township/Newark, NJ areas (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines I linked earlier in this reply[/url]) are listed in post #7 here.
There is also a forum list for the Philadelphia/Wilmington/Trenton areas in post #4 here.
Phoenix