Hey Edgar,
Welcome to the TMU Forum 
! Thanks for your question.
[quote]I’m having trouble finding a new mattress I really like. I’m in the midst of my second sleep trial. We started with the Douglas mattress. The purchase and return experience was excellent. I found it quite soft compared to our spring mattress (I’m 250 lb and 6’ tall) and my wife found it firmer (she’s 165 lb and 5’8"). We are combo sleepers but mainly side/stomach. I think it was probably too soft for me for the long term, but the reason I returned it was because I was getting super hot sleeping in it (even clammy). My wife found it hot as times as well, but she wasn’t “overheating” like me. She would have been quite happy to keep it.
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Sorry to hear of the difficulties you’re having finding a mattress suitable for both you and your wife’s individual comfort/ sleeping preferences, Edgar. It speaks well of the dealer that both your purchase and return experience were handled in an “excellent” fashion; it is a shame, however that they weren’t able to help you more with selecting a mattress better suited to your needs. With the Douglas mattress’s all foam/ memory foam construction, it was likely not supportive enough for your BMI, allowing you to “sink into” its upper comfort layers and enveloping your body impression, resulting in the “super-hot sleeping” feel you describe. Also, gel and/or other thermal conductive or phase change materials can have “some effect” on the sleeping temperature of a particular material, but how much of an effect they will have and how long the effect will last depends on the specific formulation of the material and on the “combined effect” of all the other materials and components of the sleeping system, including your sheets, mattress protector, and bedding. Many thermal conductive or phase change materials tend to have a more temporary effect when you first go to sleep at night or over the first part of the night than they will over the entire course of the night.
Good job on all of the research and hard work you’ve been doing! The conundrum you face is it’s nearly impossible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved. While finding yourself in the “oven to iceberg” range is frustrating, and with no standardized testing for temperature regulation regarding different combinations of materials, it is helpful understand the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range. This Phoenix post #2, “Do Latex Mattress Sleep Hot?” explores temperature regulation and the microclimate on a mattress, you may find it of interest. You do deserve extra credit points for your responsible attitude towards environmental sustainability vs. the ongoing mattress return challenge manufacturers face in the name of customer satisfaction.
Overall, if you are looking at a mattress that contains foam of some type, latex with natural fibers in the quilting (such as wool) and fabrics that can wick away moisture and help it evaporate more rapidly are the coolest sleeping or more accurately the most temperature regulating mattresses and firmer will tend to be cooler than softer. Mattresses that don’t use any foam at all and only use an innerspring with natural fiber comfort layers will tend to be cooler and more temperature regulating than any type of foam including latex.
Just for clarity, I don’t make recommendations for stores unless they are a vetted member here of the site. We have decided to discontinue the provision of listings of potential retailers in various geographic regions (unless they are already approved site members), because of the difficulty in maintaining such lists in a retail landscape that is constantly changing, and most importantly the confusion it was creating with the consumer subscribers who incorrectly assumed that these businesses had indeed gone through the strict qualification process and were approved as members of The Mattress Underground.
Here is a listing of Canadian and US manufacturers/retailers who are Trusted Members of our site that carry Latex or all Latex mattresses and ship across Canada that you may wish to consider. They are very seasoned in providing good guidance over the phone and fitting their customers with a suitable product in terms of comfort/support needs.
MFC: Canadian online retailer with a very good selection of latex mattresses and hybrids that close to your budget range.
Restmore Bedding: Canadian Manufacturer with a large array of mattress choices latex/ pocket coil, hybrid, springs. They are based in Winnipeg, but you can place an order over the phone.
You can also peruse Our Trusted Mattress Members as there are some US-based companies that provide products to Canadian market but you’d need to call and ask with the Covid closures.
Hope this helps and looking forward to hearing more as you decide.
Thanks,
Sensei