First of all, thank you very much for all of the helpful posts and information on this website. My wife and I have been reading through the posts and researching on a new mattress.
We are looking for a queen sized mattress, firm mattress. Iâm 6 feet 3 tall, ~150 lb. Wife is 5 ft 2 tall, ~100 lb. Based on what we have read, it looks like a latex mattress may be best for us.
What are folks thoughts on the following?
Ikea Myrbacka Latex Mattress â Pros: Price Point is only $499, good reviews, 25 year warranty and 365 day trial period; Cons: looks like foam layer may be less than 2lb, which based on your write-up is considered very low quality (but maybe warranty mitigates this a little bit, as if it sags, could just get a new one?)
LUCID 10 Inch Latex Foam Mattress â Pros: Only $240, very good reviews on Amazon, 25 year warranty. Looks like itâs a 3â natural latex comfort layer and 7ââ Polyfoam support base.
Leesa ~$900 â Generally good reviews
Saatva ~$1100 - Seems to have slightly better reviews than Leesa, and longer warranty
Latex Mattress Factory (~$950) â Pros: pure latex, all natural; Cons: High price point, not 100% free returns
Sleep on Latex ($1030) â Pros: pure latex, all natural; Cons: High price point
Overall, the LUCID mattress from Amazon looks very tempting given the price point and the latex/foam combination. But if full latex makes a huge difference we are willing to make the investment and step up to pay for one from Latex Mattress Factory or Sleep on Latex.
Curious to hear your thoughts. We live in the Chicago area.
If youâve been doing any reading on the site, youâll know that while I can certainly help with âhowâ to choose ⌠Itâs not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first âruleâ 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 âmatchâ for you in terms of âcomfortâ, firmness, or PPP or how a mattress will âfeelâ to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or âtheory at a distanceâ 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).
However, I can provide some commentary on the models youâve mentioned.
Ikea isnât complete in the specifications, but this mattress uses 2.2 lb polyfoam and synthetic latex (both would be good quality materials), but the thickness and combinations arenât listed, and thatâs something youâd want to find out.
Regarding reviews, those are the least reliable way to purchase a mattress, and I would advise against using those as any sort of manner in making your decision. While other peopleâs comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful ⌠I would always keep in mind that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and I would be cautious about using anyone elseâs suggestions, experiences or reviews on a specific mattress (either positive or negative) or review sites in general as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you. In many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range). In other words ⌠reviews or other peopleâs experiences in general wonât tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or âvalueâ of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).
As for the mattress warranty, this again is more marketing than a reliable indicator of quality or durability. Warranties in general are not nearly as important to me as knowing the materials because the reason most people need to replace a mattress is not a manufacturing defect but the loss of comfort and/or support which is not covered by a warranty. Knowing the materials in a mattress will tell you how long the original qualities of a mattress will last relative to other types of materials.
A 365 day mattress return policy is nice, but again this is more marketing than something that has a considerable a value, as most people are able to determine within the first 30 days or so if a product is appropriate for their needs.
The 2.2 lb polyfoam would be a good quality material. I would recommend you refer to the durability guidelines here. I believe you are confusing polyfoam with memory foam, where 2.2 lb would be a lower quality memory foam.
The latex used in this mattress is Dunlop, but there isnât complete information about the blend or certification information about this foam. A forum search on Lucid (you can just click the link) will bring up comments and feedback about them. Lucid is from China, and post #6 here is about mattresses imported from Asia or China which may have been compressed for long periods of time in either shipping or storage before being purchased, which in my opinion makes this a more risky purchase. Again, see above for my comments about reviews and warranty.
This mattress uses:
Comfort Layers: 2" 3.65 lb Avena polyfoam (20-26 IFD), 2" 3lb Memory foam (9 IFD)
Support Layers: 6" Polyfoam 1.8 lb density (32-38 IFD)
I would advise caution here, as the 2" of 3 lb memory foam is a potential weak link in this mattress. You can read more about Leesa in post #2 here. The 2" of 3.75 lb high performance âlatex likeâ Avena polyfoam is good quality, but I would be cautious because of the 2" of 3 lb memory foam in the comfort layers which could be a weak link in the mattress in terms of durability. And youâre already aware of my advice to ignore reviews as any sort of a reliable indicator of the quality or appropriateness of any mattress for yourself.
As before, youâre considering the wrong things (reviews, warranty) when selecting a mattress. Iâm assuming youâre mentioning the Loom & Leaf here by the price point you mentioned. This item has:
Comfort Layers: Soft solid gel lumbar layer, 2" Convoluted gel memory foam (4 lb density), 2.5" memory foam (5 lb density).
Support Layers: 2" Transition layer (1.5 lb or higher polyfoam material), 5.5" Polyfoam (1.5 lb or higher polyfoam).
I provide a caution here for higher weight ranges. Saatva wouldnât disclose to me the density of the bottom two layers (see post #2 here) so I would treat them both as 1.5 lb density. They also use a thin lumbar layer of soft solid gel (not gel foam) on top of the gel memory foam for additional temperature regulation and to add additional zoning support under the heavier parts of the body that for some people can help with alignment. I would be cautious for those that are in higher weight ranges (more than the low 200âs or so) or perhaps even a little lower than this because of the lower density polyfoam layers and the 4 lb convoluted gel memory foam in the top layers.
This mattress used 100% NR Dunlop latex and wool, both high quality and durable materials. This item uses higher quality materials than the mattresses youâve listed preceding it. As for the return fees, no return of a mattress is free, and the cost of returns as a percentage of overall sales and the shipping fees are built into the selling price of any online mattress with a return policy. Some manufacturers choose to include all of this in the final price, some choose to include some of it but still charge partial shipping (like Latex Mattress Factory), while others include none of the shipping fees for returns in their final price.
Like the Latex Mattress Factory product, this is a higher-quality item than the previous items you listed and this items uses 100% NR latex and wool, which are both durable and high-quality materials.
Both Latex Mattress Factory and Sleep on Latex are members of this site which means that I think very highly of them and that I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency.
The overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists is based on all the 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 if your choice doesnât turn out as well as you hoped for).
Iâd recommend that you read the mattress shopping tutorial here if you havenât already, 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 youâve 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 âmatchâ for you in terms of âcomfortâ, firmness, and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesnât turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the âvalueâ of a mattress purchase.
While again nobody can speak to how any specific mattress will âfeelâ for someone else or whether it will be a good âmatchâ in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP 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 âvalueâ), 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 canât see or âfeelâ 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 the information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here 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.
Thank you very much for the helpful advice! After some more research and following your links, I came across the Nest Love & Sleep Mattress . It seems to be made of very high quality materials and one of the best values for its price range!
Also, it doesnât hurt that itâs part of your approved member list
Yes, the Love & Sleep represents a very good value, using Energex 2.8 lb high performance polyfoam over a 1.8 polyfoam base, in a Medium or a Luxury Firm version. And as you mentioned, Nest Bedding is a site member here, which means that I think highly of them.
I wanted to let you know that I received the mattress and so far itâs been great!
We are going to buy a new bed to house this mattress and Iâve read mixed things online regarding slats.
Is it better to put foam mattresses on slats or boxsprings? I read in a few places that slats allow the mattress to âbreatheâ better and stay cool. It looks like boxsprings may also add an unnecessary bounce, but I wonder if using a boxspring would prolong the life of the mattress given that contact is spread over a larger area?
We were considering maybe putting a large cardboard plank over the slats, which would solve the contact/pressure point issue, but also still allow the mattress to âbreatheâ.
Also, if we were to go with slats, how important is it to avoid European slats? It looks like most beds come with European slats rather than the flat normal wooden slats.
Lastly, whatâs the opinion on mattress covers? While it will protect the mattress from liquid spillage, doesnât it also override some of the benefits of the mattress in terms of breath-ability? Any particular covers you would recommend?
Thatâs great news. Iâll look forward to your future updates.
Most manufacturers would not recommend that you use an actual coil box spring unit with their product, but instead something that is flat and firm, like a slatted network. All you need to know about appropriate foundations is listed in the foundation thread here.
Most of these mattresses are not designed to be used with a coil box spring and it will actually degrade the performance of the mattress, and also usually violate the warranty (always check with the mattress manufacturer).
Cardboard will not allow the mattress to breathe, at least on the bottom. As long as the slats were closely spaced together (5" or less for most polyfoam mattress cores, closer would be better), youâll be fine.
Check with the manufacturer regarding bowed slats and see if they want you to avoid those. Keep an eye on those systems, as some use less durable slats and over time the can begin to sag. They will also slightly change the feel of the mattress. There are plenty of options using flat slats.
There is more about mattress protectors in post #89 here and this post. The polyurethane film that most of these protectors use is somewhat breathable, but they fit on the mattress like a fitted sheet and the film is normally only on the top surface, so the mattress overall still can breathe quite well.
I noticed something today regarding the mattress - on the website, it looks like the total thickness of the mattress should be 11ââ. However, when I measured it today I saw that the mattress was only 10ââ thick. This was a little odd, because based on what I heard from friends that have bought mattresses, their mattresses are generally thicker than advertised (e.g., 1 friend has a Brooklyn BME mattress, and itâs 11ââ thick vs. the advertised 10ââ thick).
Small variations in mattress dimensions are normal and to be expected. There can be slight variations when slitting flexible materials, as well as variations in the tightness of the joining of the border panel to the top quilt panel of the mattress by the tape edge operator. Mattress companies can often make small adjustments in the overall height of their border panel ticking, and this will also impact the overall measured height of a mattress, especially when new, so small variations like this +/- 1" are common.
