South Dakota Sleeper Needs Sleep!! Latex help...

[phoenix]

Hi DakotaMagnum,

We are located in Sioux Falls SD with nothing local, but we are actually heading to Minneapolis this weekend to lay on some at a couple places you had recommended and also may make a trip to Rochester to Rest Assured.

You’ve probably seen this but just in case you haven’t the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the Sioux Falls area are in posts #2 and #3 here.

Although I’m leaning towards all latex, I’m still trying to decide if that would benefit me the most or if I should consider a latex/coil system.

I personally wouldn’t rule anything out until your testing clearly indicates that a particular type of mattress isn’t your preference.

Firmness – I’m fairly confused about firmness levels so am hoping that my trip this weekend may alleviate that. I think I like firm better, but do sleep very well on the Marriott hotel beds as well and they seem softer.

There are different types of firmness/softness depending on whether you are talking about surface softness, pressure relief softness, support firmness/softness, or just an overall subjective sense of firmness/softness (see post #15 here) but with your higher weight I would suspect you may need firmer support layers for good alignment but the comfort layers may be more of a preference in terms of thickness and softness but again your careful and objective testing using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post will give you a much better idea of the type of mattress that is the best match for you in terms of PPP. Here again I wouldn’t try and figure it out ahead of time based on specs.

Make up – if Talay or Dunlop (or combo) would be better with my size, sleeping pattern and smell aversion.

This would also be a preference issue much more than a “better/worse” issue. There is more about the different types of latex in post #6 here and more about some of the differences in how they may “feel” for you in post #7 here but once again your own testing is the best way to know which one you may prefer. While both of them are very “safe” materials in terms of VOC’s and harmful substances (all the latex you are likely to enounter has been tested for both through Oeko Tex or Eco-Institut) there is more about the typical odor of Dunlop and Talalay in post #2 here but whether you may be sensitive to the smell of one or the other would also be a personal issue.

King or Queen – if one has benefits other than size (wasn’t sure if the latex was more durable in one piece vs. 2 for instance)
Wool or cotton or bamboo for covers

If the mattress design is the same then there wouldn’t be any difference in durability although having more room can often play a role in how well someone sleeps. There is more about wool and other types of quilting layers vs a stretch knit cover in post #12 here and the posts it links to. There is also more about some of the differences between bamboo and cotton fabrics in post #7 here and post #11 here (which are mostly about sheets but would be relevant to mattress covers as well).

In addition to the places in Mpls (Moss Envy, Original Mattress Factory, Gabberts, & RoomandBoard) & Rochester, I’ve narrowed the internet manufactures to 2 main ones listed below. I had also previously looked at Custom Sleep Design and received a quote and analysis from them (however seems like they are not in business or responding any longer) and Flobed, however, I feel they are out of my price range.

It may also be worth considering diynaturalbedding in Crystal, MN which also carries component latex mattresses that can be customized.

All the vendors you are considering (including the two members of the site that sell latex mattresses online which compete well with the best in the industry) could certainly make good choices but as you “hopefully” know your own personal testing and/or more detailed conversations with the online manufacturers you are considering is the only way to make a choice between them (see post #2 here) based on the criteria of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

Phoenix