Got married, moved into husband’s house about 2 years ago. Money had been tight during the pandemic but we are doing better now. Mattress is 17 years old, time to replace, it has ditches in it. It’s a Sherwood Spring Air Back Supporter, whatever that is.
My husband likes a firmer mattress for sure. He also has suffered from back pain for many years, and has sciatica that comes/goes. He is interested in getting a mattress with no springs in it. I also have had back pain for a long time, and it’s in the last month developed into sciatica- I’m pretty sure in part bc of this mattress. I like something a little softer than my husband. I’m interested in getting something organic and/or latex. I’ve had a latex mattress once and that was probably my best mattress. I’m open to no-springs mattress for sure but it seems like everywhere near us only has a “hybrid” mattress at best, or otherwise just a cheap foam one. I’ve had many cheap foam ones in my adult life but am wanting to get something that will last a decade or two now, and will be good for our backs. Also I tend to get hot at night, while my husband likes to bundle up. I’ve heard latex is good for that, and my husband doesn’t seem to mind putting an extra quilt on whereas I’ll leave off the quilts. I’m 5’8" 170 he’s 5’11" 185 and we are both trying to lose the weight we got in the pandemic, probably about 25lbs each :(. We’re in our 40s. He is mostly a back sleeper and a little bit a side sleeper. I’m mostly a side sleeper and a little bit a back sleeper.
I haven’t bought a real “adult” mattress yet at age 40. I really like the idea of getting something more eco-friendly if possible. We went to Philly yesterday and tried a couple Helix and Leyla mattresses that were both recommended to us- didn’t like the Leyla at all, way too soft. I liked the Helix birch better and he liked the Twilight one better, tho he said either was fine. But we didn’t love either of them. It has been hard to find a place close by (under an hour) that has any of the latex or better quality foam or even hybrid mattresses. We’d be ok to order something online, but just aren’t sure of the options. Something like the Avocado line seems within our budget- but there’s a lot of other latex ones that seem way over our budget. Unsure of why the price is so different and not sure what to do.
Thanks for sharing your sleep details! It sounds like you have slightly different needs which may make a split configuration an interesting option for you.
If you pick a split configuration, you can get the support and comfort each of you prefers. A number of our Trusted Members offer split configurations. Also, they are extremely knowledgable and compete with the best in the industry. If you present them with your sleeping specs, comfort/support needs, etc. they will be able to help you choose the best fit both product and ILD wise…whether you choose. a split configuration or not.
Off the top of my head, I would suggest exploring options with the following… (I’m pretty sure all of the split configurations are also all-latex).
My husband and I talked again, he said he’s ok with me making the final decision since I’m paying for the mattress. And I know he is tending towards firm. Our work schedules are opposite and it’s pretty hard for us to both go somewhere together so I will try to make a longer trip somewhere like hour and a half-two hours away to try a mattress. Not ideal but IDK what else to do. I haven’t been able to set up an appointment (you can’t just go in the stores apparently) yet unfortunately to try, either times didn’t work for me or I didn’t hear back.
So more research in…I found out I can have some discounts due to being a healthcare worker through ID.me.
I can get actually 25% off of White Lotus Home when combining all discounts- I like this option since they are a relatively local maker, but it’s still pretty expensive and not as customizable it seems.
Arizona Premium, SleepEZ, and Latex Mattress Factory seem like the best bets and within price range.
I hope I will hear something soon to set up a mattress appointment, my back has just been awful lately and my sleep is terrible let alone from stress, just want to get something
I hope your appointment helps you gather more valuable data points. Definitely feel free to reach out directly to the Trusted Members I mentioned. They are happy to talk through your comfort and support needs with you and point you towards what they believe will be your best fit within their inventory.
Soooo, update.
We were both independently able to go to a local store and try some stuff out.
It seemed that he still likes a firmer mattress, but he said he was also fine with any of the mattresses there. He really wanted to get complete mattress the same even though I said it seems like we probably need a split mattress.
Well, ordered from Latex Mattress Factory- 3" dunlop firm bottom layer, 3" dunlop medium middle layer, 3" talalay soft layer.
My back pain has disappeared other than when driving sometimes. Gd-drn miracle. I feel like it’s 95% amazing (5% I think it’s too soft, this is mostly when I’m not like, actually sleeping, but sitting in bed reading)
Husband said it’s way too soft and he is now the one sleeping downstairs on the reasonably comfortable, but cut down craiglist mattress I had at my old studio before we moved in together… Ugh! He said that he feels like he’s sleeping on a water bed, which must be the talalay. I’m frustrated since they had this stuff in the store, although I will say the bed does feel a little softer than anything they had there, despite supposedly same specs.
I am very tiny worried since the foam softens up even more, right? It’s fine for me now, but I definitely wouldn’t want it any softer.
I talked with LMF peeps and it seems we should go with a split top layer? IDK if we should a medium…dunlop seems for sure for him.
The other thing is there is a local seller of a dunlop medium layer that didn’t work for them that is pretty cheap and we’d have it right away.
Also can save the other halves of each layer for our RV (we use a good deal, it’s another set of old foam mattress cushions and will one day be living closer to full time in it).
Can either DIY cut it, or (incredibly!) I know people with a foam store, used to live next to them. They could cut it for us (unfortunately they don’t sell latex foam).
Great to hear your back pain is finally leaving (likely due to misalignment on your old mattress). I would definitely suggest a split mattress because that way you can tailor each person’s side to their liking. Even if your husband decided he wants something completely different on his side you won’t have to change what works on your side at all. Similarly when layers wear out years down the road maintenance on the mattress becomes alot easier as well.
