Happy to be here and able to participate. I’ve been lurking for a while and finally got my membership approved so I thought I’d drop a not to say hello!
I moved recently from Washington state back home to Florida and had to leave my beloved Beautyrest Black Hybrid behind. I’m thinking about trying the DIY route this time (always up for an adventure), BUT - I went out to test drive a few mattresses over the past few weekends, and the Purple 4 has piqued my interest. A bit about myself - I’m 5’ 10", 250lbs, heavyset, and it’s mostly in my hips and stomach. I am a side sleeper but have just recently discovered the wonders of an adjustable bed frame, which could lead me to convert to a back sleeper. I also suffer from chronic insomnia so getting a good night’s sleep is very critical.
Having said that, I was looking at one of the DIY sites that has a presence here (not sure if it’s permissible to mention names, so I’ll refrain for now), and found the basic formula to recreate my beloved Beautyrest Black Hybrid (minus the fancy diamond-infused cover). I have not found any DIY formulas for recreating the Purple 4 experience though. So I thought I’d start with the following few questions (all questions would be for a standard King mattress build):
Is there a formula for something close to the Purple 4 that could be replicated from DIY materials? I understand the Purple product itself is proprietary, but didn’t know if there were any known equivalents.
What is everyone’s thoughts on adjustable bases in general? Are they worth it, or just gimmicks?
Looking forward to the discussions! Thanks again for allowing me to join!
Is there a formula for something close to the Purple 4 that could be replicated from DIY materials? I understand the Purple product itself is proprietary, but didn’t know if there were any known equivalents.
What is everyone’s thoughts on adjustable bases in general? Are they worth it, or just gimmicks?
Looking forward to the discussions! Thanks again for allowing me to join!
Kindest regards,
Fred[/quote]
Hi Fred and welcome to TMU!
Looking over the construction details of the BRBH line it doesn’t appear to use any latex, but primarily several layers of memory foam and some other polyurethane foam in its comfort layers above the pocketed coil spring system. Even in a multi-layer construction most people can feel the difference if a single layer is changed, but latex has a completely different feel and higher level of support than memory foam so I wouldn’t expect your proposed latex hybrid DIY build to feel at all similar to the BRBH. Such DIY builds more commonly use a single 3" layer of latex for their comfort layer, but whether it makes sense to use a 3" layer of firm latex below 3" of soft latex I’d suggest discussing with the seller. They are most experienced with various configurations of the materials they sell and how to combine them to best meet individual customer’s needs.
The Purple grid matrix material is proprietary, but the structure is also known as “buckling column gel”. Purple doesn’t make it available outside of their mattresses, although I’ve heard that a similar version may be available from Intellibed but it’s quite expensive. Availability of such a gel matrix has also been found from China on AliExpress but its quality is not really known or assured. Buckling column gel has a very different feel than either latex or memory foam, so before pursuing it I’d strongly suggest trying out a Purple or similar mattress in person to see if you find it comfortable or even enjoy it at all. It seems to be a very divisive product that some people love and others find uncomfortable.
Adjustable bases have become very popular but I personally find their use for sleeping rather limited. For sitting up in bed to read or watch TV they can be very comfortable and useful, and they allow you to get in a comfortable position for sleeping when positioned on your back. However if you’re not primarily a back sleeper or tend to reposition during the night their use can be limited. If you look at the way such bases flex to raise your upper body and the area under your knees it works well when on your back, however if on your side or stomach your body doesn’t flex the same way for it to be useful. So I’ve found that if I raise the head and foot sections of the base while on my back, if I then want to roll onto my side or stomach I have to reset the base to flat or very close to flat to be at all comfortable. This isn’t always practical during the night while sleeping so I generally have to keep it set to flat in order to make it through the night. Of course we’re all different and some find it more useful than others but that’s my experience having had an adjustable base for several years.
Is it possible to get the memory foam feel with latex? I really like that “squishy” feeling. I have a Purple Harmony pillow currently, which is made from Talalay latex. I get the whole “springy” vs “squishy” thing, and I could probably be OK with either provided they were set up to provide me with plenty of room to sink into the mattress so my shoulder doesn’t ache in the morning.
I did not spend an extended amount of time on the Purple 4, but what time I did spend, it seemed to be quite comfortable for me. Short of trundling down to a store in my jammies, is there another way to test it?
As for the adjustable base thing - I guess I was more intrigued by the fact that it touts (I have no idea if it’s factually so), to help with circulation by raising the legs above the heart. I suppose with the right mattress I could “re-learn” how to sleep, and the short time test-driving it in the store it seemed to feel quite comfortable to lay in. That could have been the novelty of it though - more research may be in order there.
Thanks again, and looking forward to input from others as well!
Memory foam and latex have very different feels. While the Purple Harmony pillow has a latex core it is surrounded by their grid matrix which would change the feel from latex alone. While latex conforms and provides cushioning it also pushes back more which provides support, kind of the opposite of what MF does by conforming around your body as it allows you to sink into it. It’s not possible to predict if you’d like latex as much or more than MF, but one big difference is that with latex you sleep more on top of it and with MF you sleep more deeply surrounded by and into it.
Latex is clearly more durable than MF, but each has some unique properties and there are dedicated fans of both. If you look at the market there are plenty of designs using MF for their comfort layer as well as others using latex. There are so many versions of BR mattresses and the BRBH that trying to recreate any particular model can be a challenge. They’re not very transparent in providing details of their materials and often use foams which are claimed to be proprietary which would not be available for a DIY build. The BR Black line also uses springs which are not available elsewhere further complicating a recreation project. So sorry to say there is no formula for effectively duplicating your BRBH mattress, and that’s how the company wants it. If you’re an adventurous DIYer and like a challenge you could give it a try, but be ready to buy and experiment with lots of different layers and configurations along the way.
Bill has made some great comments but just to piggyback on what he said, I would keep in mind that you can combine materials to get the feel you want when doing a DIY mattress. So if you prefer the feel of memory foam you can use that as a comfort layer and then use latex to replace the poly foam Simmons uses on the support layers and then decide if you want springs/latex foam/poly foam etc as a base layer. It does require some experimenting to get it right but once you figure out what works then you can maintain and replace it much more easily than anything store bought. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the density specs for quality foam so your DIY project lasts the test of time once you find what works best for you.