I’ll start this message with a huge Thank You to all those that contribute here and especially Phoenix for leading the charge into the great mattress abyss. This past November my wife and I decided it was time to replace a Sealy Posturpedic Spiral Firm mattress we had purchased in 1994. I was dreading the project of heading to mattress stores and trying out the merchandise. As I often do now, I started doing some preliminary research online to try and gain an understanding of options available and the general state of the mattress world. Thankfully I stumbled on this place fairly early in my googling. Before we went anywhere I spent hours here reading. Yes, I was overwhelmed with information, options and concern. How in the world was I ever going to figure this all out? After a week or so of reading and research I felt like it was time to put all the stuff that cluttered my head to use. To be honest, at that point I was doing myself more harm than good by continuing to research (I was honestly totally confused). We headed out to visit a couple local mattress dealers. We tested all varieties and came to the conclusion we liked an all latex option. The holidays slowed the project for a bit but then I had to get back on the horse. Back here for more reading and research. The information available here is invaluable. I finally made a phone call to SleepEZ. More information was obtained. We headed out to try more latex options available here in our local area. This past weekend we tested several and found one we thought was absolutely perfect. I called SleepEZ again today and spoke with Shawn. Very helpful. Based on info we obtained through research, testing in the field and discussion I had with SleepEZ I placed an order with them this afternoon for a Organic Latex Mattress - 10" - all 3 layers are Talalay - S, M, F. That decision was made based on specifics we obtained while out physically testing mattresses for comfort and conversations with Jodi and Shawn at SleepEZ. In about 7-10 days my wife and I will receive our new mattress. As you might imagine we are relieved we made a decision and excited that in just over a week our new mattress will arrive. It is what i would consider to be a very expensive purchase. However, having done research here I feel confident that we have purchased a product of very similar quality to the one we tested in the store this past weekend (that we loved the feel of) at a significantly lower price. For anyone that reads this and is in a state of disarray over the confusing and frustrating aspect of trying to decide on which mattress to purchase, keep plowing forward and follow the suggestions you find posted here. I’ll end it the way I started it with a huge Thank You to TMU.
Hi TPA,
Welcome to the Mattress Forum! 
Thank you for the details of your mattress shopping process. You are correct that there is a point where you can only do so much through reading, and once you are armed with the information that you need to know regarding mattress componentry, or at least the questions to ask, getting out there and visiting a few stores, or making phone calls, is the next best step. Many people are hesitant actually making the transition from researching to actual store visits, as they are afraid of not “knowing everything” about a product, but as you found this isn’t at all a necessity.
Congratulations on the new mattress you ordered! :cheer: I’m glad you received good advice at SleepEZ, and you certainly did choose a product using high quality materials. I hope you’re able to comment again about your purchase once you’ve had a chance to sleep upon it for a while.
You’re very welcome. Thank you for your kind words.
Phoenix
Thanks for the welcome Phoenix! I will come back and post a review after we’ve had the mattress for a while and advise our level of satisfaction. One thing I didn’t mention in my ramblings above (and I should have) was how my initial research, here specifically, prepared me for the salesmanship we encountered on our first adventure out to do some testing at local mattress stores. While I felt fairly overwhelmed with information overload (from my research/reading) I realized fairly quickly that some of the things salesman were telling me didn’t match my research. I felt very well informed and was able to ask questions early on that helped us sort through some of the claims that were being made. Unfortunately we were crossing items off our list way faster than we were adding things to our potential purchase list. While the process was quite involved and time consuming the end result we were seeking was a high quality product at a reasonable price. As of today I feel like we accomplished that. More to come…
Hi TPA,
Thanks for the follow-up.
That’s one of the advantages of having all of this information – you can quite quickly “weed out” the material you’re presented.
It’s a sad thing, but I always say that someone who has spent just a few hours on this site is better informed than the majority of people trying to “sell” them a mattress.
Selecting what won’t work is just as important as finding out what will work, and it’s all making positive progress.
Looking forward to it.
Phoenix
As promised, I’m back to make comment about our experience purchasing a Latex mattress and our level of satisfaction.
We’ve been sleeping on our SleepEZ Organic Latex Mattress (10" all talalay) for a little over a year now. We were coming from a Serta Firm (25 year old) mattress. Our configuration ended up being (top to bottom) M, S, F. We arrived at this configuration after trying several variations once the mattress was delivered to our house. Any switch and we slept on it for at least 6 nights. The bed does have the split but we both settled on same configuration.
SleepEZ was excellent to work with. I did spend a month trying multiple configurations. We did try the recommended setup of S,M,F but both found it too plush. There was excellent support and comfort with the S,M,F setup it’s just that neither of us like a bed that is quite that soft (not in a bad way). I’m 6’-0" 175 lbs and my wife is 5’-8" 150 lbs. I actually tried a couple variations of M,M,F (with the assistance of the SleepEZ layer swap option). I experienced back pain issues after about 6-7 nights when sleeping on this configuration (it would be wonderful for a few nights but then I would start to experience upper back pain in the mornings before getting out of bed).
SleepEZ was outstanding to work with. Everything about the buying experience through them was first class.
My wife and I could not be any more pleased with the decision to purchased a latex mattress. The comfort and support it provides is just incredible. After one year it still feels just like the day we got it. We both wish we had made the switch to latex years ago.
As I originally posted, TMU was a huge asset in sorting out the mattress world. It did require a good bit of research on our part and going out testing different options in stores to try and find something we could use as a baseline to make a sound decision but it was worth the effort 100x over.
Thanks TMU Community. Good luck to anyone who reads this that is searching for a mattress option. Lots of good stuff out there but unfortunately lots of bad stuff too. You’re in the right place to sort it all out however!
Sleep Well!
Hi TPA.
Thank you for keeping your promise and for taking the time to share a one-year mattress update, comments, and feedback. I am very appreciative when our consumer members return to post their experiences for the benefit of others. … also thanks for your kind words and appreciation for the help, guidance, and support that SleepEZ provided for you… I am not sure if you noticed but since your last visit here SleepEZ also became one of the valued Member Experts of our site and are now openly sharing their knowledge and many years of experience with the TMU community.
Congratulations on a job/research well done and your success! :cheer:
Phoenix