This is an awesome site. My wife and I marvel at your wealth of information re: mattresses. We are on the hunt for our perfect mattress. We are newlyweds and are moving from a full bed to a queen size. We have done a lot of looking at local chains and are as you can imagine quite confused by what they tell us. Our best choice was a latex foam queen at about $1,000 at a mattress store owned by a local family with four locations in northern Ohio. The salesman was nice and seemed to know what he was talking about. The problem for me was they sold Posturepedic and Serta and the latex brand (Pure Latex Bliss) they sold seemed to be far superior to either of the major brands which caused me to pause and ask why they would carry all the other mattresses if PLB was so good!
So, being confused by this, we decided to do some research and we found you! Thanks for being here. My problem continues in that all the companies you talk about in this forum as being reputable, offering high end products, standing behind what they sell, etc, etc, are all states that are more than four hour drives from Mid Ohio. I feel good about some of the companies, but my wife says,“I don’t want to buy a mattress without testing it first!” Which obviously makes good sense but isn’t practical in real life. Can you give me some thoughts as to the risk and associated costs with picking a manufacturer from your recommended lists and going ahead with a purchase without testing it first for PPP, etc…???
Pure Latex Bliss makes Talalay latex mattresses and not every person prefers Talalay latex. It’s also true that most consumers don’t know how to buy a mattress and are more influenced by brand names (which means very little) than by more meaningful information and ways to make comparisons between mattresses so most retailers will carry a range of mattresses that would be more attractive to a wider range of consumers. Better always depends on how you define it. Talalay latex is certainly a good quality material and Pure Latex Bliss is certainly “better than average” in terms of quality and value compared to most mainstream manufacturers but there are also many other options that use the same materials that are in a lower budget range as well. Which mattress is the “best” for you would depend on which one is the best match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) along with the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you. Just like with clothing or furniture … no store would only carry one type of product because different people have different needs and preferences.
I’m glad you found us I would also make sure that you’ve read the tutorial post here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines all in one place that can help you make the best possible choices … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
I’m not sure where you are in Northern Ohio but some of the better options in and around the Cleveland / Akron area are listed in post #2 here.
This topic and the posts it links to also has more about the pros and cons of an online vs a local purchase but each person will have a different set of criteria and risk tolerance that they are most comfortable with. It will also depend on how comfortable you are with the options they have available both before and after a purchase to customize the mattress, to exchange a mattress or individual layers, and/or the return the mattress for a refund. This is all part of each person’s personal value equation and there is no right or wrong … only different preferences for different people.
If you list the specifics of any mattress you are considering on the forum (see this article) then I’d certainly be happy to share my thoughts about the materials or help identify any cautions or possible weak links in the mattress (see post #4 here) but keeping up with the specifics of all the mattresses on the showroom floors of all the hundreds of retailers or manufacturers that are listed throughout the forum would be a bigger job than anyone could keep up with in a constantly changing market so for the most part I only know what is listed on their sites (which are often not up to date) or what I’ve mentioned in the descriptions in the list.
Sorry … I wasn’t specific enough with that question… I didn’t mean mattress options … I meant mattress company options in Columbus Ohio … Thanks
We went to Columbus to The Mattress Factory. We stopped in Marion to visit one of their retail stores then on to Columbus to see their factory. Nice factory. Nice mattresses. My only issues are:
The latex mattress they sell is Talalay latex, but it is 60% synthetic and 40% natural. It is 3.5 in. latex over 3 in. polyfoam over 3.5 in. of latex. This is nice in that it is flippable, but not sure that is all that important… also;
The mattress we are using to compare it to is 100% natural Talalay latex. Now, the cost of the Mattress Factory is $2,000 out the door with a 12 year unconditional warranty (1.5" sag. The cost of the 100% model from Pure Latex Bliss is about $3,300 with a 20 year unconditional warranty (1.75" sag).
What is your opinion about synthetic? and also blended synthetic? The Mattress Factory rep says they do it because it is more durable.
That’s the third different set of specs about the Serenity latex that have been mentioned on the forum (see post #1 here and post #6 here for the other two) but I confirmed today that they are 3" thick on each side made up of two layers that are different ILD’s (see post #4 here).
The blend of the latex is actually closer to 70/30 but that isn’t a meaningful difference
There is more about the pros and cons of a two sided mattress in post #3 here and the posts it links to and there is also more about the Serenity latex compared to an all latex mattress and another one sided latex/polyfoam hybrid in post #2 here.
If the mattress you are looking at has a 20 year warranty then it’s probably the blended Talalay not the 100% natural Talalay (which has a 10 year warranty because it’s a little less durable then the blend). Pure Latex Bliss calls it’s blended Talalay “natural” and it’s 100% natural Talalay “all natural” so many retailers are confused about which type of latex is in the mattresses they are selling and may tell their customers that the “natural” latex is “100% natural” when its not.
The Pure Latex Bliss warranty has an exclusion of .75" visible impression so I’m not sure where the 1.75" came from.
You can see my thoughts about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here and a comparison between blended Talalay and 100% natural Talalay in post #2 here. They are correct that Latex International’s blended Talalay is more durable than their 100% natural Talalay (see the Pure Latex Bliss site here).
I would also make sure that you’ve read the