Trying to decide on the right Latex Hybrid Mattress

Like so many here, I’m trying to make sense of all the different options and pick a mattress that will work for both me and my partner.

My partner: 6’4" and 235lbs and both a back and side sleeper. He has some moderate lower back issues due to an old weight-lifting injury, where he’ll experience lumbar pain when he does certain lower back exercises. Our old cheap innerspring mattress bothered his lumbar region due to lack of support.

Me: 5’4’" and about 120lbs. Primarily a side sleeper, although I do end up on my back often enough. I had no previous back or sleep issues—until recently. After buying a new bed frame and waiting for a box spring to arrive, we were sleeping on our old, sagging innerspring mattress with no box spring—TERRIBLE IDEA. That was uncomfortable and contributed to what came next, but my main issues started once our new Amerisleep medium-firm memory foam mattress arrived. After sleeping with the new box spring and Amerisleep mattress for one night, the very next day I experienced considerable pain in my lumbar region after I twisted my torso in a normal movement. The pain eventually centralized in my right sacrum/SI joint, though other parts of my lower spine could be involved. At first I blamed the old mattress and lack of box spring, but after a month with no relief, I eventually realized the new memory foam mattress was exacerbating or even causing my problems. I’ve been sleeping on the floor with a cheap innerspring mattress and it seems to be slowly helping somewhat.

I’m now understandably wary about new mattresses! After going through your guidelines, I’m eyeing a King sized latex hybrid mattress system with a pocketed coil support system. We’ll probably want something with medium-firm support (correct me if I’m wrong). Now I’m just trying to choose.

Support is key, especially with our weight discrepancies and my current back issues. Of course I also want something that is comfortable and holds up! I’ve been looking at the Luma Latex Hybrid and the Nest Hybrid Latex, but I’d really appreciate some guidance. The Ultimate Hybrid Pocket Coil/Latex by Arizona Premium Mattress looks great, but I’m hesitant to buy something with a difficult, costly return if it doesn’t work for us (and I live in South Florida). Is there a mattress with similar stats to the Ultimate Hybrid that has a generous sleep trial and an easier shipping/return process? Or what other mattress would best fit our needs? Any input would be appreciated.

Thank you for your interest in our products. Our Ultimate Hybrid has been a huge hit and is now one of the most copied mattress designs out there. We make easy to request a comfort exchange if it’s not right. We also offer a dual firmness choice for the latex topper which is something most can’t even offer. In your case I think this would be a great option since there is a big weight difference between you and your partner. I think the Plush Talalay for your side and Medium Talalay for his would be right where you need it to be. If we don’t get it right the first time we can just swap the latex for a different firmness choice and you only pay the shipping charges. The real story here is we get it right the first time 95% of the time when customers reach out to us with their info before ordering.

Thank you for the fast response. So would the Plush Talalay on top of the Combizone coils come out to a medium firmness for me? Or would it be medium-firm? I honestly am unsure of what firmness to go for after what happened with the memory foam mattress; for all I know my side sleeping and the medium-firm aspect contributed to my spinal issues.

I see talk of Dunlop vs Talalay and also people building layers of different thicknesses of both Dunlop and Talalay in DIY builds…could you explain the advantages of this over your ready-made Ultimate hybrid? Could this be an option for me and, if so, how would one go about deciding which layers to use?

What I would do first is seek out a latex mattress vendor in your area and try some out. I am very familiar with both Savvyrest and Pure Talalay Bliss product lines so I would search their websites first for a local dealer. Let me know what configuration or model you liked best and at least we have a place to start in building a DIY configuration. Savvyrest also has a hybrid you can test out so if you like the spring/latex combo be sure to note that configuration also.