Can’t say enough good things about the content, here, except that, like many others, I am overwhelmed. Thank you, Phoenix, for what you do. Think I’ve narrowed a purchase down to the Ultimate Dreams Total Latex or Natural Sleep Select. Price is not as important as value and durability. We live in the Atlanta, GA area and have tried mattresses at Original Mattress Factory.and Tucker Mattress. My BMI is around 26 and my husband’s is just at 30. We are 60, with no physical ailments. Both of us sleep on our back or side, and want a mattress that we sleep on, not in… Curious to know your thoughts.
Hi digginginthedirt,
Welcome to the Mattress Forum! 
You’re very welcome! The presentation of the information here, while detailed, is meant to help assist you through the mattress selection process, and if you follow the steps listed in the Mattress Shopping Tutorial (which it sounds like you’ve been doing), it will help narrow down your choices and allow you the best chance for success with your choice.
While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … It’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see post #2 here).
Just in case you haven’t read it yet (but I think you have) … the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly help you know how and why to avoid the worst ones. Your two “finalists” are certainly choices using good quality materials.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists (based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).
When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc.) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
Since the only way to know for certain or confirm whether any mattress will be a good “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP or how it will compare to another mattress will be based on your own personal experience … if you aren’t confident that an online mattress will be a good match for you then the return/refund policy and any costs involved would become a much more important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase so you can try out the mattress in your bedroom instead of a showroom with the only risk being the cost of returning a mattress if in the worst case, and in spite of the “best efforts” of everyone involved (both you and the retailer you are buying from) the mattress doesn’t turn out to be as suitable a choice as you hoped for.
I’m guessing you mean the Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams Total Latex and the SleepEZ Natural Select Sleep?
Both of these mattress contain quality materials, and I would have no concerns with your BMI in choosing either item. You do have a little more selection with the SleepEZ models, from 7" – 13", depending upon your layering preference.
Latex in general is the most durable of all the foam materials (latex foam, memory foam, polyfoam) regardless of whether it is Dunlop or Talalay or is made from natural rubber, synthetic rubber, or a blend of both. There is more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here if you’re curious, but the choice between different types and blends of latex is more of a preference and budget choice than a “better/worse” choice.
You can also see some comments about the pros and cons of a component mattress with a zip cover where you can choose the type and firmness of each layer vs a “finished mattresses” that has glued layers in post #15 here and post #2 here.
As you’re probably aware (if you searched the forum), both SleepEZ and Dreamfoam are members of this site which means that I think very highly of both of them and that I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency. I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to purchase a mattress from either of them.
Latex is certainly a product that is good at that sort of comfort.
You are certainly looking at two very good options and I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding.
Phoenix