Hi Ptosis,
Welcome to the site and I’m glad you found us.
Many of your questions don’t have any definitive answers but I can certainly link you to more information that can help you make more informed choices.
The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the Reno/Carson City/Sparks area (subject to making sure that they are fully transparent and that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here) are listed in post #3 here (I just updated the list).
While there are certainly some latex mattresses available in the general area (including component latex mattresses) … there isn’t anything that would be directly comparable to the Flobeds designs.
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. There are just 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 mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site but just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
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”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own 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 (which would certainly include Flobeds) 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.
Flobeds is also one of the members of this site which means that I think highly of then and that I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency and as you mentioned the V-zone is certainly one of the most customizable mattresses available and there are many ways to customize the layering and zoning on each side of the mattress that can fine tune the support/alignment and pressure relief of the mattress for each person after a purchase.
If you are interested in additional online options then the mattress shopping tutorial includes this link to a list of the members here that sell mattresses online and many of them also sell latex and latex hybrid mattresses (including component mattresses) that use different types and blends of latex that have a wide range of different designs, options, features, return and exchange policies, and prices. Post #3 here also includes a list of manufacturers that sell component latex mattresses online as well.
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 options you have available after a purchase to exchange or customize the mattress (by rearranging or exchanging layers) and any costs involved or return the mattress for a refund 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.
There is more about the pros and cons of a side by side split layer design in post #2 here but with a solid top layer and a tight fitting quilted cover you wouldn’t feel the actual split itself although you would notice some transition in between the different firmness levels on each side (which of course is the reason for the split layering). Larger differences between each side would be more noticeable than smaller differences.
An all latex mattress will generally do best with a firm, flat, and evenly supportive support surface underneath it that has minimal to no flex under the mattress and for larger sizes with at least one center support beam that has good support to the floor to prevent any sagging in the middle of the mattress. The components need to be strong and durable and stable enough to support the weight of the mattress and the people sleeping on it without some of the parts bending, sagging, or breaking over time. The support surface under the mattress should have enough surface area to prevent the mattress from sagging through any gaps or spaces in the support surface over time but still allow some airflow under the mattress. I would suggest that in a slatted support system (either a foundation on a steel or wooden bedframe or a platform bed with a slatted support surface) that any gaps between the slats are no more than 3" (with 1 x 3 slats) although less than that would be better yet.
The foundation from Flobeds has a more evenly supportive surface with more wood and smaller gaps and uses stronger wood. While both would be suitable choices for a latex mattress … the Flobeds foundation would be stronger and have a less flex under the mattress. Using legs under the foundation would also save the cost of using a steel bedframe since it wouldn’t be necessary. Having said that … it’s unlikely that you would “feel” any difference between them.
There is also more about flexible slat systems in post #2 here and the posts it links to. Since a flexible slat system is an “active” part of a sleeping system (just like any other layer or component either in, under, or over a mattress that flexes or compresses when you sleep on it) the only reliable way to know whether a flexible slat system would be an improvement for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP compared to a non flexing support system under the same mattress would be based on your own actual experience when you test it or sleep on it in person and compare both types of support systems under the same mattress. Depending on the design of the mattress, for some people it could be neutral, for some people it could be an improvement, and for some it could be detrimental. The flexible slats would generally be less noticeable under a thicker mattress than under a thinner one or for lighter people than heavier people.
Either one (steel bedframe and a suitable foundation or a foundation with legs and no steel bedframe) can be equally supportive and suitable as long as there is good center support to the floor.
I’m not familiar with the bedframe and I don’t know the weight it’s designed to support or how stable it is but if the foundation you choose has a center support or is a split king foundation I would tend to choose a bedframe that has a center support that goes from the head to the foot (directly under the center support of the foundation) and my “instinct” also says that there are probably better and stronger options available and it wouldn’t be my first choice.
Phoenix