Wow you’re fast! Thank you! Checked out the Mankato store you had listed over lunch - Bedpost Furniture. The owner, Mark was very knowledgeable and I used the “Interview” article you posted to kind of test him. He made it very clear he cared about fitting us to the right mattress, not making money because having happy customers was the most important (and in the end it costs more money having to take back mattresses and replace them, though he they certainly do it if someone is unhappy). He also gave us the WHOLE back story on latex and why it stopped being used (the war) and we had to come up with synthetic materials which are now more popular but it is still very high quality and durable etc. etc. etc. I was actually impressed with how much he knew. I was not however, impressed with their prices!!
They had a handful of partial latex mattresses there. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the following brands/beds:
Therapedic PureTouch Splendor. (King) The Therapedic website seems to have a “newer” version of this bed, the Splendor II and the specs are slightly different. I’ll try to remember them as best I can:
Natural Babmoo stretch knit fabric cover
1.5" high density convoluted foam (not sure what convoluted means??)
1" enhanced plush foam
4" Talalay latex (soft I think)
7" Talalay latex core (firm)
I think I remember reading that we shouldn’t go with something that has more than 1" poly foam above the latex though…so would this be a bad option? The bed was soft and comfortable and definitely felt good, though we didn’t spend much time on it as we were at lunch so we would need to go back to test longer.
The other option was
Symbol Contour Classic Kensington (King) The Symbol website gave me no spec details that I could find other than premium 1.8 lb density foam, plush latex foam and support foam…but I did find this info on a retailer website:
Quilt - First Layer: FR Fiber Barrer
Quilt - Second Layer: 1" HyperSoftFoam
Quilt - Third Layer: 1" HyperSoft Foam
Upholstery - First Layer: 1" Plush Latex Foam
Upholstery - Second Layer: 1" Plush Latex Foam
Mattress Core: 6" Premium 1.8-lb. density Foam
Mattress Bottom: 2" Support Foam
The perfect balance of comfort and support
Conforms naturally for superior support and pressure relief
Molds to your body to relieve pressure points reducing tossing and turning
Enhances support for your back and increases the life of your mattress
Provides initial surface comfort
Increases overall comfort
Maintenance free
Maximum surface comfort
This bed was a lot more plush than the Therapedic and we sunk in more. It was seriously like a pillow wrapping around you. I love that feeling but I wonder if I love it for the wrong reasons and it’s not actually better for spine alignment/pressure points but it just feels good when you first lie down…I also wonder if it’s too plush for my husband? He agreed that it was nice and soft but was unsure if that would = problems 4-5 hours into sleep…also, I can’t tell from all the quilting if there is too much padding above the latex layer for it to be durable…? Thoughts?
Unfortunately those were the only two non-coil options they had there with latex. Mark did have us try out a couple of the iComforts by Serta but after laying on the previous two, I felt like they were too hard…I mean eventually I did sink in a bit but I think I don’t weigh enough to push into the bed much so it didn’t feel all that comfortable. I’m glad he had us on them to compare and to be honest prior to this trip and feeling those other two beds, we were set on getting a memory foam mattress…
The prices they had seemed REALLY high…both were around $2,400 for a king set. Based on the sites and articles I’ve read on here, we should be able to get what we want for under $2,000 and probably closer to $1500. Thoughts?
What I really want to guard against is the breakdown of materials after time. Especially after a short amount of time. That is why I would rather spend more money on better materials. I think your article about being able to get a good quality mattress for the $1200-$1500 range that will last more than a couple of years is what my goal is.
Oh I forgot another one they had us lie on - it was a Symbol Dorchester Pillow Top with Coil
This one was insanely plush. These are the specs:
Quilt - First Layer: FR Fiber Barrier
Quilt - Second Layer: 1" HyperSoft Foam
Quilt - Third Layer: 1" HyperSoft Foam
Mattress (Top Side) - First Layer: 1" Plush 5-Zone Convoluted Latex Foam
Mattress (Top Side) - Second Layer: 1" SuperSoft Foam
Mattress (Top Side) - Third Layer: 1" SuperSoft Foam (on the pillow top deck)
Mattress (Core): High Profile (8") Individually Enclosed Coil Support System with 4" Foam Encased Perimeter Support
Mattress (Bottom Side): 2" Support Foam
I think this one was almost too soft for us. And I think based on your advice that it is a higher risk of breaking down a lot sooner. But it did give us an opportunity to “test” what a laytex top layer would feel like…kind of…I think because everything underneath was SO soft, perhaps it wasn’t really a realistic picture of a non-coil, full laytex mattress.
We will try to head up to the Cities this weekend to test out some more at the places your articles mentioned. It all depends on the weather. Even more reason to replace our mattress. I seriously hibernate in the winter here.
Last week we hit -45 with the wind chill. Yes, you read that right. NEGATIVE 45 degrees! Seriously ridiculous.
Had some friends have a bad experience with Mankato Mattress Man and after returning/exchanging 2 mattresses are stuck and still not happy. Perhaps I’ll give them a chance still but I will check out Ashley too (Furniture Mart chain) in Mankato as well and perhaps call on some of the others that are an hour away just to see what they have in stock in laytex for us to try out.
As I was browsing Symbol’s website I notice they have something called the Comfort 4U line…is this like a sleepnumber bed? If so, do you have any reviews/research about it? We’ve done the whole Sleepnumber trial thing and fell in love with a bed but cannot in any way shape or form justify spending THAT much money on a bed. Is the Comfort 4U a less expensive but not cheaper alternative?
Thanks again! You are seriously a Godsend!