Where can I test out a full latex mattress (with layers) in MN?

[phoenix]

Hi jm20w,

We’re heading to Ashley and the Mankato Mattress Man shortly. I called both and Ashley has some latex hybrids and Justin at MMM said he has both. Hopefully this will give us a better idea of what we like from a comfort standpoint.

I would be cautious about Ashley. I don’t know which mattress you are considering there but if it’s one of their latex mattresses (which don’t seem to be on their site anymore) they all have a fairly thick layer of what they call R3 foam on top (which they have never been able to tell me what it is in spite of many phone calls but to my knowledge isn’t latex at all).

We pulled all the bedding off and laid on it as if we were in the store. We both agreed that it felt soft (the padding on top) but firmer than we like. And it was super bouncy. My guess is that it is firmer than either of us need, me especially being so light, and that’s why it hurts my back after not being on it for a period of time when we’re out of town and then we come back and I sleep on it again. Would that make sense? It’s also probably why we aren’t getting great sleep since we can both feel each other move all night. I think upgrading to a king size will help a ton but switching to a foam mattress will really help.

The most important part of any mattress choice is making sure that it’s a good match for you in terms of PPP regardless of the type of mattress you are considering. You won’t be able to compare the feel or performance of a mattress based on specs and the links to the testing guidelines in the tutorial post will be very helpful to make sure your testing is as careful and objective as possible. Symptoms on a mattress can be a result of alignment issues of the spine or joints, pressure issues, or can sometimes be the result of adjusting from one type of mattress to another. This adjustment may explain your experience when you come back after sleeping on another mattress if that’s the only time it happens and isn’t part of your normal sleeping experience on your mattress. Depending on the location and specifics of the back pain, the most common cause (of lower back pain especially) is a mattress that is too soft. There is more about the more common “symptoms” on a mattress in post #2 here but these are generic and don’t apply to each individual person. The lack of motion isolation on your mattress is most likely the type of innerspring it uses. Springs that use helical wires to connect each spring with other springs beside it will have less motion isolation that pocket coils which can compress more individually or various types of foam mattresses (see this page for more about the different types of innersprings).

How do you determine your “level” of firmness though? Like on the SleepEZ site there is soft, medium and firm and I think Xtra firm. Other sites are similar…as we go into the stores, how do we test on the beds to gauge which level of firmness or softness is most like what we liked on something we laid on? Is there a chart somewhere that compares?

Either with local testing on similar mattresses that you can use as a reference point (if there are any available locally that are close enough in design to be a meaningful comparison) or through more detailed conversations with each online retailer or manufacturer (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

Oh one more thing - do you have a section on pillows? I am at a loss for figuring out a good pillow for each of us and know that is a huge factor in the spinal alignment and neck pain in the morning.

Your right that pillows are a much more subjective and individual choice even than a mattress but there are some “needs” with a pillow that are important. The pillow thread here and the links it includes has more information, sources, and feedback about pillows.

I’m looking forward to hearing about your experiences and feedback along the way.

Phoenix