Who Can I Trust to Help Me Find A Mattress????

[phoenix]

Hi Hammer,

Thank you for your very, ahem, thorough response to my question. My post was more of a cathartic cry for help after spending 3-months of daily research trying to find a mattress that offers quality & value and won’t breakdown in a few months, rather than a dig at you.

Hah – there is a lot of catharsis on this site! :lol: Quite often people are looking to vent just as much as they are looking for information. No worries at all!

However, as a consumer I will always have a fair amount of skepticism about sponsored sites and their impartiality. Call it a character flaw!

There is nothing wrong with being skeptical, and with so many misleading sites in this industry I advise you to be so. As I mentioned in my earlier reply, put your faith in good objective information to give yourself the best chance at success.

Unfortunately, we live in a very rural area which makes trying out all the different mattress types impossible.

If you provide your zip code I’ll see if I am aware of any alternatives closer to your home.

Should I look at a 100% latex mattress or hybrid latex/innerspring?

That’s a popular question, and in the end, like so many things, it comes down to personal preference, and price. There’s quite a few differences, including the response rate, resilience, ability to customize, airflow and price, just to name a few things. I have more details about the differences between a latex support core and an innerspring support core in post #28 here.

How thick should the Latex layer/s be?

The overall thickness of a mattress is more a by-product of the mattress design itself (see post #14 here). As far as individual layers, latex is usually found in 1"-3" layerings, with 2" and 3" being the most popular.

Recognizing that foam will breakdown over time would it be best to buy a firmer foam that will break down to a medium firmness?

You are correct that all foams break down over time. With polyfoams, a higher density foam will be more durable and generally maintain more of its support factor over time. Latex foam will tend to be the most durable and consistent over the useful life of the mattress. There’s a little more about choosing a mattress based upon “predicting” a change in softness in post #2 here. While it contains information that you may have already read, there is quite a bit of information contained in this thread (and the posts it links to) about latex durability.

I’ve read the differences between Dunlop and Tallalay, but still confused about which should be the top layer and which should be a support layer. Would this be different in a 100% foam mattress vs. a foam/ innerspring hybrid?

While this ultimately comes down to personal preference, it is common for many people to prefer the Dunlop in the deeper layers of a mattress, for its higher compression modulus (firming up faster), and Talalay latex in the upper layers, for its more buoyant feel. But this is a general statement and there are those who prefer Dunlop over Talalay in the uppermost layers.

I hope that information is helpful!

Phoenix