Mattress Forum

If you want latex, then you have to decide between dunlop and talalay.  Talalay is a bit softer, and tends to be better for side sleepers.   You don't seem to like the dunlop Sams club one, so my guess would be that you might prefer talalay.  I think dunlop is better on the lower support levels, but I don't really like it on the top comfort levels (especially if you are a side sleeper that doens't like it too firm).

If talalay, then you have to decide between blended and 100% natural.  There is probably not a huge difference between the 2.  100% natural is more expensive and perhaps a bit more springy.  The blended might have a bit more of a chemical smell, if you are sensitive to that.  I am okay using either one.

I would suggest that you get one that you can customize & exchange layers.  Sleepez, Flobeds, Foam sweet foam come to mind.  Arizonia mattress might have some good pricing as well.  Flobeds probalby has the best service, and probably the most expensive as well.

As for firmness, that is a very personal decision.  You are fairly large with possible back issues, so I would think the bottom 6" would be X-firm to firm (in the range of 32-44 ILD, probably at least 36 ILDthe bottom 3").   Whoever you buy from will have recommendations as well.  I weigh around 213, and a Flobed I tried I used 3" 36 + 3" 36 + 3" 32 (under hips, softer under shoulder with their vzone) + softer convoluted top layer.

Not sure what size mattress you are getting, but if queen or larger, it will probably be split in the middle.  So, you can get one side a bit firmer than the other, and have the ability to switch layers around to make it softer or firmer.  

Your neck and head ache issue are probably related to your pillow.  If you are now using a much firmer mattress, you probably need a different (most likely higher loft) pillow.   Since you are not sinking in as much, your head is higher off the mattress.   As a temporary measure, you might want to try folding up a towel and putting it under your pillow. 

Good luck.  The only way to know what is going to work will be to try some different things.  What have you used in the past that has worked well for you?

Well, nothing has worked yet. I have tried 2 tempurpedics and that did not work, tried the spring beds - sealy posterpedics and tossed and

turned all night on them. So tried this Sams club bed after reading something on this forum and this has turned out to be worse then the

tempurpedics.

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Some questions:

1.  Out of these companies selling online - Sleepez, flobeds, foam sweet foam which one has the most liberal return/exchange policies?

2.  Also You mention that Dunlop would be okay as base.

Say how many inches of base would I need and in what ILDS of Dunlop? (considering my proportions)

3. How tall a mattress would be more suitable for me?

4. And if I use Dunlop as base latex and then use Talalay latex , would I be able to feel/notice the hardness of Dunlop core layers when I sleep on mattress?

Thanks so much sandman.

I believe Sleepez and Flobeds have similiar return & exchange policies.  90 days to return and/or exchange layers.  There will be shipping costs to you and when you return something.  I think both have unlimited exchanges, but you should verify that.

I believe Foam sweet foam allows 1 exchnage within 30 days, and return has to be within 60 days.  So, they are not as good.

Dunlop is okay a base, but talalay is okay as well.  Dunlop generally provides firmer support.  But you can get very firm talalay as well.   Sleepez is the only one of the 3 that sells dunlop.

Length will depend in part on how you sleep.  Ideally you don't want you feet hanging off the end.  If you tend to bend your knees while side sleeping, then that is usually not an issue.  I would say 80" or longer. 

I think you would feel some difference between a dunlop core and a talalay core.  Of course it will depend on what firmness you get for each.  Are you looking for a fairly firm support level or not?   If you go with sleepez, you would have the option for dunlop or talalay. 

I would recommend you study all of their websites and maybe call with questions and ask for recommendations.

Thanks sandman. I weigh almost 225 lbs, am 6 feet 2 inches tall, Sidesleeper, with low back pain.

I don't want to sink in to the bottom of the mattress so do you think I require a firm base? On top I want a soft sleeping surface not the firm one like this Sams club latex mattress is giving now.

Could you give me an idea about what Dunlop ILDs and what Talalaay ILDS arranged in layers would be suitable for me?

What kind of arrangement would be good?

In sleepEz do I need a 13000 mattress or a lower height one?

Thanks sandman.

I am almost thinking you should get all talalay, based on your Sam's club experience.  Let's assume that it is 3" of 24 dunlop over 6" of 32 dunlop, and you really hate it because it is too firm.   In terms of talalay, I would almost say that is on the softer side for someone your weight, so I am concluding that maybe the dunlop does not work too well for you.  Maybe the ILD ratings are wrong, which means we would have a bad data point.

You said earlier that the Costco one felt softer.  Did you own that?  If so, what was wrong with it?  What didn't you like about the tempurpedics?  How do sleep on innersprings at hotels?

As I said before, firmness is pretty subjective, and hard for someone else to say what exactly will work for you.  The best way of course is to try some different things to figure out what works for you.  

If you are getting a queen or larger 10,000, I would probably order the 2 sides a little different so you have some flexibilty to experiment.  There are 3 pieces on each side for a total of 6.  If you are getting talalay, I think you want at least 1 soft piece, 1 medium piece, 1 firm piece and 1 extra firm piece (that's 4 out of 6, for the extra 2 I would consider another medium and another firm).  If you really want have some dunlop the maybe get the 2 extra pieces (M & F) in dunlop.

With that you could go pretty soft (S/M/M) or pretty firm (F/F/XF) and a lot of possiblities in between.

The 13,000 of course has even more possibilities and you probably for sure want XF on the bottom (if talalay - that might similar to firm in dunlop).

 p.s.  The flobeds have 3 3" layers and a softer 2" convoluted layer on top.  So, a bit thicker than the 10,000.  Nicer cover too.

p.s.s. Some other poster on here (Mark) had a dunlop mattress that was too firm, so he ended up adding 3" of soft (22-24?) from foam sweet foam and 1" of 5lb. Sensus memory foam on top.  He is pretty happy with it now.

Thanks sandman. some more questions.

1. Would you suggest a dunlop 6 inch base or a very firm talalay 6 inch base? should it be 6 inch or can it be say 3 inch?

2. would these split layers in queen "feel disjoined or split" when I lay in the middle of the mattress? Wouldn't that be kind of annoying?

3. why did you return your flobeds v zone mattress?

4. About returns - how can one use a vaccum to suck air out of the layers? Must be really hard.

and can a layer that you want to return fit in the back of car? where do you drop it off to have it returned? (must be a big big hassle isn't it?)

Thanks sandman.

I am not suggesting that you use dunlop, but it is an option if you want a firmer base level.  Firm talalay works well for many people, and you don't seem to like dunlop that much.  Therefore, I think I would stick to all talalay or just 3" of dunlop on the bottom.  Of course it will also depend on which model you get.  With the 10,000 you might not want any dunlop.  I think the 13,000 allows a bit more flexibility and depth, but of course it costs more.

Only trying it will let you know which you prefer.   Everyone likes something different, so don't expect someone else to be able to figure out what will work best for you.

I think it can feel a little softer at the split.  I don't think I would say disjointed, since the latex stays in place pretty well, if it is in a fitted mattress cover.   I always sleep on one side, so I don't think it was ever an issue for me.

I was having heat issues with the Flobeds, and I didn't think I liked the feel off all latex.  I think I solved the heat issues later by changing sheets, blankets, not using down, etc.  So, I don't think that was a flobed problem, but it was hotter than a normal innerspring.   I also like a little memory foam thrown in, and I think I prefer a spring base instead of a latex base.   So, I ended up doing surgery on fairly new Sealy, adding some latex and memory foam and a wool topper.

It is some work to return pieces, but not that hard.  The pieces come in cardboard boxes that can be shipped via Fedex or UPS.  I was able to fit 4 of the boxes in my car, when I returned the flobed.  A bit of a hassle, but that is the cost of customizing it to something you like.   Better than being stuck with something you hate. 

 

If you are still considering latex, I would strongly encourage you to investigate Flobeds over Sleepez.  As some of the long timers know, I have a mattress from each company.  Sleepez is undoubtably a little less expensive, with free shipping and the up front price might be better too, but only slightly.

If you had a Dunlop mattress and didn't like it, try the Talalay.  At your weight and height, and with back issues, a soft mattress is probably a bad idea.

I too am tall (just a shade under 6') and heavy (~250), side sleeper, and was sleeping with back pain and hip pain/numbness prior to getting my latex bed from Flobeds.  I wanted to go soft, but the Flobeds guys persuaded me to purchase the firmness they thought would be best for me, which turned out to be 36 ILD for two layers and 32 for the top layer (excluding the convoluted topper).  They were right and I was wrong.  I even ended up exchanging the 32 ILD layer for another 36 ILD.  It's pretty firm, but still has some resiliance and give.  I wont' say all my pain issues have evaporated, a bed is not a miracle, but I no longer have the hip pain/numbness and my back pain is about 75-80% improved.  At least I can sleep at night, which I couldn't do before.

Both Flobeds and Sleepez source their latex from Latex International - very high quality stuff.  The difference between the two is in extra customer service offered by Flobeds and the ease of exchanges.

Flobeds will listen to you and counsel you about how firm they think you should go on your mattress.  Each component of your mattress will arrive separately vacuum packed in double plastic bags, making it exceptionally easy to exhange a layer or more if you need to.  I have kept all my bags in case we ever move, and I'll be able to manageably pack up my mattress myself.  If you need to exchange one or more layers, it's really easy to do.  I did it myself in about 5 minutes:

1) Fold the layer in thirds and put in the giant plastic bag.

2) Insert the tip of vacuum cleaner and vacuum out all the air.

3) Tape bag shut and put in smaller plastic bag.  Tape that bag shut.

4) They send you a return label, so put the latex bag in a box, slap the label on it, take it to your local UPS store.  Each layer weighs around 20 lb so pretty manageable for the average person.

The cover on the flobeds mattress is better and you get the convoluted topper, which should help mitigate against the firmness you'll need at your height/weight/sleeping position.

Sleepez sells a good bed too, but I downgrade them on three points. 

First, they tend to just sell people a soft/medium/firm configuration.  That's what they recommended for my daughter when I bought a Sleepez for her, and it's unbelievably squishy.  Yet every time someone on this forum buys a mattress, they always say "Sean recommended S/M/F."  I don't really think the quality of their firmness consultation matches up with Flobeds.

Second, the cover is just not nearly as nice as Flobeds.  It's a woven cover, with wool padding on the top.  The flobeds is luxurious knit cotton with wool padding all around not just on the top.  Also you don't get the convoluted topper, so if you want *some* cush on top, you're stuck with making your whole top layer softer rather than just having an inch or two of softness.

Third, the Sleepez comes all vacuum wrapped all together in one big package.  Not only is this harder to maneuver into the bedroom, expecially if you have an upstairs bedroom, but if you have to exchange a layer, you don't have large plastic bags supplied to you like Flobeds does.

For example, when I got my Flobeds delivery (in 3 boxes), I took out each vacuum packed layer, carried it upstairs myself, and opened each layer upstairs when I was ready to put it on the mattress cover.  With the Sleepez mattress, I had one giant box weighing god knows how much, I opened it downstairs, all the latex WHOOSHED and uncompressed, then I had to struggle with hauling uncompressed latex upstairs. 

I never bothered to exchange layers on my daughter's mattress, because she's young enough to survive the squishy mattress and I don't have to sleep on it, but I can't believe their S/M/F is good for ANYONE.  Also, if you call and tell them the bed is too soft, they will recommend rearranging the layers, eg put the soft on the bottom and firm on the top.  This isn't from personal experience, rather from the reports I've read from many, many Sleepez purchasers on this forum.  I'm pretty dubious that just rearranging layers actually accomplishes much.

Don't get me wrong, the Sleepez mattress is quality latex, same stuff as Flobeds, I just feel that Flobeds has a better grasp on how to counsel people based on their height/weight/sleep position, the cover is better, the topper is a plus, and the packing is much better.  To me, that makes it worth the extra price.  But other people like the slightly lower price of Sleepez and have been entirely happy with their experience.  I am happy with the Sleepez mattress too . . . it's just that IMO Flobeds is a better company.