Mattress Forum

I needed a new bed, and after doing research and reading this forum I thought I might want latex, but had never tried it before. I was also on a budget and did some price comparisons. I found if you want to put something together relatively economical on your own, go with RockyMountainMattress.com and FoamSweetFoam.com.

Here's what I did: I bought a 2" medium plush (24 ILD) Queen size topper from RMM (enter a discount code of "thanks" when you check out for a 5% discount) @ $199. I put this on top of my old saggy S bed and tried it for a week. I loved the feel of latex and decided to go ahead and order another topper.

The next piece was a 3" extra firm topper (35-42 ILD) from FSF (I didn't order this from RMM because they only carry medium plush and medium firm). This cost $400. At this point I liked sleeping on latex so much I threw out my S mattress, but kept the box spring, which was in good shape.

I next ordered another 3" medium firm topper (32 ILD) from RMM as my middle piece. This cost $304.

I purchased a terry cloth (feels more like velour) zippered case from FoamByMail.com @ $65, and zipped the whole thing up so it now looks like a traditional mattress.

So I was able to put together an extremely comfortable 8" thick Queen size mattress for under $1,000. I might end up purchasing another 2" extra firm topper, but I'm not sure I need to add to this as it is now.

I also ordered some latex pillows, which I love. JC Penney has them on sale for about $35 in Queen size.

Hope this helps!

Glad it worked out for you, Narnia. I think starting out with just a latex topper is a good way to find out if you like the feel of latex or not. I do think, however, that some people may like the feel of it as a topper, but not as an entire bed. Us, for example: We like toppers of latex but only over springs, not 100% latex or any foam.

Too bad someone doesn't sell toppers or latex component layers with a return or exchange policy...

I guess that's one good thing about Flobeds - you can try it and see if you like it and get your money back if you don't. (Though if you do like it, it's going to cost a lot more than your DIY model!) Certainly buying a topper though, is not too expensive and there's a good chance if you like the feel of it, you might like an all-latex mattress.

That is what I bought and i love it, $1500 for a ca king and that included the foundation...

I picked up a couple of these pillows at JC Penney today, they had them BOGO (so about $30 each). I will try one out for a couple days & see if I like it. I don't know what firmness rating they are, or if I'll get an idea of how a mattress would feel.

While I was there I tried out a couple beds for feel. I always thought I preferred a firmer mattress, but the super plush tops felt awfully wonderful on my back, filling in the gaps in my body. On the other hand, a firmer mattress seemed to support me better when I lay on my side. As I tend to sleep both on my back and on both sides, I am now extra indecisive! Also now wishing I'd gotten the king size pillows.

Of course they do - they're designed to.  They're made to influence the purchasing decision, not to keep you comfortable over the long term.  Check out my recent thread on 'my flobed, month #2' - the bed I have now doesn't feel like anything special when I lie down on it.  This is the best I've slept in decades and I wake up feeling great.  But every night I feel just a little bit surprised as I lie down and think, "this is the bed of my dreams?"
 

I read that yesterday. Thank you for sharing your experience, it was very helpful.

I tried out my new pillow last night, and while it was incredibly cushy, I think it may be just a little to thick. I have a painful little crick in my neck.

I have another question, then, about latex. Is the "bouncy, springy" quality less noticible the softer or firmer you go? Is that feel affected by the thickness of the latex pieces?

But when I got my Flobed, it does not have that feel.  it actually feels firm, with just enough resiliency to give in the places it needs to give.  It feels more like . . . lying on jello, if you can imagine pressing your finger onto a cup of jello.  The jello is firm, but it gives a little to your finger pressure.  Take your finger away, and it springs back up.

My Flobed is firm.  My current configuration is F/XF/XF (I keep forgetting what the fimr layer is, but the xfirm is 36 ILD) and hubby's side is currently XF/XF/XF.

I've found (through the different configurations I've tried with 3" natural latex), that the softer latex is more bouncy than the firmer. I really like the bounce.

When I was looking for a latex topper last year I had a wonderful phone experience  with Sleep Like a Bear.

Their return policy page:

Hope this is useful to someone,

Natalie

That sounds pretty good Natalia, but I wanted to emphasize that one should check with them before buying, in order to make sure that particular product is included in their Satisfaction Guaranteed policy. They write:

"Note that our Hassle-Free Money-Back Satisfaction Guarantee may not apply to all of our products and may vary depending on the product. You must check the specifics of the product before purchasing it. Please contact us if you have any question regarding the product,"

So, as long as one checks with them ahead of time, to see if the product is covered in the Guarantee, that sounds good.