Mattress Forum

I have been spending many hours on whatsthebest-mattress.com (this site and former site) reading about mattresses and trying to educate myself. But for whatever reason, I have not been able to find a mattress that is comfortable. I've thought about buying a mattress that has a good innerspring but with minimal padding and then adding my own comfort layers such as latex, and that may become reality. The S brands obviously don't make mattresses like they used to, and my former mattress that lasted forever was flippable. I wish I could afford a Hastens mattress...well, maybe some day I'll own one.

I'm trying to get an idea of what it feels like to sleep on a latex mattress and whether or not a latex mattress provides proper back support. I cannot stand a mattress that is so firm that it feels like sleeping on the floor, though.

Anyway, I'll post my specific question(s) separately from this thread.

I couldn't agree more with mccldwll. Try to find an old fashion double sided mattress. Avoid pillowtops--they are notorious for quickly hammocking and causing back pain. You mention that you sleep on your stomach at times, so you should stick with a firm to medium firm mattress to avoid arching your spine into a too-soft surface. Once you find the correct level of support in a mattress you can always add a topper to give it a little cushiness. Using toppers also allows you to replace them when they start to sag without replacing the entire mattress. Something you can't do when the foam is built in.

If you're considering a latex mattress you should try one out to see if you like the feeling. Many latex mattresses from S-brand manufacturers like Sealy's Spring Free line have a latex core but they pile the PU foam on top of it. You want to avoid anything that has PU foam. It's mostly crap. If you can find an all-latex mattress lie on it for at least 20 minutes or more. Talalay latex has characteristics many people find difficult to adjust to.

Another thing to consider is if the foam layers on the innerspring mattresses were giving you a backache, you might not be able to sleep on latex at all, so be very careful. Make sure you can return or exchange the mattress in the event you can't adjust to it. I would recommend a kit like Flobeds over a single core mattress because Talalay really has to be built up from a firm support layer to a softer comfort layer, and you may need to exchange layers numerous times to get it right. The cost of return shipping is something to think about before you go that route. It can add up.

I don't know if you live in a metropolitan area or not. If you do there may be local manufacturers that make their own mattresses. Often these are a much better value than the overpriced S-brands and the store will work with you to get it right. And you've already discovered that the quality of the major brands just isn't there any longer.

If all else fails, why not just sleep on that Aerobed if it's comfortable? You're the second person to recently post on this forum who said their air mattress was more comfortable than the expensive new mattress they just bought and can't sleep on.

Cloud9 & mccldwll, thanks so much for the helpful information! I would never buy another pillowtop mattress...I've read so many complaints about them, and I think it's  much better to just add your own topper so that when the topper breaks down you can replace it. But when the pillowtop develops indentations and lumps, you're literally stuck with it because it's sewn into the mattress.

I, too, am concerned about the PU foam used as a comfort layer in latex mattresses such as those made by the S brands. I wouldn't want to end up paying close to $2,000 for a latex mattress and then have the PU foam break down. Many warranties state that the indentations must be 1-1/2", but by the time the indentations are half that deep, a mattress can't be all that comfortable.

Maybe latex isn't suitable for me, I just don't know. What I do know is that I don't want a memory foam mattress or a pillowtop, boxtop, or eurotop mattress, so I can rule those out. Do you know of any manufacturers of decent innerspring mattresses that don't have lots of PU foam that are reasonably priced? I'd jump at buying a Hastens or other high quality mattress, but for now, I can't spend that money. I live 1-1/2 to 2 hours from Gardner Mattress...I'm uncertain whether it's worth the drive (I'd have to ask someone to drive me because I injured my foot).

Oh, my Aerobed...well, it's not made to sleep on every day for months, and so it started developing tiny leaks along a seam on the top of the mattress that receives the most of my weight. I would seal one leak, then another leak would pop up along the same seam. So every other day I was sealing a new leak. The Aerobed was only comfortable for back sleeping, which is fine! I just can't believe something so inexpensive allowed me to sleep through the whole night and then some. At first, the bed took some getting used to, but I never woke up with lower back pain like with the new S-brand mattresses on the market.

I've thought of the possibility of the combination of coils and latex. If I was to get all latex, I would opt for a kit because of the ability to configure the bed the best way for me, and if one core fails for some reason, I can always order a new core. So I like the idea of a kit. There's so many types of mattresses out there that it can make shopping for one overwhelming.

Regarding the Sealy Sedona Springs mattress that I currently own, the third night sleeping on it wasn't too bad as I slept through the night on my back without tossing and turning and I didn't wake up with much lower back pain, so that's good. Hopefully this mattress will work out for me...keeping my fingers crossed. I like the fact that with this mattress, I can sit up in bed without my butt sinking into the foam layers (I'm not overweight). Some of the S brand mattresses I looked at had very soft foam for the comfort layers which caused my butt to sink in too much so that my spine was out of alignment. Anyway, I'm sure there are many people who would find the Sedona Springs very comfortable from the get-go, so I don't want to sound like I'm totally dissing this mattress.

Well, at least now I've got other options to choose from for mattresses, just in case.

Thanks again for the responses and advice!

Hi Jim, I read your thread on how you dissected your Sealy mattress (very interesting)...I left you a reply on your thread. I'm not too surprised at the cheap foams found in your mattress...I've read so many complaints about cheap PU foams forming deep body impressions and lumps and even a hill in the center of a mattress where a couple sleeps. I bought my Sealy from Costco out of desperation, since my Aerobed was forming new leaks every other day (the Aerobed was to be a temporary solution while looking for a mattress). Well, since Costco has a great return policy, and the bed was very reasonably priced and seemed like it would be comfortable, I bought it hoping it would end up working out...still praying it works out for me.

Last night I had the best night's sleep...I didn't wake up with any lower back pain and there was no tossing and turning. I am worried about the durability of this mattress, though, because I am well aware that it has PU foam, and I understand the problems associated with it. If there is an issue, Costco will take the mattress back, but I'd rather have the mattress work out for me!

I want to mention that I've slept on this full-sized mattress for 6 nights so far, and I've slept in the middle of the bed for all 6 nights. So last night I attempted to sleep in a different area of the bed--along the right side of the mattress--to even out any compression that may be happening with the foams. When I lay down on the right side on my back, my body tilted a bit towards the middle of the bed where I had been sleeping for 6 nights. I couldn't fall asleep with part of my body tilting towards the center, so I moved to the center of the mattress and fell asleep on my back right away. Obviously there is now some compression of the foam running down the center of the mattress. But tonight I will try to sleep on my stomach (instead of on my back) on the right side of the bed. With my mattress that lasted 19 years, I never went through this.

Is it normal for some foam compression to occur in only 6 nights?

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this mattress doesn't loose support for my lower back/butt or I won't be able to comfortably sleep on it.

I wrote that but I do have to agree with you. It really takes a night or two on latex before your back starts to feel it, but no one is going to let you spend the night in the store. Thinking back to testing out latex beds in local bedding stores, I remember that after lying on my side for ten minutes or so I was already feeling a bit of pulling on my lower back muscles as my hip sank down into the foam. I just didn't think this was going to morph into a major backache after a few hours. And actually, the first night on my latex bed was fine. It was the second night, and every night thereafter that became torturous.

Lying on the tripled up Brylane topper for about a half hour today I was reminded how wonderful that Talalay latex bed always felt when I first got into it at night, and how awful it felt a few hours later. I really think it has something to do with the way Talalay jiggles. My back muscles tense up trying to get a secure hold on the thing, which translates to major back fatigue a few hours later. I guess that's why I really like memory foam as a topper. It feels very stable and cradles the body where Talalay just seems to push against it and wiggle under it.