Mattress Forum

First of all, let me say that both beds are blended Talalay latex, so that is the same.  They are both sourced from LI (or so Sean told me).

The bed I have from Flobeds is this one.  Three layers of Talalay latex plus a 2" convoluted topper, all encased in organic knit cotton cover quilted to 2" of wool.  This bed in a twin would be $1,299.00 plus shipping and tax (I live in California).  I don't know how much shipping would be for a twin; it was $99 for my queen size bed.

The bed I got from Sleepez is this one, with the organic cotton mattress cover.  This bed was $950 with free shipping and no sales tax collected up front.

The first difference I noticed was in how the mattresses were packaged for shipping.  Like I said in my other thread, the Flobed latex layers were each individually compressed and packaged in double plastic bags.  This made them relatively easy to carry upstairs to the bedroom for unpacking and assembly.  I had a total of eight plastic bags, seven each had a layer of latex, and one had the mattress cover.  So I was able to remove the wrapped cover and each layer from the box, carry it upstairs to my bedroom, undo the plastic, and position the latex from there.  All of the latex layers I received from Flobeds were in great condition, with some discoloration in one of the seven layers.

The Sleepez bed came with all three layers of latex and the cover compressed and rolled into a cylender (sp) and packaged in one big black plastic cover, with another clear cover over that.  Not so easy to move upstairs wrapped.  I ended up laying the package on my living room floor, opening the plastic, and everything whoooshed and expanded.  So then I took the mattress cover upstairs and positioned it over the foundation, and folded each layer of latex in thirds to carefully carry upstairs, unwrapped and expanded.

The firm layer was in great condition.  The medium layer had about a 3" tear in it, not at the edge but close to the edge.  I looked at the tear and my initial thought is that it is acceptable to me.  I don't see it expanding or compromising the structural integrity of the mattress.  The soft layer had discoloration.

From an assembly point of view, Flobeds wins for packaging that better protects the components and makes it easy for the customer to carry around and position while assembling the bed.  However, this is a minor point as the initial assembly is a fairly straightforward process.  It was just slightly more awkward with the Sleepez setup.

The first HUGE difference I noticed was the mattress cover.  And really, there are two things that stand out as differences between the Flobeds and the Sleepez.  The mattress cover is a major difference.

The Flobed mattress cover is all organic knit cotton quilted to 2" of wool.  The cover is soft and luxurious (I hardly want to put a sheet over it) and the top, sides, and bottom are all constructed the same, soft knit cotton quilted to wool.  It really is a dream.

The Sleepez mattress cover is nowhere near as luxurious or the same quality as the Flobed cover.  Only the top of the mattress cover is quilted to wool (and somewhat skimpily at that) - not the sides or bottom, which is just a relatively thin, though sturdy fabric.  if you look at the product description, it says that the mattress cover is quilted to 2 oz of wool, which is not very much wool.  So they really skimped on the cover, in my opinion.  I was really disappointed in it when it came out of the package, and while it makes a nice enough looking mattress once the latex is all zipped inside, there really is no comparison to the luxurious Flobeds cover.  By the way, my cover does not look like the cover that PLAMARINE posted in his thread.  The picture of his cover was what prompted me to order the organic cover in the first place - and what I got isn't the same.

The next difference is rather obvious.  The Flobed comes with the 3 layers plus the 2" convoluted topper, and the Sleepez is 3 layers of latex, no topper.  So the higher price of the Flobed also takes into account a topper layer of latex.

Assembled, the two beds have a slightly different feel, of course - they have different ILDs.  I couldn't find an obvious label with the actual ILDs of the layers I received from Sleepez, though it may have been there.  Each layer has a large oval sticker that says "Firm" "Medium" or "Soft" and you don't really get a choice of a specific ILD for each layer unless they happen to have that exact ILD in stock.  What you get is something in a range depending on what they have in stock. Otherwise, they will get you the exact ILD you want, but you may have to wait.

The assembled Sleepez mattress looks attractive and is comfortable (well, it's latex - how could it not be?).  My daughter is unsure of the top layer and initially thinks it's too soft.  I'm going to have her sleep on it for a week or so to get used to it before I make any decision about switching the soft for a firmer layer.