Mattress Forum

My opinion on why you want 13" over 10" is if you are heavier and you don't want to bottom out.  Also it gives you more flexibility in changing layers.

Excellent question on the blended vs. natural.  Different opinions.  I think it really doesn't matter.  If you think synthetic will bother you mentally (if you want natural) go with natural.  I thought the smell was stronger with natural than blended, but that is me (it was only samples).  I actually liked the smell of my blended LI piece.

It is harder to wait for the "sale" and have to check all of the time. I think they should just offer the low price up front.

Budgy maybe can answer your question on why Dunlop at the bottom and blended talalay at the top.  I believe Natura beds do this process.  It is firmer than at the bottom and soft at the top.  It may be  a good thing.

How many exchanges can you do with Sleepez?

Keep us posted on all the details, good luck.

Sorry, that model was struck from my list weeks ago. But thanks for the suggestion.

please buy that SS latex set for the sake of everyone if not for me and yourself so we all can get experienced review from you.  do it for your country if not for me. goody goody luck.

I think the majority here seem to prefer Natural Talalay as opposed to synthetic, but I could be wrong. It is of course a personal preference and controversial. I find the Natural to feel a little more supportive without being firm if you know what I mean.

I doubt you'd bottom out unless you're up around 250lb, but I don't really know.

I'm making a lot of guesses here and subjective opinions, nothing more. ;-D

Aaaaack! I've just been re-reading Kimberly's account of the differences between her FloBeds bed and her daughter's new SleepEZ bed. According to her, the cover on the SleepEZ is nowhere near as nice as the FloBeds, plus the wool is not as thick or quilted onto the sides of the cover. I am wondering if that makes much of a difference, really. I guess I could always get a wool topper if I felt it was necessary.

But, besides the price of the FloBeds being more than I can spend, I also really do not like the convoluted top layer. So, back to re-reconsidering SleepEZ.

I will tell you what I tell everyone who is considering a FloBeds. If you are confused about anything just give them a call and talk to Dave or Dewey. The fact that they have the best exchange and return policy on the Internet is a tremendous benefit when you're buying online and not local. My guess is that unless you had a local manufacturer that was extremely generous you would not get the same treatment for exchange or return from them that you can get from FloBeds.

They give you 90 days, and in some instances even longer depending on individual circumstances, to make up your mind. This is a tremendous benefit and hard to put a price on. A few hundred dollars difference between companies prices, for people who are struggling, is not "chump change." But it's amazing how quickly the money can disappear if you're dealing with a company that is not as reliable and generous as FloBeds.

So I repeat again. Before you make any decisions give Dave or Dewey a telephone call and talk it over with them until you are satisfied you have all your questions answered satisfactorily.

There are many of us on this forum who are satisfied FloBeds customers. There has to be a good reason!

1) Whichever company you decide to go with, CALL them to discuss the blended vs natural issue.  The guy at Flobeds sleeps on a blended (I forget which one) and Sleepez flat out recommends the blended over the natural.   I have not had any issue with my blended.  I think the natural is a fine product too, and to me it comes down to whether the idea of all natural is important to you.  It will cost you a little extra at Sleepez.  At Flobeds it supposedly cost more, but when I talked to Dave/Dewey (I forget which) about the blended vs natural issue, he just offered me the natural at the same price as the blended.

2) COVER.  Now this is where it gets important, IMO.  The Sleepez cover is NOWHERE NEAR as nice as the Flobeds cover.  If you look on their website, it says 2 oz. of wool quilted to the cover.  Think about 2 oz., if you've ever had a wool sweater, wool pants, or whatever.  That's not much wool at all.  This is quilted to a woven cotton fabric.  I'm not saying it's cheap, it's just not even close to as nice as the Flobeds cover.  The Flobeds cover has 2" of wool, and that's all around all sides of the bed.  It's amazingly luxuriant, and it's quilted to a soft cotton knit and the "hand" is just amazing.

This has become important in my household.  I'm about to start a new thread about it.  My daughter is emphatic about her dislike of her new Sleepez bed.  She finds it comfortable, but it just sleeps too hot for her.  She says she can't sleep, and I do hear her tossing and turning all night.  She says she sweats all night and she can't sleep with how hot the bed is.

I'm of the opinion (could be wrong, it's just a theory) that if there were more wool in the cover, she'd be insulated from the heat and sleep more comfortably.  My new thread is going to be about my daughter sleeping hot in her Sleepez, sweating all night, and the option of just returning the bed vs. trying to find a solution such as a wool topper before returning it.

3) Mattress depth.  Unless you are very very heavy, I think 10000 would be fine.  My Flobed mattress is about 11"  and I'm very heavy - no bottoming out.  On the Sleepez website, they say up front they don't see why anyone would need more than 10" to sleep on.  Only get the 13" if you want an extra measure of luxury.  Otherwise there's no reason to get it.

4) Dunlop vs. Talalay.  Why are you considering the Dunlop?  Do you have severe back issues and feel you require an extra firm bed?  If not, stay away from Dunlop.  It feels hard as a rock and very lifeless.  I have severe back issues and am using all Talalay in a very firm configuration.  It provides plenty of support, with the give I need to ameliorate the pressure points and hip pain I have.

In my opinion, you need to weigh the following factors:  1) bottom line price 2) cover 3) whether you tend to sleep "hot."  If you tend to sleep hot, and you want the nicer cover, go with Flobeds.  If your budget just can't take Flobeds but you want a nice latex mattress, go with Sleepez.

They are both good mattresses and the thing to remember is they both source their latex (Talalay) from LI.  So you're getting the same interior components.

1) Blended vs. natural... I have some samples and the blended just seemd a lot softer and unsubstantial to me. Also, I didn't feel much of a difference between X firm, firm and medium. But to be fair, these are very small samples so it's reallty hard to judge.

2) I do think a thicker layer of wool would help with the heat issues. I have a sample of the FloBeds cover and it is nice. I notice that the SleepEz site says 2 oz. of wool. What do they mean by that? How can they use 2 oz of wool on both a twin and a king? That would mean half as much wool on the king, see what I mean?

3) I think you're probably right about 10" vs. 13" I thought it might make a difference, but as Leo has said, probably only in that I can be more flexible with my layers. Also, I'm tall, and I like a higher bed.

4) Among my samples I have some Dunlop pieces and I liked the way they felt. Again, hard to tell on such small samples, but I liked that they did not have much give. I like firm suport, but I also like cushy. I have no real specific or major back pain on a regular basis, just normal aches and pains and sometimes acute pain, probably fromdoing something dumb or sleeping funny. I'm not too overweight, just moderately. I am post menopausal, so heat would be a huge issue for me.

Maybe I'll wait it out a little longer for a FloBeds sale. I wonder if they'll do a bed with a 2 inch topper instead of the convoluted piece. Also, thinking maybe I'll look elsewhere for a platform bed or something. If I'm going to spend that much for a foundation, I should get something I like better.

They will probably be flexible on the convolued topper as well.  They would probably allow you to exchange it for something else or return just that layer if you want.  Call and ask them.

I think 10-11" is probably enough.  If there is only a small price difference (15% or less) I would probably go with 100% natural over blended.  The 100% natural might be a bit denser and more supportive.  However, I don't think there is a huge difference.

I've had no experience with Sleepez, and many are very happy with their beds and they have a great reputation, but I just want to reiterate what Kimberly and eagle have so eloquently stated. Thanks to their reasurrance, I bought a Flobed and although I'm still tweaking it due to health problems, I can't say enough about the wonderful service, consideration and care Flobeds provides for their customers. I've never been so impressed with a company before! Exchanging layers costs only return shipping. For me (I live in CA) it was 25.00 to exchange 2 layers, and you can do this as many times as you need.

Dewey and Dave go out of their way to please you. They truly care about your comfort and I am so glad I went with them over other companies. They are customizing a vZone for me, who else would do that?

Yes, money is always an issue and you are the only one who knows what your bottom line is. I have the 12 inch three layer natural latex and have absolutely no heat issue. I am post-menopausal also. I have no experience with blended, but I did try dunlop (not Flobeds) and it felt hard as granite to me!

As eagle suggested, call them or email and ask about replacing the convoluted topper with something else... ask them everything before you buy. Call Sleepez too.

Always be sure you can get a refund, no matter where or who you buy from :-)

Natalie

I've never seen the Flobeds cover, but the Sleepez organic cover looks perfectly presentable.  When it's all assembled it looks like, well, a mattress.

Natural vs. Blended: If dust mite allergies and/or offgassing concerns are even part of your reason for considering latex, then you may want to go with natural.  I wanted hypo-allergenic and am allergic to mold and dust mites so I went with 100% natural, botanical latex (pillows, too) and slapped mite-proof covers on everything. I am breathing soooo much easier now - I don't even want to think what was in that old bed.

Good luck - I know it's a big decision 'cause I just did it myself!

Robin

2oz per square yard perhaps?  still not very much, thats literally just an ultra thin wool lining, if you could even call it that.  2" of wool depending on how its carded would probably be between 20~40 oz per square yard.  maybe you should just email sleepez to clarify?

I still think it will be a good idea for me to get her a wool protector (not topper, she wouldn't tolerate any shifting around of the topper) and since she's switched back to her old, thinner comforter, I'll be buying her a new lightweight comforter as well (alas, not the silk one Budgy linked - that looks like more than I can afford).

Are you asking me if I decided on a mattress yet?   I have decided to order my own latex layers and make my own.  Since I already have 4 layers of latex now, I know I need something more cushy.  I have firm already.

I am so close I can feel it now.  I am considering the Ergosoft (Latex Green) 16-18ILD, I may ask for samples.  I sent them an email, and haven't heard back yet. The company does take returns, and RMM doesn't.  But Absoluteonsale doesn't say what they do with their returns, so that is a concern of mine. 

Let us know Kimberly what you think of the wool mattress pad you get for your daughter.

Have you ever tried latex before Cynicaljones?  If not perhaps you do need to be able to exchange layers.  Both places will do that.

Have you thought of building your own?  You can build one for $1200 or under for a 9" latex bed.  You can make a 12" for $1600.  I am estimating at $400 a layer which is Foamsweetfoam's price (natural talalay).  RMM is cheaper for the less ILD layers.  You could have an extra layer in the closet for swapping layers out for $2000.  There you are up to almost a Flobed or Sleepeze bed. 

Personally I like 1 1/2" layers or 2" layers for more flexibility.  I don't want to be moving 3" layers around at the top anyway.

I have not been able to find a place anywhere near me that sells all latex beds, and I guess this is partially why I'm having such trouble deciding. I would hate to make a very expensive mistake I can't really afford. It would be great to get the right configuration 1st time, the extra $$$ to exchange layers could go toward new sheets, for example.

I don't really mind getting someone else's returned layers, I would trust that they've been inspected and cleaned.

I have thought of building my own, I have looked at Foam By Mail and read about them here. The price is right, but I'm not sure I want to take a chance with them, in case it doesn't work out for me or the quality is not so great. Their 1", 2" and 3" layers only come in medium and soft, according to their site. They are still on my larger "consider" list, though. Since I only need a Twin XL, the cost would be even less for me.

I'm still not even sure what to do about a foundation. One of theirs (SleepEZ, FloBeds, etc...) on legs, on a metal frame, platform bed, euro-slats? FloBeds has their Euro-slats on sale now if you buy one of their mattresses. But still cost more money, and you're right, I don't like that convoluted layer. I don't like the way the sample felt under the cover swatch and I'm concerned it would wear out faster.

Reasons why I shouldn't this (other than the cover is not as nice as the wool covers, no layer exchange, not certain about the quality of the latex)?

I was in your shoes about 8 years ago. I read this forum and wanted to try latex but didn't want to spend the $ on a flobeds even though I wanted to be able to try various layers.

Here's how I decided to go with flobeds. I thought:

"If I build my own latex mattress it will cost me at least a grand and then if I don't like it, I'm out a grand. On the other hand, if I try the flobeds and don't like it, I'm just out a couple hundred dollars for shipping and layer exchanges.

We bought the flobeds, tried it for 90 days and could never make it work for us. I just plain did not like the feel of a pure latex - or pure latex with some memory foam - mattress.

So we were glad we bought a flobeds instead of building our own. This way we were only out a few hundred dollars (I forget how much it actually was - maybe more like $200?) and we gained from the experience. Now we knew we just did not like the feel of an all latex mattress but we did learn something about latex, ILD's and such. And now we incorporate latex into our own DIY foam-ectomied mattresses. And I'm a fan of any company that has such excellent customer service and a near-full refund policy. In mattresses this is as good as customer service gets, imho.

Another option where you can try a pure foam mattress - not latex, but you could buy your own latex topper for it - is overnightmattress.com. Their foam is pretty good quality - more or less "HR" or "HD" quality - and they give you a full 120 day sleep trial and full refund including shipping. They are VERY picky about returns, though - it has to be super perfect clean or they'll stick you with a penalty. But I got out of the penalty (they found a couple of my wife's hairs on the foam which we are sure got there when we were boxing it up - by establishing a rapport with one of the guys in charge, on the phone. So I do recommend them. Yes, we sent it back, but we almost kept it. I recommend just the basic base with no memory foam, then adding latex on top, maybe an inch of Natural Talalay 24ILD and an inch of sleeplikeabear's Talatech 14ILD.
 

and I still love my bed, but my back is sore, and cannot find the right combination like so many others on here.

Dunlop is probably what we should have got for the bottom. Talalay is just so soft. My husband kept saying he wanted soft,

and now he sleeps on firm and extra firm. But he still hates the top layer of soft we both share. It also has weird smell, that I try and tell myself doesn't bother me. and I pray it doesn't bother the new baby.

I was so excited about this mattress, I told everybody I could about it. They said I could sell them. I have people lined up to buy them, now I feel stupid because I don't want them frustrated like I am.

But I still don't want to give my mattress back. But it is like a big freakin cake!. My husband has rearranged the layers so many times, we have forgotten which combination we can even live with!. It also stirs up little pieces that fall off everytime you handle it. Ours already ripped in the corner.

I hope you have a better experience with your bed. I am thinking I should have maybe bought off the guy from the Arizona company. I saw him put the bed together on Youtube. His mattressess core is 6" then a soft talalay on top. That just made sense to me, but I didn't go with my gut.

Just kidding, I'm saving my angst for after I've slept on the bed a couple nights.

The Sleep EZ cover is 1" thick... cotton ticking with a full inch of lambs wool inside.

They told me they used to have a thicker cover but it did little save to add deeper body impressions... so they scaled back to 1"!

As for heat with latex, it's usually an issue of the top layer, or all of them, being too soft. Try a firmer layer, especially at the top.

Once I got my bed I realized it must have been a typo. It's fine so far.