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We decided to get a new mattress a month or so ago, and like most people got thoroughly confused by all of the mattress hype. We got onto the latex idea, and instead of getting a pure latex mattress, ended up buying a JCPenney's Simmons new hope danny seo pillowtop mattress. At first we thought wow, this is great, but after a few weeks I started to have a lower back ache (where I never had one in the past). So I knew it was the bed. Its too soft for me. I am a stomach sleeper (150lbs) and my wife (140lbs) is a side sleeper who actually seems to like this bed. I can tell you that this bed is pure hype and only has two inches of Talalay latex way down under about fourteen layers of something else. In other words what is really doing the work is the top layer. We had a 30 day trial and are going to see if they will give us a credit for this bed for some other furniture, I think they will do this. It was about $2000. They must be making a lot of money on this product. It looks nice, but that is all. I do like the latex idea and see such a wild range of prices it is confusing. What I am thinking about is letting the foambymail company make me a 9" mattress with 6" of firm (33-38ILD) and then topped with either 2" or 3" of half soft latex topper for my wife (side sleeper) and half medium latex topper for me. This looks like just under a thousand bucks and I would have to get a foundation somewhere, which I could probably find locally. Is this a reasonable scenario that would work for a stomach and side sleeper? What are other combos that might be as good. I do see that foambymail is mentioned as being a reliable company by most of the people that have actually bought something from them. Any help or other foam sources would be appreciated. Bill in Oregon This message was modified Oct 25, 2008 by BillB
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| Hey BillB, I really appreciate your post, it seem that I am i the EXACT same situation. I happen to live in Portland, Oregon and my girlfriend and I are looking for a latex bed. I have been very confused recently by all of the different opinions, horror stories, and product selections, But I do appreciate all your research and would like to know how it all turns out. I Unfortunately will probably have to go with the foambymail option due to lack of funds, so im hoping that works out well. I would really like to buy local, however money does not permit at this time, but it is good to know that there is a local option. |
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cloud9 wrote: It's doable. Depends on how firm or soft you and your wife like your bed to be. 20 ILD is really soft. 3" of it might be too much soft foam to sink into. 32 ILD might be fine for both of you. An all latex bed is going to feel a lot different than the one you are exchanging, where you were pretty much sleeping on PU foam. You should try out an all latex bed somewhere to see if you like the feeling. Talalay is very springy and bouncy. If you prefer less bounce you might like the Dunlop better. You can ask for samples of both kinds of foam, although I have to say, squeezing a piece in your hand and actually lying on it and having it support (or not support) you body is not the same thing. Other vendors you should look into are Flobeds and SleepEZ. They both make very nice products and they have a wider range of ILDs to choose from. Let us know what you end up with and how it works out for you.
We did try the bed out at the local mattress maker that had 6" of 30 ILD Dunlop topped with a 2" 20 ILD Talalay and found that to be kind of in the middle, not too firm but with a comfort layer that didn't seem to be too much. However laying on something for 10 or 15 minutes is not sleeping on it. What I'm really wondering about is how soft the Foambymail latex is compared to the 6" Dunlop 30 ILD that I tried.... Foambymail lists these : 6" Talalay Latex Foam (w/ Cover) 6" Talalay Latex Foam (w/ Cover) If someone has either of these, I would like to know how they feel they compare to a 6" Dunlop core....
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Dunlop will feel firmer than Talalay of the same ILD. There's more air in Talalay foam. Dunlop has more rubber, less air so it feels more supportive at lower ILDs. The 30 Dunlop core from the shop in Portland will probably feel more like FBM's firm. Personally I prefer Dunlop latex. It's less bouncy and more "passive" than Talalay, meaning it doesn't push back against you quite so hard. I agree with Jim's comments. Skip the lamination. I can't see any reason to glue the layers together. It makes it impossible to change out the topper if need be. I also prefer the zippered mattress cover concept. This gives you maximum flexibility to swap or replace layers. I'd ask this mattress guy if he can do a zippered cover. He seems pretty knowledgeable but he still makes mattresses the old fashioned way. (Glue em together and stitch it all up.) Most importantly though, find out what his return or exchange policy is. You already know what a pain it is to buy a mattress you can't sleep comfortably on. Lying on a mattress in a store doesn't really tell you whether your body will be properly supported through an entire night. Otherwise, the setup you describe sounds good to me, although I'm not sure I would like even 2" of 20 ILD Talalay on my bed. But that's just me. |
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I think we may be back to the Foambymail setup now. The mattress guy was adamant that he only stiched these things up and laughed at the the zipper idea. I do agree that it would be much better to have them loose in a decent cover, but do not think he will do it. Also I would need to get a Dr's prescription for a chemical free bed. My wife has allergies and asked her allergist at Kaiser for this and he would not do it. Maybe he thinks he would be liable if the mattress caught on fire....We could probably find someone to do this but not sure I want to go this way now. I was toying with the idea of getting separate cores for the bottom layer; 6" of medium latex and 6" of firm latex in XL twins but see that they would be a little bigger than my existing bedframe so it won't work. Unless they actually sell the exact 38" X 80" 1/2 king size pieces, which I do not see on their site. So what we will do is more than likely buy one Eastern King 6" Firm latex and then get 2 separate 2" toppers - one soft and one medium in the XL twin size. If I had to trim an inch off of these I could probably do it but I wouldn't want to attempt that on a 6" piece. Then we'd get their King size terry cloth zippered cover. I'm still not entirely sure I should go with the Firm 6" core instead of the Medium core. Too hard I really do not want, especially for my wife, but me too. The fear would be the firm would be like a rock and we'd have to exchange it. That would be a real pain. The other fear is the medium would not be enough support and we'd have to exchange it. Me - male 5' 8" - 150lbs - stomach mainly some side, wife - 5'3" - 140 - side sleeper. She likes the soft pillowtop stuff, I don't. I had a few questions on a covered slatted foundation. I found one on sleepez's site but then the next time I looked it was not there... Then it was back. They are quoting $295 for a king. I will have to call them and see if they still have them. I also tracked a older thread on here that pointed to CPS Wood Products but the email I sent inquiring about it bounced back as a bad site. Are there any other options? I do need something that is at least 6 or 8 inches high to fit on my bedframe and would like it to be slatted, as the latex needs to breathe. I see a few at IKEA but don't really think they would work and the one that is closest is really tall and meant to store things underneath. |
| Hey Bill Just wanted to let you know that my girlfriend and I ordred the latex bed from foambymail in the following set up. 6" medium firmness talaly with a 2 " talaly soft topper, It should be here tomorrow. My girlfriend is I believe 5'5 and 100 lbs and I am 6'0 170 lbs. I will let you know how it is. I am a stomach sleeper as well. |
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Rakoom2002 wrote: Hey Bill Just wanted to let you know that my girlfriend and I ordred the latex bed from foambymail in the following set up. 6" medium firmness talaly with a 2 " talaly soft topper, It should be here tomorrow. My girlfriend is I believe 5'5 and 100 lbs and I am 6'0 170 lbs. I will let you know how it is. I am a stomach sleeper as well. Hey Chase, Good for you. When did you order your mattress? What are you doing for a foundation? This is another issue that is coming up for me that is of prime importance, especially since I already have a bedframe. It seems the best way to really do this process is to choose the mattress first and then work with the foundation and bedframe but who would even think about those kinds of things ahead of time unless.... I keep going back to that same config that you ordered after all I've seen and felt. Medium core and soft topper. I do not like a rock hard bed, I just don't want one that is way too soft. There is a foam store, A-1 Foam, which BTW is the only one I could find in Portland, way out on Stark that had a nice piece of 6" 29 ILD Talalay that we tried out and it felt more than firm enough for both of us. They also had a 2" topper and together they felt good. But of course this was just a 10 minute try out in the store. Then the mattress guy, Mulligan Mattress had what he called a 6" medium Dunlop core with a 2" topper and this felt about the same and also did not seem too hard or too soft. Again, this was just a 10 to 15 minute try out and not the full 6 to 8 hours that you would get by sleeping on it. We went to JCP yesterday and picked out the replacement furniture that equalled the original bed's cost and it will come the day after Thanksgiving, then this current bed will be picked up, so I need to make a decision soon or we'll be sleeping on air mattresses..... I will have to say after all is said and done, JCP is not a bad place for furniture. My latest thinking is: 2 - XL Twin 6" cores of medium Latex from FBM, topped with 1 - 2" soft latex topper. I will stuff this into one of their terrycloth covers, I would think the 78" width on this would fit in the cover OK. This will be a touch more money but will have two added advantages; it will be easier to move around, and will allow me to exchange one or both if they are not firm enough. Foundation - I need 5 1/2" - 6" of something not solid, but firm and supportive, to get the mattress level up to the sides of the bedrails that I have, then the mattress will be able to hang over just a touch on each side (1/2") and be OK. I think I can get one of these from a local mattress store which are selling the short foundations for the extremely tall mattresses we see in every store now. I don't think sheets will be a problem with a finished product of 78" X 80". It's funny, the more I read on here, the more unsure I am of the config I should need. But I have to learn to read between the lines also and know that we don't really have a major sleep problem and that there are in reality probably many combinations of springs, foams, foundations, etc that would work for us. Bill This message was modified Nov 17, 2008 by BillB
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Bill, you're driving yourself crazy and I understand completely, cause I've done it myself! Since you don't have any back problems that you are aware of, just go ahead and order what felt best to you. If you have any lingering doubts go back to one of the stores and take a longer lie down. Nothing is quite like actually spending a whole night on a mattress but after lying there for a half hour or so you start to feel any lack of support that might exist for you. A good rule of thumb is the fidget factor. If you find yourself moving around a lot trying to get comfortable it's the wrong mattress for you. If you lie down and feel like you could just fall asleep right then and there, that means you body is relaxed and comfortable. You can usually find foundations in 2,4, 6 and 8" heights depending on how high you need to elevate the mattress. Discount mattress stores are your best bet for price and availability. Basically they are all pretty much boxes with fabric covered cardboard over the top. Why spend any more than you have to? I bought my foundation this way and the sales guy took me back into the warehouse and let me pick out the one I wanted. Then they delivered it to my house within two hours. The price was $89 for a full. The one that matched my mattress would have been $200. And since both pieces would never see the light of day after they were covered with mattress pads, sheets and bed skirts, the fact that they don't exactly match is really irrelevant. Don't make yourself insane. You've obviously thought about it enought. Just do it! |
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cloud9 wrote: Bill, you're driving yourself crazy and I understand completely, cause I've done it myself! Since you don't have any back problems that you are aware of, just go ahead and order what felt best to you. If you have any lingering doubts go back to one of the stores and take a longer lie down. Nothing is quite like actually spending a whole night on a mattress but after lying there for a half hour or so you start to feel any lack of support that might exist for you. A good rule of thumb is the fidget factor. If you find yourself moving around a lot trying to get comfortable it's the wrong mattress for you. If you lie down and feel like you could just fall asleep right then and there, that means you body is relaxed and comfortable. You can usually find foundations in 2,4, 6 and 8" heights depending on how high you need to elevate the mattress. Discount mattress stores are your best bet for price and availability. Basically they are all pretty much boxes with fabric covered cardboard over the top. Why spend any more than you have to? I bought my foundation this way and the sales guy took me back into the warehouse and let me pick out the one I wanted. Then they delivered it to my house within two hours. The price was $89 for a full. The one that matched my mattress would have been $200. And since both pieces would never see the light of day after they were covered with mattress pads, sheets and bed skirts, the fact that they don't exactly match is really irrelevant. Don't make yourself insane. You've obviously thought about it enought. Just do it!
I know, I know I know..... but this is just who I am. I usually process by trying to keep my mind as open as possible and try out all the possibilities.... and then finally make the decision based on what I see as best at the time. Now this one is just a little different. But I did make a decision and went back to my original gut feelings. I ordered on Monday: 1 King 6" Medium ILD Latex core - Foambymail - $580 1 King 2" Soft ILD Latex topper - Foambymail - $185 1 King terry cloth mattress cover from Foambymail - $20 upcharge 1 KIng all-cotton (heavy) mattress cover from ShopSatin.com (spare cover) - $23 2 XL twin Englander 7" foundation pieces (very nice for the price, from a local store) - $190 Grand total for 8" King sized latex, with foundation and extra cover - $998 - WOW! Now - I wait. And keep my fingers crossed. At the worst, I'll have a nice bed to sell on Craigslist! No, I think it will work or it may need a slight adjustment in the form of a mattress pad topper, or maybe even another piece of HD foam underneath. But we'll see. It might be perfect as it is. Thank you and to all the folks that I've read on here. I appreciate your postings. I have learned alot and just wish I'd of had this earlier, I could have saved myself some time and money. But its OK the way it is. I want to hear how Chase's setup went. Chase if you could email me, look at my profile in the next day or two for my address. Bill |
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Bill, This is my first post, but I've been reading yours with great interest because I've also been researching latex mattresses and I think I'm as crazy as you ... totally obsessed!! The configuration you just purchased from foambymail is similar to what I was thinking of. However, I'm several months off from actually making a purchase. Please follow up and tell us how everything turns out. Thanks to you and everyone else on this forum. It's a great site. Ilene |
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Bill, I look forward to seeing your post regarding your arrival and set up of your new bed. I am almost ready to purchase similarly and might buy a core from a local retailer/manufacturer in the Greater Toronto Area at www.foamite.com. But I am going to consider purchasing my Latex from www.foambymail.com Your post has given me an idea that I thought was missing. Thanks. Jazz. |