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Okay, I finally found a combination of latex layers that works for me! As noted in another post I started out with a "medium" firm sealed latex mattress from a local retailer (Gardner Mattress in Salem, MA) This was 8 inches of "medium" latex which felt wonderful but caused me to "bottom out" on the foundation it came with. I'm 5' 10" and about 260 lbs. I returned it for a "firm" mattress from the same company and received an 8 inch latex mattress what now felt TOO firm but seemed to solve the bottoming out issue. I kept this mattress and found it okay with a 2 inch memory foam topper, but was still not fully satisfied, since I wanted that plush latex feeling. I just spent my first night on a 3 inch "medium" topper and LOVE my bed now! Nice feel, no bottoming out, and the sheets fit perfectly. For all you HEAVY people out there, here is what works for me: 5.5 inches of 40 ILD core talalay latex (blended I think, from Gardner Mattress) 2.5 inches of 32 ILD blended talalay (From Gardner Mattress) Covered with high quality cotton and wool cover. 3.0 inches of "medium 100% natural talalay 24-28 ILD from Foam Sweet Foam. I don't have any major back issues so don't expect a problem from the fairly soft top layer. This mignt not work if you have major back issues, though it seems quite supportive in the 100% natural latex. Also, I don't see a lot of talk on this forum about "Foam Sweet Foam" but I found them a good company to deal with. I sent a couple of emails for advice and received prompt shipment of exactly what I wanted. If I had it all to do over again, I would probably order the entire mattress from them and buy a foundation locally. Total cost for those who are wondering: $1999. queen mattress and foundation (solid metal framed unit) from Gardner Mattress $400. queen topper from Foam Sweet Foam $2399 total. This total seems comparable to what an online mattress and foundation of this thickness would have cost. I hope I am done now! hahaha |
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I'm not trying to make you feel bad, but for comparison purposes, FloBeds is currently running a sale on their 100% natural deluxe 4 layer queen-size mattress for $2,249.00. This includes a 90 days sleep test which means that during that time you can have unlimited exchanges only paying the cost for the return shipping back to California. If you bought a split layer bed this would give you six different pieces of latex to play with, ( the top piece is a 2 inch convoluted natural latex that is glued together at the middle and most people don't fool with it). If you decide you do not like their mattress during this 90 day period of time, they will refund your money in full. You would just have the cost of return shipping to California. |
| Eagle, I don't feel bad at all. You didn't add in the price of a nice solid steel framed foundation. The lowest priced foundation on Flobeds appears to be $479 for pine wood slats. ummmmm......I'll choose the foundation I have. My only point is that for good quality latex, you are going to pay a good amount of cash no matter who you buy it from. I know Gardner Mattress uses only materials from Latex International also.......as they were one of LI's original dealers. So, the quality is probably comparable. |
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Congratulations! Interesting they call 24-28 Natural Talalay medium. Does anyone know if the Talalay blend 24ILD would be called medium and what the differences in density/feel is between the two? I have 24ILD talalay blend that is definitely soft to the touch, maybe too soft. Just curious. Again congrats. I have seen your mattress mentioned on Latex International website that they do make the latex for the bed. |
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Thanks Leo, I know, the ILD gradings seem to vary from dealer to dealer which makes it quite confusing. If I recall properly, Foam Sweet Foam classifies 20-23 as Soft, 24-28 as Medium, 29-34 as Firm and 35-42 as extra firm. BTW, the warranty is 30 years! I believe SleepEZ calls 30-32 ILD as "Medium". All I know is that my original mattress has 32 ILD as the top layer and it was feeling too firm for me with 40 ILD below it. That's why I went for the softer extra top layer of 24-28. I have also read several postings that say you can go a little softer with the 100% Natural latex which "may" have a bit more support than the blended. Just my two cents worth. The real point I want to make with this thread is that a BIG person, lets say over 250 lbs, really should get at least 10-11 inches of latex in their mattress to avoid bottoming out or a lack of support no matter what the ILD ratings. |
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markbnh1 wrote: Eagle, I don't feel bad at all. You didn't add in the price of a nice solid steel framed foundation. The lowest priced foundation on Flobeds appears to be $479 for pine wood slats. ummmmm......I'll choose the foundation I have. My only point is that for good quality latex, you are going to pay a good amount of cash no matter who you buy it from. I know Gardner Mattress uses only materials from Latex International also.......as they were one of LI's original dealers. So, the quality is probably comparable. Here is a queen-size heavy duty metal bed frame from FloBeds for $129. http://www.flobeds.com/product_details.htm?id=8071QU I am not trying to rain on your parade, I just try to keep in mind the fact that a lot of other people read these threads as well as the person posting and the person being responded to. I hope you enjoy your new bed. |
| Eagle, lets not drag this on but lets compare apples to apples also. The link you posted is for a simple "bed frame". I'm talking about a "FOUNDATION" not a bed frame. My metal and wired FOUNDATION sits on my metal bed frame in place of a box spring. The mattress then sits on the foundation (or box spring or platform bed). BTW, SAMS club sells a very sturdy metal bed frame for $39.00 or so. |
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Hey Eagle, You sure you didn't get a discount on your bed in exchange for promoting Flobeds on this forum? |
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Mark said: "You didn't add in the price of a nice solid steel framed foundation." Sorry for misunderstanding your description Mark. But when I read "solid steel framed foundation" the link I posted is what I see in my mind. My bed sets on two box frames left over from my waterbed days. All of this sets on a solid steel framed foundation, very much like the illustration that I posted the link to. This message was modified Jan 16, 2010 by eagle2
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Floats said, "You sure you didn't get a discount on your bed in exchange for promoting Flobeds on this forum?  "No Floats I do not. FloBeds was running a sale when I purchased my mattress, I paid the going rate. You can read all about it in my thread "I just bought a new FloBeds." it is quite extensive and if you want to read all of it you will have to go to the bottom of the page and click on the word "All" |
| Eagle, I kind of figured thats how you read it. It's nice when someone like you already has a platform or surface to put their mattress on without having to pay even more for a "foundation". One of the deciding factors in my buying locally was that I didn't like the idea of assembling a wooden foundation that was shipped in pieces. Somehow this didn't seem as sturdy as what was available locally. BUT, if I had it to do all over again, I would buy the foundation locally and order the mattress in layers from Flobeds or other online dealer. |
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markbnh1 wrote: Eagle, I kind of figured thats how you read it. It's nice when someone like you already has a platform or surface to put their mattress on without having to pay even more for a "foundation". One of the deciding factors in my buying locally was that I didn't like the idea of assembling a wooden foundation that was shipped in pieces. Somehow this didn't seem as sturdy as what was available locally. BUT, if I had it to do all over again, I would buy the foundation locally and order the mattress in layers from Flobeds or other online dealer. Yes Mark I decided that it didn't make any sense to throw away a perfectly good and sturdy foundation, and pay what I feel is a rather high price for something that might not prove to be as good. The thing about a waterbed is that water weighs 8 pounds per gallon and most king-size mattresses utilize at least 100 gallons or more. Since I weigh 210 pounds were looking at over 1000 pounds of weight that have to be supported by the mattress, foundation and metal support base. My support base is very strong as it has a steel perimeter, steel down the middle of the bed length ways, then laterally a steel bar across the center of the bed. And this is setting on nine steel legs. I have always felt that more than likely one of difficulties that some people are experiencing with their latex mattresses, may have to do with their support base flexing too much. The reason I say this is that when you're trying to figure out what firmness you want in six different layers of latex you don't need to throw in the equation a flexing base. There was an excellent post some weeks ago by a member, I can't recall his name now, who went so far as to actually put a jack under his base plus mattress in the middle of his bed and jacket it up 1/8 inch. He said it made all the difference in the world the way his bed felt to him. Interesting! This message was modified Jan 16, 2010 by eagle2
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