Mattress Forum

If you are still considering latex, I would strongly encourage you to investigate Flobeds over Sleepez.  As some of the long timers know, I have a mattress from each company.  Sleepez is undoubtably a little less expensive, with free shipping and the up front price might be better too, but only slightly.

If you had a Dunlop mattress and didn't like it, try the Talalay.  At your weight and height, and with back issues, a soft mattress is probably a bad idea.

I too am tall (just a shade under 6') and heavy (~250), side sleeper, and was sleeping with back pain and hip pain/numbness prior to getting my latex bed from Flobeds.  I wanted to go soft, but the Flobeds guys persuaded me to purchase the firmness they thought would be best for me, which turned out to be 36 ILD for two layers and 32 for the top layer (excluding the convoluted topper).  They were right and I was wrong.  I even ended up exchanging the 32 ILD layer for another 36 ILD.  It's pretty firm, but still has some resiliance and give.  I wont' say all my pain issues have evaporated, a bed is not a miracle, but I no longer have the hip pain/numbness and my back pain is about 75-80% improved.  At least I can sleep at night, which I couldn't do before.

Both Flobeds and Sleepez source their latex from Latex International - very high quality stuff.  The difference between the two is in extra customer service offered by Flobeds and the ease of exchanges.

Flobeds will listen to you and counsel you about how firm they think you should go on your mattress.  Each component of your mattress will arrive separately vacuum packed in double plastic bags, making it exceptionally easy to exhange a layer or more if you need to.  I have kept all my bags in case we ever move, and I'll be able to manageably pack up my mattress myself.  If you need to exchange one or more layers, it's really easy to do.  I did it myself in about 5 minutes:

1) Fold the layer in thirds and put in the giant plastic bag.

2) Insert the tip of vacuum cleaner and vacuum out all the air.

3) Tape bag shut and put in smaller plastic bag.  Tape that bag shut.

4) They send you a return label, so put the latex bag in a box, slap the label on it, take it to your local UPS store.  Each layer weighs around 20 lb so pretty manageable for the average person.

The cover on the flobeds mattress is better and you get the convoluted topper, which should help mitigate against the firmness you'll need at your height/weight/sleeping position.

Sleepez sells a good bed too, but I downgrade them on three points. 

First, they tend to just sell people a soft/medium/firm configuration.  That's what they recommended for my daughter when I bought a Sleepez for her, and it's unbelievably squishy.  Yet every time someone on this forum buys a mattress, they always say "Sean recommended S/M/F."  I don't really think the quality of their firmness consultation matches up with Flobeds.

Second, the cover is just not nearly as nice as Flobeds.  It's a woven cover, with wool padding on the top.  The flobeds is luxurious knit cotton with wool padding all around not just on the top.  Also you don't get the convoluted topper, so if you want *some* cush on top, you're stuck with making your whole top layer softer rather than just having an inch or two of softness.

Third, the Sleepez comes all vacuum wrapped all together in one big package.  Not only is this harder to maneuver into the bedroom, expecially if you have an upstairs bedroom, but if you have to exchange a layer, you don't have large plastic bags supplied to you like Flobeds does.

For example, when I got my Flobeds delivery (in 3 boxes), I took out each vacuum packed layer, carried it upstairs myself, and opened each layer upstairs when I was ready to put it on the mattress cover.  With the Sleepez mattress, I had one giant box weighing god knows how much, I opened it downstairs, all the latex WHOOSHED and uncompressed, then I had to struggle with hauling uncompressed latex upstairs. 

I never bothered to exchange layers on my daughter's mattress, because she's young enough to survive the squishy mattress and I don't have to sleep on it, but I can't believe their S/M/F is good for ANYONE.  Also, if you call and tell them the bed is too soft, they will recommend rearranging the layers, eg put the soft on the bottom and firm on the top.  This isn't from personal experience, rather from the reports I've read from many, many Sleepez purchasers on this forum.  I'm pretty dubious that just rearranging layers actually accomplishes much.

Don't get me wrong, the Sleepez mattress is quality latex, same stuff as Flobeds, I just feel that Flobeds has a better grasp on how to counsel people based on their height/weight/sleep position, the cover is better, the topper is a plus, and the packing is much better.  To me, that makes it worth the extra price.  But other people like the slightly lower price of Sleepez and have been entirely happy with their experience.  I am happy with the Sleepez mattress too . . . it's just that IMO Flobeds is a better company.

If you want to get really picky about this, I seem to recall reading that 100% natural Talalay latex is denser than blended latex (what I have) and that might affect your ILD decisions too . . .