Mattress Forum

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?