Like many of you, I've come here looking to get the most out of the $1000 - $2000 I'm about to spend on a bed for me and my wife. We currently have a innerspring plush pillow top, and it's not working out for us - both of us are getting back pain while sleeping and then after we wake up. We decided that we want a firmer bed, and I've been looking at Latex beds. I went to a local store, and tried out the three Sealy Spring Free beds they have, and two of them were way too soft while the Weybridge was perfect. It was $1899 after $400 rebate, so it's definately pricey, especially considering I went to the Original Mattress Factory and found an innerspring I liked for $670. Nevertheless, I like the idea of a latex bed, and a lot of people have given them postive reviews. So here's my question - I can't try out any beds that are sold online, so it's hard to judge what firmness they are. Sealy Weybridge is the only bed I've tried out and it works for us, but I am curious about all the other options out there. I am mainly interested in Latex International products only. 1) Do any of you have experience with the Sealy Weybridge and can you comment on how you've liked it, how you're back feels, etc? 2) Do you know if the Sealy is a Latex International product (LI says they manufacture for Sealy, but Sealy says it has its own factory)? 3) Do any of you have any feedback as to how the Sealy Weybridge might compare to a retailer of Latex International Talalay latex, such as foamsource.com or sleepez? Can you offer what you might think a comparable set up would be? 4) Considering the price difference, maybe it's just worth it to buy the Sealy, then I can return it easily if it doesnt work out? Any comments? Any input would be appreciated! I am mostly wondering any Pro's and Con's on the Sealy Weybridge. |
Hi George, I don't know anything about Sealy Spring Free but I did go the DIY route fromFBM. I do believe the odds are, it is more likely that one will screw up than be able to get a DIY mattress right the first time. Read "Sleep EZ Latex Vs Therapedic Latex Mattress" and follow ups, written by Steve47. Sounds much like the situation you are in. If you can, jack those folks down on price then compare. I looked at a Rocky Mountian Latex Mattress that I liked, it was priced around $1300 for Queen Mattress and Foundation. I saw here that someone bought that mattress and was very pleased with it. They paid around $780 for the mattress only. That's about what I have in my DIY mattress from FBM. I still am working on trying to get mine where I can sleep on it. "TOO FIRM". Thougth that I wanted a firm mattress, ended up with a Medium core and still "Oh my aching muscles". I feel sure I will make it but I wish I had bought the Rocky Mountian Mattress. I was worried about the cover with the 2" of pu quilted in the top would fail. Looking back, had it failed down the road, I could have cut the mattress and put the 8" of latex in another cover. In my opinion the ready made mattresses have a much better eye appeal and a local purchase should have an easier proccess to resolve a problem, if one arises. Sleepability should be much easier to achieve locally. However, the DIY can and does work, but, plan on a few problems if you go that route. The eye appeal doesn't bother me much, but tell that to the ladies. Yes, you cover it up with the Spread. Just a few thoughts of mine. Good Luck. Bear |
I totally agree with eagle2. It's a crime what we allow the mattress industry to do in terms of subterfuge and simple lack of labeling and disclosure. If it weren't something we buy only every 5-10 years, I think consumers would do something about it like demand some accountability and disclosure. But I think they get away with it out of consumers a) not knowing and b) being too lax about it because they don't deal with it very often. Though, as the manufacturers include more and more layers of cheap non-supportive foam, more and more people are having backaches within one WEEK of buying, so maybe the dam will burst and we'll eventually get some legislation about disclosure and consumers will come to places like this to get some education... Now. to your post: I have no experience with Sealy latex but I had a Sealy spring mattress and it was pure JUNK. Even the springs were junk! So, personally, I would not put too much faith in Sealy. IF, however, you really like it - and who knows? maybe it IS a great mattress! - if I were you, I'd demand that the seller either give me exact specs on what is in it - from the manufacturer - or not buy it. CostCo for example used to list the exact layers of foam in the Sealys so it IS possible, or used to be, anyway. IF you can return the Sealy for a 100% Refund then maybe... but usually you only get an Exchange which means you are stuck buying some mattress from that dealer. Also, with the way cheap foam deteriorates you MAY not notice it until a month or 4 months down the line... Be prepared to do surgery in any case... I am not familiar with the Sealy latex matt. in question but does it have springs? I am now becoming wary of mattresses without springs after doing foam experiments without springs for the past year or so. Are there any latex mattresses out there that also have springs? If you are sure you want to go without springs, then personally I would do one of the following: a) if on a tight budget I would find a vendor of latex and buy a 4" -6" core, then buy some softer ILD layers of latex and/or Sensus memory foam to put on top to adjust it with. Maybe even buy 2x 3" cores or a 4" core + a 2" core of 2 different ILD's - a firm and a medium - that you could switch around for flexibility ala Flobeds. b) if not on too tight of a budget, go with flobeds. You stand to lose very little (just shipping) if you don't like it , and they'll work with you to get it right for you. Or, do what I'm doing: find a cheap mattress with good Bonnell springs and then take it apart, throw out the crappy foam and put in your own layers. It's very VERY easy to do and makes for the best bed imho. My wife's bed is now on the old Sealy springs (mine were shot so I threw them out, but her's are still okay it seems) and she has a 1" layer of HR foam, then 1" of latex and 2" of Sensus memory foam, and she's very happy with it and it feels pretty good to me, too. Thus I ordered my spring mattress yesterday and will see how it goes once I cut it open and begin adding my own foams. (For $229 for the twin mattress, I can't go too far wrong.) By the way I would normally think the above 4" of foam on top of springs is too soft, but she likes it, so if it works, it works... The Sensus is better than most memory foam and since all are quality foams and none are too soft, except maybe the Sensus, it seems to work. It's not like most S brands where they have 4-6" of JUNK foam. This message was modified Aug 27, 2009 by jimsocal
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Mine is older George and it was called the Sealy Meadowcrest. It came from a furniture store and had a slightly nicer cover which is now gone with the 5 various layers of thin PU foam. I don't know what Sealy calls that mattress now but if you go to the Sealy sites, I think you'll be able to figure it out. It was 1-2 down from the top comfort level. After I got it, it felt great for a few months and if it had not lost it's support in the comfort layers, I would have never done surgery (for which I have Jim Social to thank for that idea). I'm hoping to keep it forever as it seems to be good for both support and comfort since I added the 3" FBM soft latex layer and the cuddle bed cover. It's 100% better than the 23 year old hard mattress and box springs we gave away that created pain every morning upon awakening. If I had the money and time, I'd probably like to try to build a bed with springs in the bottom and Tallalay latex on top. But that won't happen for a very long time I hope. Just getting a bed to the comfort and support level I have now took months of research on this site and others and lots of looking for good deals. I wish you the best! |
I can answer one of your questions definitively. Sealy Springfree is about the only manufacturer that does not buy their cores from LI. So far as beds only being "part" latex this depends on the mattress. Ask for something with a Talalay Core and Talalay top. You can buy latex beds with Poly cores but these are generally the "budget" versions. A queen latex bed should run you at least $2000 for the set and more likely closer to $2500. If it doesn't, I'd ask why. There's a lot less margin variance in the industry than people think and if one bed is significantly less than another it's almost always not because it's a "better deal" but because it's made more cheaply. -Alex |
Thanks for all your posts. I've researched the contents of the Sealy SpringFree line by going to USMattress.com and looking at that Latex matress comparison. It is not LI Latex, it's Sealy's own proprietary all synthetic latex. I am not too hung up on it being synthetic, and it does have a lot of latex in it! I am still shopping around, but to me for the price, the Sealy SpringFree Firm, or Plush model is a great value for the money. I am more concerned about durability and long term comfort, especially since the spring only bed that we have now is only 1 year old and it started giving us back pain (it was a pillow top). In any case appreciate all your responses! I am probably going to wait to see more responses. I am trying to decide between the Firm and Plush model now. |
George, If you decide to go with a firm model just make sure that the core is still Talalay. Oftentimes the differences between a plush and firm is a PE core in the firm. You want an all latex bed. -Alex |