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Hi! I first came to this forum well over a year ago researching a new bed, and was convinced a latex bed was the way to go... Unfortunately, vet expenses for all my critters prevented me from making a purchase back then. I've returned because my lower back is complaining louder than my bank account these days! :)
After doing some more research on here and store websites, I believe for my situation, ordering a bed from SleepEZ is probably the way to go. I initially was thinking of the Natural Organic Latex 10000, queen-size, but after reading through a bunch of posts about stomach sleepers, was wondering if getting the 8500 might be a better option to keep that top layer as thin as possible? But just over 7" of latex just seems kinda skinny to me (I realize this is probably just a mental hang up, esp after reading a bunch on here)... But if I went with the 10000, would 2.8" for the "comfort layer" be too thick and cause me lower back pain?
A little history about myself: I'm a female; height: 5'3"; weight ~140lbs; body type is a "curvy pear" (big derriere, small waist, uh... nothing really significant on top... <cheesy grin>). I've always preferred firmer mattresses in the past. No real health concerns except sometimes my neck and upper back (initially hurt it ~15 yrs ago from one of my many falls off horses) can lock up when under a lot of stress... or spending too many hours hunched over a computer... researching mattresses... (haha jk), and my current, ancient mattress is killing my lower back. Because I had to just deal with Ol' Crappy, I compromised and "taught" myself to sleep on my side, but rather than alleviating me of the lower back pain, all that seemed to accomplish was making my current shopping scenario that much more tricky, as I've read a stomach/side sleeper has to try to satisfy two extremes...
So, I've always heard that "sleeping on your stomach is bad for your back" period, but is that just true if you don't have the correct mattress configuration? My body always seems to want to sleep that way, and I usually end up in some sort of in-between side/stomach sleeping position with my bottom leg straight out and my top leg crossed over it bent, but I try to keep my bottom shoulder forward at least, or else my lower back will start hurting within a matter of minutes... So I suppose part of my question is should I configure my bed for stomach sleeping, or really try to encourage the side sleeping instead?
I apologize for all the rambling! To summarize, I was wondering if any of you had any thoughts on which might be better for my situation: 1) The SleepEZ 10000 with split sides (so I can play a little with the layers), but thinking of initial config top to bottom: Side 1: Med, Firm, Firm Side 2: Soft, Med, X-Firm Was leaning towards the 100% Natural Talalay, but I'm still open to the other options (Dunlop or Blended Talalay) for some or all of the layers (pretty sure I read somewhere you can mix?...)
2) The SleepEZ 8500, again with split sides, but thinking of initial config top to botton: Side 1: Soft (1.5"), Firm (2.8"-3"), Firm (2.8"-3") Side 2: Soft (1.5"), Firm (or Med for testing purposes) (2.8"-3"), X-Firm (2.8"-3") Same thoughts on latex choice as in option #1.
Oh yeah - I'm intending on putting the mattress on a Sultan Laxeby slatted bed base (10 of the slats are adjustable) from Ikea, that would just be plunked onto my current cheapy metal bed frame (really didn't want to spend any $$$ on a new frame at this point... The bank account is squealing as it is!)
Thanks bunches to any and all for your input!!! :) Mary
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Just wanted to share that I also ordered 8500 version from SZ and had issues with it. I am a side sleeper and I always thought that I liked firm mattresses, so initially I ordered XF-F-1.5M, and it turned out too firm for me. I exchanged one of the layers and ended up with F-M-1.5M combination that's been working well so far. I also wanted to switch 1.5M for 1.5S, but Sean from SZ said there is no noticeable difference between them, so I kept things as is. As an experiment I bought 2" soft layer from Costco and that didn't work well. One more recommendation is that adding a thin wool layer (also from Costco) improved the feel of the mattress because SZ cover is not the best one out there. |
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mattressnewbie wrote: Dang - I can ramble! So, in summary, what I'm leaning towards now is the Select Sleep 8500, from top to bottom: Side 1: Soft (1.5") either Blended or 100% Natural Talalay (if they'd do that), Firm (3") Blended Talalay, X-Firm (3") Blended Talalay Side 2: Soft (1.5") either Blended or 100% Natural Talalay (if they'd do that), Medium (3") Blended Talalay, Firm (3") Blended Talalay That sounds like a pretty reasonable place to start. If you really think you might want firmer, maybe you can get 1 of the thinner (1.5") layers soft and the other medium? Are you sure that you can't swap them out? It would be interesting to see if you could feel any difference in 1.5" soft vs 1.5" medium, especially given the claim that shaun at sleepez said that most people can't tell a difference (I find that very surprising but who knows)? Anyway I think you are way ahead of where I was when I ordered. Good luck! Steve |
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Hi Klas! Thank you for sharing your experience and adding some advice!! I had read your thread "Sleep EZ - 8500 experience and help with eliminating sore back issues" as well. Sounded like your soreness was stemming from you being a side sleeper and having pressure point pain? Even though I "trained" myself to start out sleeping on my side, I really do prefer sleeping on my stomach so I think that was why Phoenix was recommending I go pretty firm for my "support" layers... I'm curious though... are you overall happy you went with a latex bed? With SleepEZ? Or if you could do it all over again knowing what you know now, would you do something completely different? Thanks, also, for the advice on the cover! I've read on here that the wool covers/toppers lessen the feel of latex though - have you noticed that at all? I do actually have a Natura "All Natural Washable" fitted cotton/wool mattress pad that I bought last year when initially getting into this and thought I was going to be going the DIY route - someone had posted about a good sale at dreamsoftbedware.com (I think?) and I leaped a little too soon. So I do have that on-hand to try if I want... Speaking of covers... I emailed Sleep EZ asking if there was any way I could swap out the "regular" Select Sleep mattress cover for the organic one without having to purchase the more expensive "The Natural" bed (since I'm leaning toward the Blended Latex, but I liked the sound of the organic cover better), and Kristina replied that they "no longer carry a non-organic cotton and wool cover for their Select Sleep models so that is what would be provided anyway." So that's pretty cool! Think I might go back and see if they have 2 different covers still though, and if so, what the difference is if they're both organic cotton/wool? Maybe one has more wool in it than the other or something? Not sure... I'll tell ya who's mattress cover I REALLY liked was Savvy Rest's! It had like a really soft "brushed" cotton canvas tote-bag type feel to it, with about an inch of wool inside. Really like that feel as opposed to the "satiny/shiny/sheen-y" type feel, if that makes sense. From another post on here, someone had posted pix of their "organic" cover from Sleep EZ and it looked more like the "sheen-y" cotton... But then someone in that same thread said that their "organic" cover from SleepEZ didn't look anything like that, so who knows... I had asked Sleep EZ if they could send out a sample of their cover, but Kristina had said everything was pre-cut before coming to their factory for the covers so they didn't have any extra scraps, which makes sense. I suppose it's all gonna be covered by sheets, etc., anyhow so...
Hi Steve! I'm sorry - I was confusing. When I said, "But that would be the only one I couldn't test/switch out based on the above config," what I meant was I couldn't swap them out to test that same day with what I'd have on-hand if I got both sides of the 1.5" layer in Soft; I'd have to pay and send a layer back to Sleep EZ. In other words, I was being cheap. :) Haha! But you do have a point... It would be interesting to see if I could feel a difference between the 1.5" Soft vs the 1.5" Med... I might just order it that way after all. Then I could report back here and maybe help someone else, not to mention it would give me a few more options to play with all in all.
Sorry for the delay in replying!! Been a bit of a crazy week...
Happy Dreaming, everyone! :) Mary |
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Thank you for sharing your experience and adding some advice!! I had read your thread "Sleep EZ - 8500 experience and help with eliminating sore back issues" as well. Sounded like your soreness was stemming from you being a side sleeper and having pressure point pain? Even though I "trained" myself to start out sleeping on my side, I really do prefer sleeping on my stomach so I think that was why Phoenix was recommending I go pretty firm for my "support" layers... I'm curious though... are you overall happy you went with a latex bed? With SleepEZ? Or if you could do it all over again knowing what you know now, would you do something completely different?
Saw this a bit late, but looks like you already ordered one. I am very happy with my latex bed, although I should've tested the firmness preferences in local stores before I blindly ordered it online, but it worked out ok after I swaped one layer. It appears I am comfortable now with slight side sorness due to lack of tossing, but this might be due to other factors. (see my thread) SleepEZ experience was good too, their customer service is excellent as you probably already know and they shipped the item fast. Looking forward to your thoughts on your new bed! |