| Hi, I have been reading posts for the past few days and learning as much as I can to choose a new matress for the wife and I. Our situation: I'm 6'2", 230lbs, I feel pretty stiff in the mornings, and don't sleep well. My wife is 5"5 and has some medical issues. She complains of severe back and neck pain, and rarely sleeps lomger than a few hours at a time. I know the current matress isn't helping the situation and if both of us are uncomfortable, we need a change.My wife has talked to a sales rep for Natural Form, and given a quote for one of their adjustable matresses. After some research, I'm not sure if this is the way to go. I am concerned it will be too firm. I am curious about the natural latex matresses. How "cool" are they? We are worried about being too hot. How do they compare too a traditional spring matress? We're not even sure where we can go to look at them first hand. Can they be found at any chain stores? We have bugeted about 2K for a new matress. Any thoughts or direction would greatly appreciated. |
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I would be a little concerned with the natural form as well. Air is a "hard" material by nature and while the theory of the SAT bed seems good "on paper" (better than other airbeds anyway), it does not seem to be so good in practice for many people. I really question the value of airbeds in general when there are so many other ways to do the same thing that don't have the inherent problems of airbeds ... at a far lower cost. Latex breathes very well and in general is about the "coolest" of all the foams and certainly cooler than memory foam. Most people don't seem to have heat issues with it although there are always a few exceptions. I personally tend to sleep hot and don't have any heat issues with latex even though I have a softer latex mattress and sink in more than I would on a firmer latex (sinking into a mattress can aggravate heat issues especially with less breathable materials such as memory foam). Heat in general can be alleviated with different materials and/or mattress pads even if it is an issue and many people with memory foam for example use a wool mattress pad or put latex over the memory foam to help with breathability and heat. Matresses with a latex core are not quite as "springy" as an innerspring mattress but they do have some resilience in them. They are quite an "active" material and will push back against pressure without "bouncing". They are also very good at isolating motion. There are also many matresses available that use latex comfort layers over innersprings. In many people's views, latex represents the ultimate in a comfortable mattress and while it is not always easy to get the perfect combination of layering to fit the person, if you do a bit of research both in a store and reading here, your odds are very good of ending up with perhaps the most comfortable mattress you have ever slept on (biased personal opinion lol). It is also very durable and long lasting and will outlast an innerspring and other types of foam. There are many mainstream stores that carry either all or mostly latex mattresses or latex over innersprings or HR polyfoam so you can do your "lay on bed" research. What is your zip and/or city and state I'll take a look to see if my "list" has anything near you. If there are any smaller mattress manufacturers who sell direct to the public near you they will usually represent far greater value and quality than more "mainstream" mattress stores. It is important when you go to lay on mattresses though that you know for sure you are laying on latex as many if not most major manufacturers will put other (cheaper) foams over the latex so in these cases you would still not really know what latex feels like. Many people here would not even look at a mattress that has more than an inch or so of polyfoam in the upper layers and many would not even want that. $2000 can buy a lot of mattress with a little patience and research. Many of the people here have spent far less than that and are sleeping on a mattress where the equivalent cost in an "S" brand or similar would have been well over $3000 or more and they will have their mattress for a very long time. Phoenix This message was modified Oct 29, 2010 by Phoenix
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| Thank you very much for your help. From what I have read, Latex was the route I was looking at, and your comments confirmed it. I am in Palm Coast, Fl, 32137. Again I greatly appreciate your help and any advice you have. |
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A few mattresses that you will often find in regular stores that are worth trying out (they have all or mostly latex in the top at least) are the Simmons "natural response elite" (not the natural response), "Pure latex bliss", and "Sealy embody". There are many others but it will save you hours and hours of time if you phone and ask "do you have any latex mattresses with less than an inch of polyfoam in the top layers". Be very specific here as it is a waste of time to go to a store where most of the upper layers are polyfoam, even if they "call" them latex. A few places that are "somewhat" near you besides regular stores you may already know about are: http://www.originalmattressfactory.com/locations Have an all latex mattress and will do custom builds. http://www.firstclassmattress.com/crm.asp?action=contactus Carry Natura which is an extensive line of latex mattresses http://www.roomstogo.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=storeLocator Carry the Embody which has latex in the top over HR foam http://www.foxmattress.com/ Worth calling ... seems to do custom builds incl latex http://stoverrestbedding.com/Contact.html Worth calling ... seems to do custom builds
At this point the most important thing is to lay on mattresses and see what you like in the way of latex. There is a wide variety of different softnesses and thicknesses and combinations of latex and you may clearly prefer some over others. Don't pay any attention to the prices at this point since that is the last step and you can often "duplicate" very expensive mattresses through other means than buying from a mainstream outlet. At all costs don't buy anything yet no matter how attractive an offer they may give you. Take a few notes of the specs of the mattresses you like (the thickness of the latex layers and the ILD (softness) of the latex layers). Post here as often as you need to if you have questions or need help along the way Phoenix This message was modified Nov 12, 2010 by a moderator
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