Mattress Forum

From what I have gathered I realized I was over my head when it comes to beds.  Ive had two beds for most of my life, they were both pretty horrible and my current matress bows horribly in the middle.  This of course causes back pain for the fiance and myself.  Thus durability and longevity is very important.  Im willing to spend decent money on a latex if I know I won't have to replace it in 5-10 years and it wont be bowed and deformed. 

I believe I want 100% Talalay blended latex.  That seems to have a semi consensus as far as value and holding up over the years, and returning to form faster than memory foam after movement.  We also want a King size, eastern as well.  The fiance isn't too particular about layout or layers, she doesn't believe so at least, as she can pretty much sleep anywhere.  I am a pretty big guy, 6'3 265.  She is about 5'7, 125.   I sleep mostly on my back and some on my side in recent years, mainly because my bed is so bad.  This has helped ease up the back pain.  We live in West Michigan and I seem to have little luck when it comes to matress vendors around here knowing much about latex, nor being able to find some for me to test out something similar at least.

I do know about foambymail and sleepez and have read various reviews about them and threads here. 

So I have some questions:

1.  Am I making the right choice as far as composition, 100% talalay latex?  Do I want a bottom layer/firmer layer of dunlop? 

2.  What kind for firmness, ILD, setups should I get?  The firm, medium, soft seems to be mentioned a lot but I am not sure how to find out if a soft top layer is "too soft".  Nor do I know how specific I should get at each layer.

3.  Where is the best value?  Am I going to have to go FBM?  SleepEZ?  Should there be anything local that should be comperable?  Maybe something I can at least test out?

4.  Do most covers, say at FMB or SleepEZ, fit any size/build?  Outside of a cover (wool seems to be the go-to) is it a no-no to put anything else on top of it?  Does it affect breathability and or negate the benefits of the latex?  Do sheets go below a cover or on top of it? 

5.  We will also need a foundation, slats seem to be the recommendation, best price/value on that?  Will any slatted foundation still sit just fine inside of a bed frame set that we may get down the road?  I am not sure how all that works out.  Right now I just have a matress, bed spring, and that sits on a metal frame. 

6.  I am also worried about temperature.  I like to go to sleep "cooler" and put on sheets/blankets as I warm up.  Will latex be too warm?  Will a wool cover will that not be an issue?

7.  Can I expect 10-20 years out of this?  I see some of these places have 20 year warranties (SleepEZ).  What does that entail?  Just workmanship and defects?  Does it entail wear and tear?  Divots or bows in the latex in time?  Is that even a worry with latex?

Thanks for any help guys.  The most I have ever spent on a bed was like $400, so this is a major upheaval in my train of thought but I really want a good investment that is comfortable for the future for the fiance and I when we move in together.