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Hi, I'm new around here! Sorry for the long post.. I'm currently using a 10-15(not sure exactly, I've used it for 7) year old innerspring mattress, and it has started to sag a bit in the middle. Also, it's rather...noisey. I'm thinking about getting a latex mattress, but I'm not sure what to buy. My budget is about $1,000 for a queen sized, preferably all latex. My initial thought was the ikea sultan erfjord, but I'm not sure about it's quality (seeing how it's from ikea). I also haven't been able to find much in the way of reviews by people who have owned it for a long period of time. I also checked out various mattress stores, but either I'm not sure if I'm getting a good mattress (yeah, sleepys, give me a 50% discount on everything...) or it was way out of my price range (2,000-5,000 for a queen) I'm not opposed to a DIY solution from FBM or other company, but I'm not sure what all I'd need. I'd guess I'd need to grab a core and a topper of some sort, which from FBM would run me about $900, but I'm not really in the market for major customization, I don't need different softness on different sides, or anything complex. Just a little on the firm side thank you. I'm also not opposed to an online mattress if it's in the price range and has a 'money-back' return policy (instead of just an 'exchange' one). I was thinking something from http://latexmattressshop.com/ would work, since they have a 60 day refund policy, I'm not sure a warranty after the first month really matters (since they're mostly pro-rated or won't cover the problem anyway) In non-latex mattresses, I've tried out the keetsa cloud mattress in their store, and it was fairly comfortable, but I couldn't seem to find any long-term reviews on how it holds up (and since it's memory foam I have my doubts). I tend to be a little warmer than average sleeping, which is another negative to memory foam (for me). Lots of people on yelp seem to love keetsa, however. Any suggestions/help would be welcome. |
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Hi Soliq, I'm on a similar mission looking for a relatively simple latex mattress and am not opposed to rolling my own. You list the medium 6" base [26 to 32 ILD] from FBM but say you prefer a firm mattress. Why not get the firm 6" base [33-38 ILD] under that same soft topper [20 ILD]? If I had to go either/or on your two options I'd choose the FBM setup because I think the support and chance of a proper cradle is better for a side sleeper on 2 inches of latex than on 2 inches of wool/latex "quilt" over a zoned dunlop base as pictured on the 8" Bliss Smooth. Just as an option here's the same thing in a 3" topper over at APM. We just ordered a 3" soft topper [20 ILD] over the 5" HD36-R conventional foam [ILD 36] with a standard cover from FBM for our RV (about $426.) You haven't experienced the world's cheapest mattress until you sleep on what they put in an RV -- you can feel individual springs. We debated getting the latex base instead of the HR foam but figure its fine for the RV and it will help us decide how to do our main mattress later this year. |
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The only reason I was thinking that I'd want the medium is that I tested a 'firm' mattress in a sleepy's store that was more like a rock than a mattress. Seriously, I felt that if I fell/collapsed onto the mattress it'd knock the wind out of me. I don't really want *that* experience. It was supposedly 2" 20 ILD dunlop top with 6" 40ILD base. That said, it was 40 ILD base foam, not latex, so that may have skewed things.
I'd think a cot is more comfortable than a typical RV mattress, heh. |
| That's why you put the layers of soft talalay on top. Then when you plop down on the mattress you get the soft top and then the thud from the support underneath. The softness of the top makes a difference. I'm mostly a side sleeper and when I tried a 3 x 3" mattress, the Firm/Firm/Soft was WAY more comfortable than the Firm/Firm/Medium. You need a bit of give for the shoulder, elbow and hips to sink into. But that still is a personal preference for each individual. |
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Does the number of layers make a real difference, or just the total height? I assume # of layers means you can exhange it as things wear out, but is there a noticeable difference between 3x3" layers and 1x6" 1x3"?
Anyway, my new plan is to do 6" firm core, 2" soft top for evaluation, and if I decide that it's too hard/soft I'll get a 2" medium top to put under/over the soft one.
In a related question: Any suggestions on platform bed frames? Something that isn't going to creak/fall apart (I've read ikea frames have a horrible time with the slats falling out) but still stays in the $300-500 price range? (a little higher is fine, since I'm spending less on the mattress than I had budgeted) |
| The Bliss from the latexmattressshop would make a nice base, seeing as it's dunlop. Definitely go for the soft option though. I bought the Allure with the medium option and I felt it was too firm. I've since added toppers to suit to taste. I don't feel their soft option would be too soft and I understand that's their default and most popular choice. You should probably call to find out what the ild's of the different options are, though the numbers won't correspond to the numbers you typically see on this forum for talalay. |
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soliq wrote: Does the number of layers make a real difference, or just the total height? I assume # of layers means you can exhange it as things wear out, but is there a noticeable difference between 3x3" layers and 1x6" 1x3"? |
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Ah, ok, thanks. To add another question: Is there somewhere other than FBM to buy relatively cheap cores? I noticed FBM only offers Talalay and doesn't really tell you where it comes from. |
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Sleep EZ (www.sleepez.com/catalog for individual piece of foam) and Arizona Premium Mattress Company sell 6" Dunlop cores. Sleep EZ may be willing to put together a complete custom mattress for you. This message was modified Jun 7, 2011 by sleepswithcats
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Is the quality difference between sleepez and FBM really big?
Sleepez is ~$400-500 more, but they offer dunlop core instead of all talalay. I guess they also offer 100% natural latex (if that makes a big difference?) |
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My personal experience test driving latex was that I tried Savvy Rest Firm Firm Medium in both Talalay and Dunlop and I couldn't tell any difference. Don't quote me here, but I think the same ILD for Talalay and Dunlop do not feel the same, with Talalay feeling softer. Either you can search for the data or possibly someone like Phoenix or Budgy will know what the corresponding ILDs are in Talalay and Dunlop for the different firm, soft, etc. Talalay is usually more expensive. I don't know the source of FBM latex. Perhaps someone with experience with FBM knows. Or you could call and ask where they get their latex. |