We are currently sleeping on a 10 year old inner coil mattress with a seven year old memory foam topper.  So I have some pressure relief but the support is no longer there and even the topper is wearing pretty badly.

I have had back pain for years, and live a pretty active lifestyle, so I tend to have a degree of muscle aches and joint pain from pushing myself.

My wife and I are looking for a mattress as we speak.  What I have settled on after testing out a number of differing mattress technologies is either latex or Gel, which seem to me to have the best compromises in terms of pressure reduction, support and longevity compared IMO to coils.  I did not even consider air beds as they consistently leave me sore, my wife hates every memory foam mattress we have tried, (I like memory foam) so guess what we won't be getting:)

I am an engineer and I tend to analyze everything I buy to a nauseating degree, so be patient with my explanations. :)

My concerns that are driving my purchase determination are:

Durability - Will the mattress last for 15 to 20 years...(minimal sagging and breakdown of materials) most beds that will likely meet this factor IMO are the less traditional technologies; foam, latex, foam-latex and Gel.  These are expensive....and I am not prepared to buy a new bed at these cost points often in my lifetime so I am proceeding with a degree of caution.

Long term comfort - Will I still be happy with the mattress in five or ten years if I gain weight, lose weight or develop other physical issues.

Has the manufacturer been around for more than a few years.

Does the manufacturer offer a good warranty at no extra cost.

So far it has come down to two manufacturers, Flo Beds (Latex) and NexGel (Gel, memory foam and coils).

 

 

Pros for Flo Beds:

1.  They can be tailored to each of our specific firmness needs (her side of the bed can be configured totally different from mine).

2.  The 100 day in home trail (If I don't like the system I pay return shipping, around $120 for a King) and get a full refund minus the original shipping; so all told I would be out around $250, but that is worth not getting stuck for years with something I may not end up liking.

3. Flexibility - they offer a number of grades of latex firmness in both blended and natural Talalay which allows the lower support layers to be tailored to my needs. 

4. Flo Beds has been in business since 1979, has a BBB rating of A+; Latex International (their latex supplier) has been around for quite a while and makes all of their products here in the USA in what appears to be a SOTA facility.

5.  The V-Zone system looks promising allowing what appears to be even better fine tuning  by placing a layer of strips across the width of the bed that differ in density and can swapped around.

6.  Flo Beds claims that there latex will permanently depress no more that 1" over its life time.

7.  Their Goldilocks warranty (20 years) answers several of my other concerns...If I am unhappy with the initial firmness or my need to change with time based on a prorated table they publish, I can order new cores and or components.  This also addresses my concerns of wear, tear and longevity.

8.  There not cheap, but they then again they aren't the most expensive either.

 

Cons:

1.  The topper is a 1" quilted wool approach, this keeps you 1" further away from the Latex.  Some manufacturers quilt latex right into their topper.

2.  Swapping out cores to find the right match.  Could get costly if I need to do this too often during the first few months.  If all did not work out I could be out $250 plus the costs associated with shipping cores.

 

Cons of Flo Beds:

1.  More effort required than walking into show room and just buying something.

 

Pro's NexGel:

1.  Gel may be the most effective technology in terms of pressure reduction; it is used in hospitals to prevent bed ridden geriatric patients from developing pressure ulcers.

2.  NexGel  mattresses use a combination of Gel, memory foam and coils in a layered approach; this may provide some of the benefits of each of these technologies.

3.  Gel may last longer than anything else.

4.  May sleep cooler than Latex.

5.  Good warranty at first glance.

 

Potential cons:

1.  NexGel  mattresses use a combination of Gel, memory foam and coils.  Coils eventually fail, usually sooner rather than later.   Memory foam will eventually get softer and develop indentations.

2.  I don't think you can subsequently purchase a new or memory foam components to rebuild the mattress; so at that point even if the Gel were to last 100 years it would be a moot point.

3.  NexGel Website has less specific information than the Flo Beds site.

4.  Does not appear to be a trial program, so if you don't like it after a month your stuck with it.

On balance I am leaning toward the Flo Bed due to the flexibility they offer; I'll keep everyone posted as to what I do, and how it works out over time.

Disclaimer, I am not associated in any way with either manufacturer, I have not yet committed and made a purchase and lastly I have had absolutely nothing to do with the recent Wiki-leaks scandal of state department communiqués - LOL - :)

I have to say it's wonderful to see someone who has done some research before making decisions :)

Some comments ... first generically:

In terms of mattress construction, to buy a mattress that will last you for 15-20 years, you are really looking at a choice between 3 materials or general constructions. These are high quality latex, buckling column gel, and natural stuffing type of materials such as cotton, wool, horsehair, silk, and the like (assuming these are properly constructed). A good innerspring will likely fall in there as well but this can be under any of the other 3 that don't use foam as a support material. For the last category, (natural stuffings over innersprings) you are realistically looking at a high end mattress such as Hastens and others at a higher price. These go from expensive to mortgage your house expensive. Even there they have advantages and disadvantages over lower cost mattresses that deserve some research and field testing before making a decision.

Memory foam ... even good quality memory foam ... is not a 15-20 year mattress. It would be the best of what was left (in the higher quality versions only ... lower qualities you could be talking about months). Polyurethane foam has the potential to last this long without degrading but this would require the use of premium more expensive foams in the comfort  layers of the mattress which you will rarely find. Even here, they have not been out for long enough to know for sure. There are quite a few examples of premium foams that were introduced for use in comfort layers by manufacturers with high expectations that were removed from market after a few years. Their real world performance and durabiliy did not match their testing. High quality more dense polyfoams (called HR foams) used as a core or support layer in a mattress will last longer (in the latex range) and the issue of polyfoams is a bigger problem in the upper layers of a mattress where it is reasonable, and probably wise, to assume early breakdown of any polyfoam from any manufacturer.

So the ranking would be high quality latex, natural stuffings, and buckling column gel (as a group) followed closely by a good quality innerspring. A mattress would last as long as it's weakest point which is usually in the upper layers of a mattress before some type of correction (toppers or mattress surgery) or replacement is required.

In terms of protection, mattress warranties are usually worthless except to protect you from manufacturing defects which tend to show up early. Depression issues under warranty are usually denied as they are only measured on an unweighted mattress that has had some time to rest. There is usually enough remaining resiliency in degraded foams that have lost their qualities to spring back enough to make a warranty claim deniable (they all have exclusions in terms of how deep an impression is considered "normal") and they are rarely worth the paper they are written on. There are other exclusions as well. Warranties are more about marketing than anything else and your real protection is knowing what is in your mattress and how long it lasts.... as you are doing.

 

In terms of specifics

The Nexgel mattress is made by a reputable manufacturer that makes high quality mattresses. Any weak links in any of their offerings here would have to do with the non orthogel layers. Some of them do use a high quality polyfoam which can be expected to last a long time since they are not in the comfort layers however they will likely not last as long as their latex versions. Buckling column gels are also being used by other manufacturers in similar forms and there are some differences in feel. Nexgel uses hexagonal columns which have been "rated" through feedback as stiffer than square columns used by some other manufacturers (such as the intelligel mattress). If you check the recent thread titled "what is gel mattress" you will see a URL to an article that names some other manufacturers of buckling column gel. As an aside, I believe that pressure relief through weight distribution can be effectively achieved through the use of (ranked in order of effectiveness) 1. buckling column gel, 2.memory foam, 3.latex foam, 4. certain types of poly foam. The effective difference between them often boils down to how they feel more than their ability to relieve pressure as all of them ... in particular the first 3 ... are so close. They can all, in most cases, relieve pressure to levels below detection. In a clinical situation, or with very sensitive individuals, the slight differences may be more important but the feel of each for the vast majority of people will make a bigger difference in their sleep than their ability to relieve pressure (assuming correct mattress construction in all cases). You will even see some argument over the order of ranking of the first 3 with tests to "back them up".

I would also suggest some field testing as buckling column gel has a slightly different feel to it that may or may not be what you are looking for. The way it compresses is different from other materials and it in some cases has a "crackling" feel to it when someone moves on their mattress which, while not unpleasant to most, can be noticed according to feedback.

Flobeds makes a very high quality "do i yourself" mattress and offers great support, advice, and ability to return/'exchange. You pay a substantial premium for this support and advice though. There are many other options where you will get the same quality of materials (from either the same manufacturer in most cases or equal quality manufacturer in others) and the advice and exchangeability at a much lower price. They do offer something a little unique in their v zone which is a form of manual zoning which has value but I would question the real world value of any zoning scheme that had more than 2 or 3 zones and in some cases (IMO) high multiple zoning like this is more about marketing as well and can even be counter productive. Most materials in a high quality mattress have "natural zoning" through what is called "support factor" or it's more technical term called compression modulus. As an engineer you likely know what this means but for any who don't it is the compression "response curve" which is the differing ability of different materials to increase resistance under increasing force. If you search "compression modulus", "sag factor", or "support factor'" you will find information and links in the forum about this. Having said all that, there are certainly uses for some forms of zoning in more extreme cases where the range of "natural zoning" built into materials may not be enough. The need for the shoulder area to sink in more (especially with side sleeping) with less weight than the hips is the most common followed by zoning schemes that can help the hips sink in either less or more to help create better alignment and support for the lumbar area. Other than this I would personally find it difficult to imagine where zoning beyond that already found naturally in high quality materials and constructions would be necessary outside of clinical situations. It would be well worth looking through the forum for other "do it yourself" options as there are many who offer high quality advise, good support, effective zoning schemes, and in some cases very good exchangeability and refund options ... for substantially less than flobeds.

Flobeds offers very high quality and good value ... and most people without access to the information and resources in this forum would do very well buying from them. Inside this forum though, value is a little different story as information and links to features and sources that many people would never otherwise find are easily available. Value really depends on what features and which merchant is being compared and in the end, the more choices and the better information we have ... the more we can expect to get greater value for our money.

No matter what you end up choosing ... it is very nice to see someone who takes the time to do their homework :)

Good luck

Phoenix

Thanks for the positive constructive feedback Phoenix.  I agree nothing will last 20 years.  The though occurred to me that in the event of sagging or other issues arising to a degree I could not tolerate, but which the warranty would not cover, that the available component approach would allow me to bite the bullet easier than I could afford to replace the whole thing. 

The cement is not yet poured so I am still open to looking at others that allow for customization at a better cost point.

Being almost exclusively a side sleeper, who is also having some hip pain issues lately the parallel zoning seems like it might be helpful, only time will tell if that is the case if I do end up going that route.  I will ask the folks at Flo Beds if their open to being flexible and would work with me on wider strips in the V-Zone if issues were to arise.  When I first looked at the V-Zoning chart on their website the idea of having so many zones some of them being wide and some being rather narrow seemed both flexible and a positive as well as perhaps overly complicated as well.

So far what I like about Flo Beds is the ability to buy components at a derated cost over the life of the product to address wear and changing needs.  I have not found so far any of the other on-line system vendors advertising replacements parts as a service they offer.  So I assumed they were not.  Also I may be missing some of the vendors you are aware of who offer flexible options at a better price point.  If you would prefer not to mention who they are on this string I would understand, would you then be open to a private e-mail?  I would like to hear your thoughts one way or the other on any mattress providers you feel are worth looking into.

I think the "weak link" in 20 years is likely to be the person sleeping on the mattress :).

In the case of latex, high quality stuffing mattresses, and buckling column gel, I would think they could all last well over 20 years. The only one that hasn't been proven to do so is the gel since it hasn't been out long enough to really know for sure but I would assume it will. In this case, since it can only be used as a comfort layer, what else is in the mattress will determine its longevity.

In the case of better quality layered mattresses, then the layers can be re-used and good quality covers ... with and without quilting and various quilting materials and in different thicknesses to accomodate different layering schemes ... are readily available. This re-use of layers would apply to both do it yourself mattresses and manufactured mattresses without a zip cover since if they were made of layers of these materials, they would only require cutting open and ordering a new cover to re-use them.

The specific ability to buy (one) new layer for the first 5 years and a second in the first 20 years is unique to flobeds. I say one and two layers because they are half layers times two. Their comparative costs here giving an idea of what you would save are a little high but the savings would be there for those who took advantage of this. Even in the worst case though (one complete layer exchange in the first five years and a second in the 15 years after) these savings would not nearly make up for the increased costs of their mattress over other options.

Their comfort exchange is very good but is not much different than many others who will do the same (excluding one way shipping) for slightly differing lengths of time. There are also merchants who are well known on this forum (including flobeds) who have in certain circumstances done a comfort exchange well past their "deadline". This feature is by no means unique.

Their 100 day refund guarantee (excluding one way shipping) is also not unique. There are some who offer a similar guarantee (again for slightly different lengths of time) where they will even pay the return shipping.

The value of each or even all of these together is dependent on it's likelihood of use, other options you may have at the time, and what you pay for all of these.

In terms of the advice you receive from Flobeds, this is not unique in any way although it certainly has value. In my personal experience I have talked with literally dozens of manufacturers (both do it yourself and manufactured) who spent hours on the phone with me talking about mattress construction and the industry in general. In some of these cases it was purely out of interest and generosity as they knew I would not be purchasing a mattress from them. Some of these knew much more than flobeds and some much less.

In terms of their "mattress selector", I believe it is way too generic and doesn't take into account most of the individual differences that can result in better choices. While it is certainly better than nothing, the personal advice of a good merchant in combination with field testing certain constructions in mattress stores will do much to make sure you get it right than anything else.

In terms of mattress construction itself, Flobeds shares certain limitations with many (but not all) "do it yourself" merchants. The reason for this is that they use mostly "standard" width layers. While this is sufficient for most people (as evidenced by the success of merchants who offer this), there are many factors in mattress construction that cannot be accomodated in "standard" 3" or 2" layers. Most people only pay attention to the ILD or firmness of each layer which is one part of the equation but in many cases not the most important part. ILD, Layer thickness, Sag factor of materials, Resiliency of materials, construction methods, and in some cases density of materials, and the type of quilting and ticking used all play an important but usually overlooked role. Each of these can make a dramatic difference in some cases as to how a mattress responds to YOU. In the case of Flobeds their choices are primarily limited to Talalay latex of a standard thickness which is a wonderful material but does not provide the range of choices that would be provided by a manufacturer that offered more choice in materials (Talalay and different types of Dunlop latex that each have different qualities), layer thickness, and quilting and ticking choices. I would also question their Talalay/Dunlop comparison on site as Dunlop mattresses made with good quality material have often been known in the real world to last well over 20 years.

If you take away the benefits of a zippered cover and are willing to consider a manufactured mattress as one of your choices, then that increases the possibility of greater value and many more choices even further.

There were at last count 597 mattress manufacturers in the US alone (and many one or two person operations are probably not counted) and a very large number of these are local or regional manufacturers who offer amazing value using any materials that equals or in some cases surpasses the value offered by "do it yourself" providers. If they are local and you can actually lay on their mattresses then in many cases their ability to customize your mattress for your circumstances far surpasses any do it yourself option ordered on the internet. If they are not local, then they will usually still surpass any do it yourself provider in their ability to customize a mattress however this would involve more risk as in many cases they do not offer layer exchanges and the whole mattress would need to be returned at a high cost to you. To go the route of a custom manufacturer that is not in your area requires enough certainty that your unique construction choices will be very close to suitable for you with the fewer options available to make changes in response (toppers, mattress pads, firmness adjustable bases etc) after the mattress has been shipped.

In terms of do it yourself constructions available over the internet, your reasonable choice is limited to perhaps a few dozen with perhaps a dozen or so that are clearly superior to most others.

In the case of local or regional manufacturers that involve shipping a mattress, then your reasonable choices go up to dozens or perhaps over 100.

In the case of local or regional "factory direct" mattresses that are close enough to you to drive to, then your choices would depend on location.

All in all, it is a matter of what is important to the individual and the level of "risk" they are willing to take to get the value and features that are important to them.

I have posted probably dozens of these links in many other threads and while I realize that all these are sometimes difficult to find, I am a little hesitant to post a "top ten" or "top 50" because it would always exclude many choices and could imply that my list is complete or somehow ranked. I just believe in helping people find choices they may not have known they had. Having said that I'll post a few (unranked) here if you wish a little later and if you'd like some local or regional options that may be available to you, then if you post what city you live in I'll look in my list and see what I know of that may be reasonably close.

Phoenix

Thanks Phoenix.  I look forward to seeing who you feel on the internet I should talk to.  Also,I live in Woodway Texas which is two hours from Dallas, two hours from Austin and around four hours from Houston, so any factory operations your ware of would be of interest as well.  Anything you can do is very appreciated.

 

P.S. Just go back from a local Denver mattress who had a NexGel mattress on the floor. It was not the model I had seen on the internet (Orthogel sweet mornings line) which was a gel/gel/foam/coil/foam buildup, but rather a Orthogel solutions gel/foam/foam/foam buildup.  I tried it out, it was odd to lay on.  Not uncomfortable, but you feel the gel cells at all times which again though not uncomfortable was an odd sensation.  I then lay on a relatively inexpensive Talalay latex they had and it felt to me much better.  So latex it is I think.

 

What I can say is that the NexGel pillow I tried at the store ($189) may be the best pillow I have tried to date.

I apologize in advance if I repeat something however I skipped over the rest of the thread after the OP.  

If you are concerned about spring failure Nexgel does have models without springs in them, you can get what is called 'Awakenings Single LatexGel", just the orthogel on top of a latex core, there is still a thin layer of poly I believe underneath the latex though.

 Although in reality springs are very durable, there is a reason most S brand beds made back in the day all lasted 10+ years and no longer do.  It isn't coil failure it is all the cheap foam used today that was not around back then or was used in very small amounts.  I just posted the other day about a Stearns and Foster bed that came back into our store because of warranty the other day.  I actually cut the thing open, it has a 2" sag in the middle of the mattress, I cut the coils out of the pockets from that region (3 different springs) all of them look brand new, the foam however feels flimsy and has settled quite a bit.

Also, most Latex mattresses (the better ones) use quilted wool as the initial layer, usually better this than polyester fibre or something else.  They have to make the mattress somewhat fire resistant, better natural wool than some chemical compound.  Flobeds seems to get consistently very good reviews on the forum here.  

You are fortunate as Texas has the second most mattress manufacturers in the US after only California. I hope you don't mind but I didn't check specifically to see how close these are to you as it takes more time than I have. The ones that are not close enough however that you are interested in may have either retail outlets near you or suggestions that may be helpful. I have included both a few retail outlets that were on my list for various reasons as well as manufacturers. These are not "ranked" but I did make a few comments to help you a bit.

When I have a chance I'll post a few online outlets as well.

Phoenix

 

http://www.home-and-bedroom.com/allmattresses.html Retailer. Good selection of latex mattresses and HQ in Tx but online only I believe

http://mattresslogix.com/contact_us.html Manufacturer. They offer a unique service and customized mattresses

http://www.wildflowerorganics.com/pages.php?pageid=7 Retailer. Offer a great selection of natural mattresses

http://austinmattressstore.com/mattresses.aspx Retailer. Besides "S" brands, carries Taylor bedding, Corsicana, And Restonic

http://shopmattresssmart.com/categories/All-Mattresses/?sort=featured&page=2 Retailer. Carries a good selection including Boyd (would tend to avoid), Englander, Sleep design, Spring air, Eastman house

http://www.backbenimble.com/latex-mattress.htm Retailer. Carries a single core latex mattresses not layered

http://www.intellibedmattress.com/store_locator.php Intelligel outlets in US incl TX. These are the "square ones" I mentioned earlier

http://www.justicefurniture.com/about.asp Regional manufacturer that has retail outlets in TX.

http://www.newliving.net/pages/Directions%7B47%7DParking.html?sort=priceasc Retailer. Carries OMI and Royal pedic (both "premium" latex mattresses) and Keetsa

http://www.wilcoxfurniture.com/mattress.aspx Retailer. Carries Restonic

http://stevekleinassociates.net/contact.html Manufacturer. Probably not much of interest in latex but site has few details

http://www.sovn.com/ Retailer. Has some unique mattresses including all latex and microcoil pillowtops.

http://www.sleeptronic.com/web_Sleeptronic_1_content.html Regional manufacturer and licensee based in Dallas. Will provide you with retail outlets

http://www.sleepinc.com/contact-us.html Regional manufacturer and licensee based in Corsicana. Does not sell retail but may give you the name of retailers who do.

http://www.sleepcraftmattress.com/locations.html Manufacturer. Carries a wide range including latex

http://www.noahsmfg.com/index.php?page=find-a-retailer Manufacturer with wide range. Has retail outlet finder on site.

http://mattresses1.com/index.html Manufacturer. One of the better latex values and has many options. Carried by retail outlets available on asking

http://bandmmattress.com/contact.php Manufacturer with good latex choices

http://www.apartmentfurnishingsco.com/retailbedding.html Manufacturer. Few details on site

http://www.taylorbedding.com/store_locator.html Regional manufacturer with retail outlet finder on site

http://www.themattressfactory.com/FactoryShowroom.aspx Manufacturer. Very good value in latex mattresses. This is where I purchased my mattress

http://www.sleepworld.net/contactus/ Manufacturer. Range of latex options

http://www.sleep-designs.com/contact.htm Manufacturer. Carries a range of latex options

http://kingdommattressmfg.com/ Manufacturer. Carries a range including latex

http://www.goldenmattressinc.com/ContactUs.aspx Manufacturer. Mostly innerspring mattresses that I can see

http://www.cantwellmattress.com/contactUs.cfm Manufacturer. Carries a range including latex

http://ammattress.com/contactinfo.html Manufacturer. Don't see any latex on site

 

 

 

Phoenix, you are too cool.  Thanks for the information.  I'll keep everyone posted on how the journey goes.

I am old school, regarding what I like to sleep on.   All of those foam mattresses feel far too weird for me.   I beleive I could sleep on the floor if I were 20 years younger, lol.  I prefer an ultra firm coil innerspring with not much foam in it, a heavy gauge wire, a tight top, and then I put a 1.75" memory foam topper and a quilted padded cotton-type mattress pad on top of that, and I am happy.   The other thing I liked really well was a baffled waterbed with rather a lot of water in it.   Since I have cats, waterbed is out.   What I will buy is an Orthopedic Ultra Firm set for $779 or less from The Original Mattress Factory (a regional manufacturer) and I'll get the $20-$40 upgrade that puts the foam cylinders around the edge to stiffen it.

The other things I have like really well are Imperial Bedding of Huntington, WV, modle  #640.  That one, I believe, would be firm but not hard, and it dampoens motion like the Simmons Beautyrest does.  But is two sided.  It sells for $1100 for slightly less at a local furniture store.   If it were not for finding an OMF set for even less, I'd probably buy that Imperial.  Imperial makes the innersrping for it.  The service life of the foam is what I wonder about.

And an old late '80s Imperial Bedding model that was called Orthopedic Ultra Firm or something.   Search Imperial Bedding and you'll find my posts where I reported the info from the tag, and speculated on what the modern equivalent is now that they changed that model 26 or 46 or whatever I have.  It is a traditional Bonnell spring, and I also think mine has a coil box spring instead of those zigzag wires, and I know it has extra slats in the box spring.    I love that mattress set, and with a 1.75" foam topper and a quilted mattress pad, most of the guests have liked it, too.   I paid $125 for that set back in the late '80s, from a little Mom and Pop furnitures store in southern WV that bought discontinued mattress sets by Imperial.   It's been on my guest bed for years, and I used it steadily from about 1.5 years as a single.   I think you'd have to get one of the hotel series to get the equivalent thing now.  They softened up the #26 or #46 or whatever model number mine is, and it's not the same now.

Regional companies still make the two-sided mattresses, and at $660 - $800 for a set from OFM (I'm within driving distance of Pittsburgh), I really don't care if it lasts me more than 5-6 years.  I don't want or need 20.  But I have a male friend from the car club I belong to who weighs over 400 lbs, and he has the OMF Ultra Frim mattress & matching box srping, and it has held up to his weight for over 3 years now, with no sags.

If you go back to innerspring, you can search here for some threads discussing wire gauve vs. body weight.   I think 12 ga was what was recommended for people 180# & up, but I might be 'way off so do check the posts yourself.  I don't weigh that.  I am just one who likes to definirely sleep on top of the mattress, not sink into it.  I don't usually hae a problem with pressure points.  An old early '90s Sealy Posturepedic that was worn out and some rock-hard hotel mattress have been the only things that managed to cause me any painful pressure points, but I am a back sleeper mostly, too.  That makes a huge diff in what is comfortable, as I understand it.

Anyway, none of those exotic expensive foam creations for me, lol.

"they" say that a typical mattress set only has a 5-7 year lifespan now, at best, and $600-700 is the sweet spot and evidently what most typical consumers are willing to spend.   So, if you spend $650 and get 4 years, that would be 5x$650 for 20 years, and if you bump that up an arbitrary 15% for price increases, it's like $3700 over 20 years, so why fork over $300 - $4000 for one mattress set, is rather how I look at it.   For me personally, a single, I am better off buying cheaper and replacing as-needed.

Here are a few places you can order online should you choose to go in that direction with a few comments added. I have talked with many of these except the ones I have noted but make sure you check their exchange and shipping policies and ask questions as there are many differences and options here. The non zip cover options I have included I did so because their shipping and/or exchange is lower than most custom manufacturers. I wanted to include a range of examples and the ones that I would consider have the better value (very subjective and individual) I have noted as "good value". There is no order or "best or worst" here since that is always individual choice. Between this and the TX manufacturers I listed previously you should have lots of choices. Many of these also offer side to side customization and some may have special offers from time to time.

Phoenix

http://www.purerest.com/ These are Dunlop and are not the best value IMO but they are probably the most stringent in their independent chemical and purity testing which may be important to some. They do have an "econo" version as well which is better value.

http://www.flobeds.com/latex/index.htm They offer high quality and good levels of customization and have a zoned model. Many people like them because of their return and warranty provisions however I believe they are a little too high priced compared to some others.

http://www.savvyrest.com/products/organic-mattresses/serenity I'm including these for comparison purposes only as they are well known and high quality. They do have a good reputation and their prices are lower at some of their dealers than on their website however I have not seen them anywhere close to low enough to consider them good value.

http://www.latexmattresscompany.com/ Good value. They use Radium blended Talalay and LI natural. They have mostly 6+2 constructions listed on their site but since they are a factory they do offer other options as well in Dunlop, blended, and natural Talalay.

http://www.myluxurymattress.com/talalay-latex-mattress.html Good value. They offer blended Talalay in "soft medium and firm" constructions and are not quite as customizable as others. Free shipping on returns.

http://www.foamforyou.com/Latex_Mattress%20.htm I know nothing about these people as I have not talked to them and only recently came across them. They offer a 20 (natural)/80 (synthetic)blend which may not be LI so I would certainly confirm what it was and any details of their service and ILD's available but they do seem to have good prices for their blend.

http://www.baybed.com Good value. They specialize in latex over springs but also make all latex 2 sided.

http://www.mygreenmattress.com/ Good value. 2 sided Talalay. Manufacturer so will customize how you want.

http://www.foambymail.com/ Among the lowest cost for latex however there have been reports that what you receive may not be what you ordered. Included for their price alone.

http://www.jamestownmattress.com/# Good value. Will make a 9" Talalay zip cover with LG dunlop for 12-1300 Queen. Also custom manufacturer.

http://anaturalhome.3dcartstores.com/Terms-and-Conditions_ep_2-1.html I am including them here because they make a 9" vegan Dunlop mattress for those that are attracted to this. Requires a prescription (no fire barrier)

http://perfectlatexmattress.com/ Another one that requires a prescription with no fire barrier

http://www.foamsweetfoam.com/mattresses Good value. 9" zip cover natural Talalay with good choices.

http://latexmattressshop.com/index.php/ Good value. Can be customized soft medium firm only.  Dunlop latex with very nice cover and free return if necessary.

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod865234 Good value. 9" natural Talalay and great return policy. No customization though

http://www.simplyrest.com/latex_mattresses I'm including him because he had decent value (quoted $1599 for 9" blended talalay) and probably would have gone down a bit but was a little pushy on the phone when I started asking some "tough" questions. In the hopes he was having a bad day and giving him the benefit of the doubt, I thought I'd include him this time.

http://www.customsleepdesign.com/ Good value. Typically 11" natural or blended Talalay but makes 9" as well. Uses a customization method that I believe is more accurate than others

http://www.sleepez.com/ Good value. Has many Dunlop and natural and blended Talalay options.

http://www.thenaturalsleepstore.com/bella-sera-organic-mattress.html Layered zip cover Dunlop. A little more than most but have some different layer thickness options than others. They also post their chemical testing.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11503354&whse=BC&Ne=5000127+4000000&eCat=BC|93|1924&N=4001714%204294898653&Mo=10&No=7&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav= Good value for 10" Dunlop even though unfortunately it's not on sale any longer. Great return policy

http://palmettomattress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=28_13&products_id=25 Have only talked with them very briefly. Dunlop core and talalay or dunlop on top.

http://www.restmatters.com/white-night-premium-organic-natural-latex-mattress-34 Included only because they offer the Sam's club mattress for several hundred less. Have not talked to them so I don't know their return policy.

http://www.foamorder.com/latex.html Good value. Mostly Dunlop but has some talalay as well. Confusing website (at least for me) but has some good options and has some good deals in their clearance section as well.

http://www.astrabeds.com/serenitybed-latex-mattress Another one where we didn't "do too well" on the phone but I thought I'd include him this time in the hopes that he too was having a "bad day".

http://www.rockymountainmattress.com/8inchnaturallatexmattress-p-89.html 8" Dunlop core Talalay top. Have only talked with them briefly

http://www.urbanmattress.com/UrbanOrganics_Brochure.pdf 6", 8", and 10" Natural Talalay. Haven't talked with them but they looked interesting enough to include

http://www.foamsource.com/shop/family/latex_mattress Natural Talalay and Dunlop. A little high

http://www.absolutecomfortonsale.com/natural-latex-mattress.htm Dunlop with thick wool option. Thicker mattresses on main page have some poly

Thanks, great resources...........