Hi all, new poster here.  I'm shopping for a new mattress, and after first considering the Tempur bed, I'm now worried about making such a large investment in a mattress that has such polarizing opinions about it.

I'm now thinking about trying a latex mattress.  I'm leery of buying a mattress I haven't tried out online, and I don't want a DIY mattress project, I want one I can try locally and buy ready made.

What seems to be available in my area is the Sealy Spring Free, the Sealy PurEmbrace (I don't understand the difference between these two lines) and the Healthy Back BackTex (which is a rebranded Spring Free as far as I can tell).  I tried the BackTex P5 (plush) in the Healthy Back store and loved it, though my husband said it was too "marshmallow-y" and he wouldn't buy it.

Another brand that seems to be locally available is the Sweda latex bed.  It is described as:

100% natural latex rubber with 2" of pure, organically processed wool. NO POLYURETHANE FOAM, NO POLYESTER FIBER, NO CHEMICAL FIRE RETARDANTS. The mattress contains 6" of firm support latex and 3" of soft, luxurious latex on the top. This mattress is organic, natturally durable, long-lasting and hypo-allergenic. It is natually porous and breathable and good for your health AND the health of the environmnet (100% recyclable).
The ticking is organic cotton and is channel-quilted to pure wool.

Well, that's the description for one model, there are several.

Does anyone have any experience evaluating any of these mattresses and can offer an opinion about quality?

FWIW, my husband can sleep on any old thing, but I suffer from lower back pain, achy hips and pinched nerves.  I'm a side sleeper.  I'm in so much pain at night I just end up tossing and turning and don't get much rest.

Any comments anyone can offer about the above mattresses would be really greatly appreciated!  Thanks!

In my opinion the only way to go is flobeds.com. It gives you the option of trying various ild's over a long period of time and returning it if you don't like it and you're out only the shipping costs which aren't that much.
I am not affiliated in any way  with flobeds, I just found them to be a great company and you have no problems if you do want to return it, they just process it and give you the refund minus shipping.

Kim,

I can't speak to the other brands but I can give you a bit on the Sealys. There's virtually no practical difference between the SpringFree and the PurEmbrace lines. It's primarily just a packaging and marketing piece. The PurEmbrace has a flatter top and a beige sort of look, etc.

I can give you a few tips for general latex shopping.

- Shop Talalay. You want a bed that is pure Talalay, no Poly cores or Dunlop layers.

- If it's an option, the type of Talalay you want is blend. Blend is a mixture of manmade and natural latex which provides a better balance of longevity and comfort. The difference between many manufacturers is what percentages of each they use in their cores.

- Shop somewhere that gives you a comfort exchange.

I recently purchased a Snowmass mattress from Denver mattress.  http://www.denvermattress.com/details-60_788_MA-DMSMPLQ_0.htm 

I got a great deal on it at the store - $900 for the mattress and foundation.  So far we like it.  It took a few nights to get used to it, as it felt different than our old spring mattress.  The mattress has a 6" Talalay latex core with a 2" Talalay latex comfort  layer.  There is an inch of PU foam in the quilting layer.  Denver mattress had another latex mattress, the Cleopatra that was more expensive and also had more PU foam.  While the extra PU foam felt good in the store I thought that there was a greater chance that it would break down.  I also got a Cuddlebed from Costco, which I love.

How does it feel? Firm, soft, cushy? Supportive? Please report back after a few days--thanks!