Compare latex mattresses - EcoCloud, CozyPure, FloBed, and even Simmons Black Viola
Jan 10, 2009 5:52 AM
Joined: Sep 3, 2008
Points: 3
Hi, I'm trying to buy a new mattress, and i'm looking for a few tips. Our current bed is a Sterns & Foster Firm Euro-Pillowtop, which now has massive body impressions that are messing up my back (since i'm a back sleeper). My fiance (a side sleeper) of course loves the ultra poofy luxuriousness of the pillowtop, and doesn't mind that the foam collapses after a minute of laying on it.

So my goal is to find a soft and comfortable, yet supportive and durable mattress. Ideally with some amount of "luxury" feel to the quilting, rather than just a very thin cotton cover with a tiny bit of wool.

I started looking at Simmons, but ruled out everything except the Beautyrest Black Viola (with a tiny bit of latex in it), since the top quilting seems soft and luxurious yet not very tall (it's not a pillowtop), so i would think less prone to impressions. And it does feel like a "normal" bed, at least while trying it in macys. That said, i've read lots of bad things about Simmons sagging too soon. But i wonder if their Black (non-pillowtop) line is any better. Anyone know about this one?

Other than that, I'm leaning toward latex. After reading this forum i know lots of people are very happy with FloBed, SleepEZ, and SavvyRest, all on my list. But i'm also looking at a few others too that i haven't found much talk about, and i wonder if anyone can offer pros and cons, or comments about the quilting/cover.

- ECO-CLOUD "Awareness" (from TheNaturalMattressStore.com)
I saw this last week in the store. Seems very good but expensive ($3200 out the door). Nice soft cover.

- ECO-CLOUD "Clarity" (from TheNaturalMattressStore.com)
similar to Awareness but has coils between 2 layers of latex, so it only has 4" of latex.

- COZYPURE.com "Caress" or "Embrace"
This seems to have some latex in the cover, making it much more luxurious, but i can't find any reviews or comments on it anywhere. The top quilting looks almost like SleepTek's GreenSleep. Also pretty expensive. Has "zones". Unlike most others, it does not unzip.

- FLO BED Natural Latex
They only use Talalay, while most others seem to use Dunlop in the lower layers, or at least offer it. Cover seems much more poofy (in a good way) than most others, but hard to tell from the site's photos. *Can anyone describe the FloBed cover/quilt?

- SAVVY REST "Serenity"
i saw this today at a local SF BayArea store, and didn't love the cover.. it felt like cotton canvas.

- SLEEP-EZ "10000"
the cover seems thin and not very luxurious. Also the cheapest of the bunch, which almost makes me wonder a bit.


Any comments or insight are greatly appreciated !
-todd
Re: Compare latex mattresses - EcoCloud, CozyPure, FloBed, and even Simmons Black Viola
Reply #1 Jan 10, 2009 10:51 AM
Joined: Aug 31, 2007
Points: 793
I have a FloBeds all natural Talalay Latex except for the bottom two Super Firm 44 - 46 ILD latex cores that are the blended Talalay Latex.  Most of my Talalay Latex Cores are 37 ILD which is very Firm.  I have a 1" topper since the 2" topper was too thick for someone like me who is not quite 5 feet tall and petite in weight as as well height.  I love my cover.  The first cover sent was not as nice but since it had a tiny rip in it, I called Dave and he told  me to wait until all my pieces of latex were selected with exchanges and he would exchange it postage paid with a new topper and then I could also send back which legs I do not want since he sent me a few sizes to see what I would like due to my small height.  I am glad I waited since FloBeds found a supplier of these really nice covers that are soft and have a protective layer on the sides so the zipper will not get caught. I love the mattress cover that goes over my latex cores that not only makes the bed look like a conventional mattress, it is not cheap looking or feeling. 

I really like the feel of the mattress and the room for the topper inside the zippered up cover. I am a side sleeper and the topper gives me the cushion I need and the latex cores I chose give me the firmness and support my back needs especially since I got 5 herniated disks from a car accident in August 2007. FloBeds let me have a few more exchanges after the car accident despite buying the bed in May 2007 since my back had new needs.  I have been very happy with the latex FloBeds provides, the quality cover, the pine slat bed with the 10 legs I chose (I cover it was a elastic bedskirt so I can store clothes under my bed.... the pine smell was very strong the first few days but thank goodness it went away), the headboard brackets for my Wesley Allen Iron headboard, and the wonderful customer service of the caring FloBeds' team in trying to make sure I was happy and comfortable with my bed even after my purchase. Also when the price of my bed went down twice when I had it, I liked how I got two credits on my credit card just by informing Dave in an email followed up with a phone call. 

I will let others speak for the other beds since I have no direct experience. I chose FloBeds since I have tax clients that were very happy with their FloBed and told me about it when I told them I had to cancel our first appointment due to an allergy I had to my new conventional bed that had me up all night.  So on our next meeting and after finishing up their work that they were very happy with, the couple told me how happy they were with their bed and maybe it would be good for me and gave me the website. I then bought a Talalay natural latex topper to sleep on the floor until my busy season ended before I called FloBeds and before I emailed both FoBeds and SleepEZ and also I tried out latex beds in stores.

Good luck with your search for a bed that is comfortable and supportive for you and your wife. We are all built differently and all have different needs. I wanted support, comfort, sturdiness, and least likely to cause me allergies as well as going with a company that will stand behind their product and not charge me a restocking fee if I found out latex was not for me. 

P.S. My keyboard keeps skipping letters so I had to edit the post for missed letters in a few words. I guess now it is time to search for a good keyboard.  :)

This message was modified Jan 10, 2009 by Lynn2006
Re: Compare latex mattresses - EcoCloud, CozyPure, FloBed, and even Simmons Black Viola
Reply #2 Jan 10, 2009 12:06 PM
Joined: Dec 19, 2008
Points: 8
I was in the same position a few weeks ago, Todd.

We needed to replace an 11-year old "s" mattress, and first tried a costco memory foam bed.  While the memory foam was OK, it wasn't great...kind of like sleeping on wet sand.  We had demo-ed a few of the the tempurpedics, but I wasn't too impressed with them either.  They just don't have that "ahhh" factor that you get from a soft top layer.

After a TON of research I ordered a flobed last week, which should be delivered by wednesday.  The price was ok (about $2k), but the big selling point came after speaking with their salesmen.  No hard sell, very knowlegible, and seemed genuinely interested in getting us into a comfortable mattress.  Considering that my wife is like "the-pricess-and-the-pea", I can let her play around with the different zones till her heart's content.  I also figure it's virtually no risk...I can keep swapping out latex cores until we hit the ideal comfort, and if that never comes I can just return the whole thing.

I also spoke at length with Shaun at SleepEZ before I bought from Flobeds.  He was also very knowlegible and seemed interested in getting us into a comfortable mattress.  The main differences that I found between flobeds and sleep ez were: Flobeds has a better warranty (10 year full vs 8 year full, and 20 yr prorate vs 15 year prorate), better comfort exchange policy (unlimited swaps vs. one at sleepez), and a nicer cover that is also covered by the warranty.  Flobeds prices were a bit higher, but with the $500 off sale last week they actually came in about $100 less than sleepez.

Depending on how daring you are, there are a few threads around with people who tried a do-it-yourself approach to making a latex mattress for thousands of $ less.  BillB has a recent thread with his design and photos...

I'll try to post a thread by next weekend with my initial impressions of the flobed after sleeping on it for a few nights.
Re: Compare latex mattresses - EcoCloud, CozyPure, FloBed, and even Simmons Black Viola
Reply #3 Jan 10, 2009 2:25 PM
Location: Oregon
Joined: Oct 25, 2008
Points: 130
Hi Todd,

Since you asked for comments or insight, I'll give you a little of both.
Do not judge a bed by its cover.... This is oldest trick in the book in the mattress business and I got caught on it too with the Simmons so-called Latex bed that I bought from JCP. It had a beautiful bamboo cover that really was a big selling point of the mattress. What I've learned since I've had my mattress education on these forums is that the cover really doesn't matter a whole lot other than keeping the latex intact and protected. Most people will put a mattress pad over it anyway. Sure its nice to have a beautiful cover but it is way way down on the list of importance. If you read extensively on here, you will know that people use toppers to achieve that luxorious effect and if it weasr out or loses its effeciency, it can be replaced without getting a new bed.

Latex is not a very pretty product by itself. It's just a square block with a bunch of holes in it and it usually is not perfect either, sometimes having some off coloring going on and maybe a little piece missing here and there..... It's got a little bit of an odor too.... Even the latex that is within those pretty luxorious mattress covers...

There is a lot of hype within the mattress industry; and even within the Latex mattress industry. Look at the names of the companies you have listed and what do they denote??? (Eco-cloud, Cozypure, FloBed, Savvyrest, Sleepez).  It's actually hilarious when you stop and think about it. I'll be savvy, pure, green, and flow into the clouds easily if I buy a Latex bed!  What hype!

More money does not really mean a better product in this case. I know that Flobeds and Sleepez do well by their customers but I couldn't see any reason paying way more than they charge for their beds. They have good latex and offer to replace it until its right. You also can DIY like I did for about a thousand dollars and get right in the same ballpark as far as the results - but with a little more risk.

I guess what I'm trying to say is to try to resist the urge to go out and buy something right away and do your homework first. It does take a while to digest all of this. I am so glad that I waited until I felt I was ready. Good luck on whatever you end up doing.

This message was modified Jan 10, 2009 by BillB
Re: Compare latex mattresses - EcoCloud, CozyPure, FloBed, and even Simmons Black Viola
Reply #4 Jan 10, 2009 8:41 PM
Joined: Aug 31, 2007
Points: 793
My mattress zipped up cover is so comfortable, I know longer use a mattress pad and I just use a fitted sheet on the zipped up latex FloBed mattress.  On my pillows, I had to buy special pillow cases since the cover being soft is very important to me. I am using 400 count zipped up Pillow case covers before the pillow case and the latex pillow feels wonderful.  To me a cover does matter in the overall comfort of a product.  I know the original pillow cases from overstock were crinkly and only a 200 thread count so even with a pillow case on top of their zipped up cover, I was not  comfortable. 
Re: Compare latex mattresses - EcoCloud, CozyPure, FloBed, and even Simmons Black Viola
Reply #5 Aug 12, 2011 2:31 PM
Joined: Jun 2, 2011
Points: 20
what DIY did you do?
This message was modified Aug 13, 2011 by a moderator
Re: Compare latex mattresses - EcoCloud, CozyPure, FloBed, and even Simmons Black Viola
Reply #6 Aug 12, 2011 4:04 PM
Joined: Jun 2, 2011
Points: 481
Iris wrote:

 

 

 


what DIY did you do?



In the forums section, hit the 'highlighted threads' at top.  BillB has a thread with pics. His bed is quite the DIY project.

My SleepEZ (and I imagine Flobeds would be the same) twin XL came in two 40" tall boxes.  One weight 32 lbs. , one 49lbs.  Use screwdriver, pliers to pry up staples to keep box lids in tact.  Empty out the foam, cut the plastic wrapper. 

The cover was like 'which way is up, but I figured it out.  Cover is attached along 12" at one end, not seperate.  Must spread cover out much as possible before laying first layer of latex in.  At first, latex can look somewhat bigger than cover, but it flexes.  Takes some massaging to get it in there.  But it went and zipped together just fine.

I was on an iComfort Revolution memory foam for 4 weeks.  Wow did my butt sink into that. 

I would call my SleepEZ like 'Plush Firm' -  it's firm in support, but there's a plush feel at the surface ... and that's with only a super thin Protect-a-bed protector and countour sheet.  I could still dress it up with a topper or wool protector or what not.

This message was modified Aug 12, 2011 by slpngoc
Re: Compare latex mattresses - EcoCloud, CozyPure, FloBed, and even Simmons Black Viola
Reply #7 Aug 12, 2011 8:17 PM
Joined: Jun 2, 2011
Points: 20
what sleepez configuration do you have?
This message was modified Aug 13, 2011 by a moderator
Re: Compare latex mattresses - EcoCloud, CozyPure, FloBed, and even Simmons Black Viola
Reply #8 Aug 13, 2011 10:48 AM
Joined: Jun 2, 2011
Points: 481
Iris wrote:

 

 

what sleepez configuration do you have?

I have the SleepEZ 10000 with firm/med/soft bottom to top, all talalay blend.  Interestingly, the cover has the pattern 'organic' all over it.

I talked to Shawn twice, told him I'm 195 lbs, 6'2" tall, mostly side sleeper with an old right shoulder injury.  He said I fall 'right in the middle' for this setup.  Initial impressions are quite good:  I feel well supported, it's quite cool, comfortable.  pretty easy to turn over.  I feel good about it at this point.  Good chance I'll order my slatted foundation today, get it off that 4 week old Serta iComfort 'box spring' , yuck. 

This message was modified Aug 13, 2011 by slpngoc

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