Mattress Forum

I am 5'10", 150 lb male and I sleep on vzone with the bottom layer being an XF and the middle layer, firm and my top layer (the zoned layer under the convoluted layer) of soft for my shoulders and medium for my lower half.  It is all topped off by the 19ILD, 2 inch convoluted layer.  It works pretty well and has helped reduce my back and shoulder pain.  If I could make any change I would make the shoulder area even softer but the other layers support my lower body and help my back.  Making the lower part any softer, causes lower back pain.  I have bulging disks in my lower back so any sagging makes it worse.  My original mattress had F/M on the bottom two layers but I felt I needed XF/F (bottom/middle layers) to get the proper lower body support.

If I were a back or stomach sleeper, I wouldn't hesitate to buy from Sleepez or make my own from SLAB.  I've noticed that people need anywhere from 2 to 5 inches of "comfort" layer, so the Flobeds is pretty much right in the middle but everyone is different.

For a DIY mattress, 6 inches should be enough of a base.

How would you compare the affect of using the 2" convoluted layer vs. a regular/whole 2" layer?  I have 44-36-28 in the cover and am considering adding a 2" Celsion 21 layer under the sheet to soften and deepen the surface response.

GK

Also my boyfriend says he can sleep anywhere so is letting it up to me to decide on the firmness - however i really think with the amount of money we are spending i should get the proper firmness for him (the sites rec f/xf for him vs m/f for me). right? (but can you do a bed w/only half vzone and then just a "regular" layer for the other side? does flobeds do this customization? i'm looking at cost overall too. though granted i'm willing to spend the 1600 for a mattress (sleepEZ 's price, just missed the flobed sale to make it equal price)...

The only comparison I can offer is that the 19 ILD convoluted from Flobeds was noticably softer than the 22-24 ILD, 2" non-convoluted layer (I had purchased from Sleepez) that I tried on top of the zoned layer.  I would say that compared to a 19 ILD non-convoluted layer of the same depth, it would still be softer.  I hope this helps.

They had a special sale back in October/November on seconds.  I don't know of any place on their web site.  I assume that they will do it again in the future and they periodically run sales similar to the Mother's Day sale that just went off.

You could ask them if they have any seconds or just wait for the next sale.  Give them your email and they will send you sale information when they come up.

As far as the half zoning/half non-zoning thing, call and ask them. I would think that they might if it will help them make a sale and it's easy to do.  I think they will work with you.  I bought the other core months later and they have a guarantee.  I thought they were very reasonable to work with as long as you are reasonable.  They do want to make you happy if they can.  They best thing is to call and have a conversation.  It's a fairly small operation I think.

I am in email conversations with both Flobeds and SleepEZ. It looks like the cost of the Vzone (alone) is $1000! A queen in the Posture select (6" core + 2" topper) is $2k, the Posture Vzone (6" core + Vzone + 2" topper) is $3k.. looks like i'll be getting that on sale or a DIY..

How much weight do you place on the site recommendations? SleepEZ recommended S/M/F for me (top to bottom) and S/F/XF for my BF - but are their ILD's different than FloBeds who also rec M/F for me and F/XF for BF.?

EDITED: yes the ILD's are off,

flobeds recs M (28) / F (32) for me compared to

SleepEZ M (30-32) / F (38-40)...

am i overthinking ( i guess my reasoning is ILD is more "standard") ? and should just go w/their recs.?

Thank you.  That helps to nudge estimates/expectations along.

GK

You are right about the ILD's being different and Sleepez does not have a convoluted layer on top as far as I know.  Here are their ILDs:  http://www.sleepez.com/mattresscomponents.htm

My feeling is that 22 ILD is not soft enough for a side sleeper with my weight (or yours) unless your dimensions for the hip and shoulders (and waist?) are fairly close to being the same.  I believe I have seen complaints about this on this forum in the past about Sleepez being too hard for side sleepers and I don't think they offer a softer "topper" if it is.  I found 22-24 ILD from them to be too "hard" for me but I'm old and more sensitive to the feel....believe me, I've tried many combinations using different products from Flobeds and Sleepez and SLAB.  I believe that I have also seen on this forum many who got the same recommendation from Sleepez (F/M/S) and rarely anything different.  This is where Flobeds might have an advantage in that they have more variation in their recommendations and they have the Vzone.  Along with that I don't like the wider range of ILDs from Sleepez ---22-24 for soft then, next 32 ILD for Medium---where Flobeds' range between ILDs is closer---22 to 28 ILD (for Medium).  That being the case, Flobeds also offers the 2" of 19 ILD comfort layer (convoluted) on top of most of their mattresses (at least the vzone) which I think side sleepers can appreciate more.  If you are going the Sleepez route, you could build your own probably cheaper with handpicked ILDs from SLAB, Sleepez, or Arizona Mattresses.  If you go the DIY route, you could just get a zipper cover for your mattress and save even more money.

I personally think that Custom Sleep Design has the best zoned mattress model but their cost when I called to check, was way beyond my budget.  Flobeds is next best, IMHO.  When I bought mine from Flobeds, the price was comparable to what I would have paid for a DIY mattress so I couldn't pass it up.

I think you have to start with their recommendation and work from there.

strange,just a couple of months ago the customs sleep guy told me that they only sell blended talalay latex and blended talalay latex is much better then natural talalay and lasts much longer. now they are selling all natural talalay latex!!!!!

The price has more then doubled for same size mattress, bordering on absurd.

One nice thing about dealing with them is you can buy a topper and later finish the whole bed and not lose any money.  I intend to later get  custom his/her medium and firm layers (2  3" layers) giving me a 10" mattress, including the topper I ordered today (which comes with a decent cotton cover). I can later either get a 7000 series (7") with the 7000 cover and keep the 19 topper as a "pillow top" or they'll give me a 10000 (10") cover if I want to then put my 19 within  the cover. Sean said some people prefer the first way, as it is slightly softer.   Anyway, Sleep EZ has good prices on them now (around $520 for a King, $570 in 100" natural), and they are a reputable dealer. The point I'm trying to make is that they can provide any ILD you want.