Mattress Forum

"While hauling the mattress upstairs I inadvertedly punctured a small hole in the bottom of the mattress, so I wasn't going to try and send it back at that point"

That's what I am thinking as well, pending the answers I get to my questions.  With the statements on their website coupled with credit card protections, they would not survive a chargeback if they didn't honor the 60 day trial period as stated.

Sleepswithcats does bring up a good point about the warranty beyond the 60 days and I plan to ask them about that.  However, I don't put much stock in long-term warranties as companies tend to always look for an out.   

Having to lay on it properly scares me a little bit as I've never thought about a proper way to lay on a bed.  Is the feel that noticable that there is a wrong way to lay on this bed?  Are you a stomach, side, or back sleeper?
 

I agree. 5-10yrs down the road, I think any company will be reluctant to refund or exchange a purchase in that price range. I've just checked the tracking on my order and its in my city out for delivery. I will take pictures and post them. It looks like I won't be able to insert them into the post unless I host them somewhere and use the url

I'm a side and back sleeper. With the zones you would want to lay on it in a way that your body (head, shoulders, back, small of your back, rump, legs etc.) are seated in the proper zones. It's not really that much of a problem. If you sleep with your head a few inches from the headboard, most people will be okay. From what I understand the vast majority of adults pretty much have the same torso length, it's the leg length that differentiates our heights. I found myself in the beginning inching my way one way or the other to get the best fit, but it's no big thing. I can see some people preferring it and others not wanting to be bothered or just not liking it, so take it into account before you buy this mattress. Even with free shipping on returns, it's gonna be a hassle to rebox this beast back up and send it back. 

JW

On the 6" core, they build these with either 38 or 32 ILD natural Dunlop.

The next 2" is customized to the purchaser based on their prefernces and can be Talalay or Dunlop.  The Talalay is Talatech from LI (their blended Talalay product) and can be chosen in 19, 24 or 28 ILD's.  If you go with a 28 ILD that could also be chosen as Dunlop.  He basically admitted that the 7 zone sleep system is more marketing than anything.  There is a 7 zone topper out there made from Dunlop by Latexco (http://store.mattresses.net/3-inch-latex-mattress-topper.html ), so I'm thinking if you go with Dunlop you might get this type layer.  I did not confirm that with him.  I'm guessing if you go with Talalay for this layer, you won't get the 7 zone system.  I'm wondering if dunadan has this layer in Dunlop and that is why he found the mattress too firm.   dunadan, do you happen to know the ILD's of your layers and the type of latex used?

The next 2" is listed as quilted natural wool and natural latex.  He said that they are not using wool in there except in the more expensive green options which they aren't really making anymore.  He said the quilting has a "little" latex, some fire retardant batting, and the bamboo fabric top.  He said this layer finishes 1.5" - 2".  I am somewhat disappointed by their not using wool in this layer. 

For me, he recommended that I not go with the 12" pillowtop model since I am a stomach sleeper and back pain sufferer.  I appreciate the restraint from upselling.  He recommended the 38 ILD Dunlop core + a 24 ILD Talalay topper for my setup.

He confirmed that their 60 day return period does cover shipping both ways.  However, there is no warranty whatsoever after the 60 days.  He said with this being an all latex mattress, there wasn't a need for a warranty because of the durability and at this price point they just weren't going to provide that.  This is not a deal killer for me as I posted above.

He mentioned that they experimented with doing a removable core/topper mattress setup similar to others, but didn't like how that went.  He also mentioned that to him, latex pieces that are glued together feel slightly different to loose stacked pieces.  Any of you guys experience anything like this?

He confirmed that they are the sister company of R&S Mattresses, the Phoenix local reailer with multiple stores.  I have some comfort in that to have as many locations as they have, they must be doing a fair volume and they have maintained an A+ BBB rating.

All in all, this is still an option for me, but I'm not sure the bang for the buck is as impressive as I first thought.  6" of Dunlop + 2" of blended Talalay are not exactly high end components.  And the quilted layer is not as impressive as I first thought.

Any reactions from the group on this info? 

http://www.whatsthebest-mattress.com/forum/foambymail-diy-mattress-pieces-arrived-today/19139-0-1.html

I think this is reasonably priced for what you get and has reasonable quality latex.  If you read other websites carefully, they have the same issue: a 10" bed is 8" latex and 1.5" of top, rounded up to 10".  I think the dunlop core and talalay top is common configuration.  Isn't that what the Habitat Furnishings 8" latex mattress is?

Did you ask if LatexMattressShop offers swapping after purchase?  Probably not.

It's not clear what the top 1.5-2" consists of.  A little latex, a little wool, bamboo fabric.... What exactly does that mean?  Seems like an 8" bed with something on top.

As for advice on which way to go?  Warranties, smorranties.  But I think you are buying an 8" mattress here.  A fair comparison to FBM is 6" dunlop with 2" dunlop/talalay, an enclosure.  I don't know if enclosures have wool quilted into the top or not.

You have a difficult decision to make and there seem to be tradeoffs.  Sorry, I don't have a recommendation to make.  I'm happy that my skepticism lead to more information.

How far back did you dig in the archives to look at DIY mattresses?  And I'm sure there are other people who have done DIY latex mattresses.  Did you check some of the sites that have lots of DIY instructions?  You might find some useful information there.  www.instructables.com is one such site; there are probably more.

Yep - Habitat's 8" bed is Dunlop + Talalay (though they use 100% natural for both layers vs the blended Talatech with latexmattressshop).

No swapping, but he did say that if the bed is too firm, they will send a 2" soft topper free of charge to soften things up in hopes of the buyer keeping the mattress rather than returning it.  Presumably you could still send the whole thing back if you didn't like it with the topper.

Definitely an 8" bed.  LI does make a quilting latex called Evercloud that I believe is what they are using in the top 1.5 - 2". I don't think this quilted latex would make that big of a difference.

I have gone back a good bit here on some DIY threads, but plan to keep digging.

Thanks for your help!

I'll say this about my experience in mattress hunting: Quickly after I found this site, I knew building my own mattress was my best option. I've learned that buying a mattress which I couldn't alter the layers would be risky for me. My choices were strickend by my small budget, so FBM caught my eye quickly. I read the negative reviews they had and determined most of them were related to cosmetics and the other negative comments were also made against the other top places. My current mattress is 15" and I spent about $650 which is half of my budget. This gives me the oppurtunity to add a 2" topper or another foundation if I want and still be under my budget.