I’ve been lurking for a while trying to make the smart choice in a mattress. After a lot of research and trying out some local vendors here in the LA area, I decided that a 100% latex mattress was the way to go. A little background…
I’m 33 190 lbs, physically active, and broad shouldered. I get a stiff back lower back when I wake up but can loosen it up through various mobility exercises.
My wife is 32 and 140 lbs, physically active, and can pretty much sleep on anything.
Upon checking out vendors locally as well as online, I decided to risk it a bit and go what I will call semi-DIY on ebay. My reasoning being that I could purchase a latex mattress with the same materials as popular online vendors yet still either save a lot of money if it all worked out on the first try, or I’d have plenty of money leftover to purchase another 3" topper if needed.
I decided to go with Valerie over at mattresses247 (ebay vendor listing) after reading a few reviews on forums and on ebay. Valerie answered all of my questions promptly and transparently. She informed me that the king size layered mattress I was about to purchase was a Radium 40/60 synthetic talalay blend with a bottom 3" firm 38-40 ild layer, middle 3" medium 30-32 ild, and a top 3" soft 22-24 ild layer. As far as I could ascertain, this is an identical setup to a popular online retailer and, for $1100 shipped with a cover, a savings of $795. However, the return policy with mattresses247 has you paying for shipping so obviously you’re taking more of a plunge.
An important note: if you google search mattresses247 you’ll find older posts that state that they sell factory seconds and returns. I was assured by Valerie that this is NOT the case and hasn’t been for over two years and that the latex I was purchasing was brand new.
Well the mattress arrived last night, way ahead of schedule. All of the latex is in great shape and it was a bit of a workout putting it together by myself but certainly doable. It took me around 15 minutes but if you’re smaller I’d suggest having a partner to help you out.
Right now we have it in the default (bottom to top) F-M-S configuration, but if I decide I need to firm my side up a bit I can change my side to M-F-S and leave her side as is.
My wife and I slept great last night and I look forward to sleeping in the bed for years (decades?) to come.
I appreciate this website for attempting to bring clarity to the murky experience of dealing with buying a mattress. I’m really happy with my purchase and though the experience of mattress shopping is a little more involved than I think it should be, I believe I made the right choice with the help of this site.
