Hi marm,
A mattress with good back support is the key for most sleepers regardless of any physical limitations, and even more critical when fold do have any condition that might compromise comfort and sleep.
You are on the right track to focus on a latex hybrid mattress for better support and cooling, which is especially important for your scoliosis and spinal fusion.
Latex hybrids provide support without too much sinkage, and the latex helps with pressure relief while remaining cooler than memory foam. The mattresses you’ve tried comprise nice choices, but there are a few factors to consider in narrowing down your options.
The Avocado Green with Pillow Top is a nice if you’re looking for a natural latex hybrid, as it provides a good balance of firmness and softness. However, it is outside your $1,000 budget, and the regular Avocado Green without the pillow top would be a bit firmer, while good option for spinal support it may too firm for your liking. The King Koil Angels Crest Plush Top is another plush contender, offering a plush top layer over innerspring coils, which could provide the softness you’re looking for without sacrificing support. This mattress is not latex-based, but the plush top could give you a cushioned feel suitable for side sleeping.
The Helix Midnight Luxe is designed for combo sleepers, offering a medium-firm feel, pressure relief, and cooling properties. However, since it uses memory foam, although it is not the same viscoelastic memory foam that sinks like hot quicksand, like tempurpedic foam.
Your interest in the Luxerion Hybrid and the Stumptown Peak. The Luxerion Hybrid and Stumptown Peak both are nice mattresses, my understanding is the Stumptown is a firm mattress which you seem to want to shy away from.
The Luxerion mattress is available in a hybrid and all latex. The all latex is available in 3 firmness levels and if I remember correctly has a zippered cover that allows for changes or modification at any point in time. Additionally, there is always the option of adding a soft topper, though this could add to the overall cost.
Having said that, I am an advocate of using a topper to either maintain the existing feel of a mattress or add some plushness or softening to a mattress, while at the same time will extend the life of the existing mattress below it.
It’s also crucial to consider customer service and the ease of returns, especially since you’re living in an apartment building. Brands like Helix, and Latex Mattress Factory’s are known for good return policies and customer service, and they offer free or low-cost returns, which could be important if you need to exchange or return the mattress.
While, you should not go into a mattress purchase with the mindset of a return on the horizon, you should approach the purchase having done your due diligence and research, narrowing down those final choices to the ones that make the most sense and have the highest degree of probability of meeting all your needs.
Based on your weight, sleeping position, and need for spinal support, the recommendation of the latex hybrids such as the Luxerion Hybrid and My Green Mattress Kiwi, with the medium firmness version likely being your best fit. Although the MGM Kiwi is rated a 7 or medium firm, subscribers have reported that the front loaded softening that occurs in the first month of ownership, caused the mattress to land more in the sold medium firmness feel.
While checking reviews can be helpful, be sure to check reviews from people with similar concerns and body profiles (if available) to get a clearer sense of how the mattress performs, and make sure the company offers an easy return policy in case it doesn’t work out.
Keep in mind that one company that you pointed to @Latex_Mattress_Fact1 offers the ability to collaborate with you to build a mattress as a DIY. The tremendous benefit is that they are experts at helping folks with their DIY projects. They see folks with similar concerns every single day, and can often predict with more than 90% success what will work for you, provided they have to information to build the mattress around.
After speaking to @TheCleanBedroom on your behalf, they offer a Sleep and Beyond Organic Cotton Zippered Mattress Encasement. I feel that an organic cotton encasement would be beneficial in keeping the breathability of the mattress in tact, help maintain a cooler mattress environment and accomplish what you need in your situation. The professionals there expressed that this encasement has a pore size is 3 microns, but since a bed bug can be smaller than 1 micron, it is not a guaranteed thing. They did express the fact that Sleep and Beyond says that they protect against bed bugs, but does not have a guarantee to that effect.
Hope this helps and good luck on your final choice. Dont forget to check the Trusted Member profile if you should make a purchase as they do offer some promotions to TMU subscribers. If i missed the size of your mattress and you listed it, I apologize, but the size of your mattress will be a factor in the cost.
All the best,
Maverick