Long time reader, first time caller!
I and my significant other are looking for hopefully our last mattress. Our search starts mainly due to nerve pain in my lower back and legs that has developed over the past two years, as well as my significant other’s off & on shoulder/upper body pain.
A bit about us: I’m late 30’s, 5’8", 145lbs; she’s late 20’s, 5’0", 115lbs. I work a few hours in the morning from home at my desk, followed by 8+ hours in the evening in a restaurant; she works about 8+ hours at a desk job. We live in the Bay Area and both commute via walking/subway, about a mile walking RT, I walk another 2 miles while at work.
We are both primarily side sleepers(60-70%), with the rest on our back, and very occasionally stomach sleepers. I sometimes use a latex pillow to elevate my legs when first lying in bed, but then usually wind up on my side. If my knees or legs are really bothering me, I will lay on my stomach until the pain subsides-- seems as tho the pain comes from a pinched nerve near my tailbone/lower back, which then causes pain in my extremities, mostly my legs. She experiences occasional shoulder pain, mostly dependent on sleep position, but also mattress/pillow type, likely from a nerve impingement in her neck, caused by a sports injury years ago. We’ve both fairly fit, and have visited various Dr’s, done PT, and exercise somewhat regularly to try to deal with these issues.
We’ve also tried a rollercoaster of mattresses in the past year or so in search of a solution:
-When I first met my SO three years ago, I had an Ikea innerspring mattress that was supposedly their best mattress. I owned it for approximately six years, it was fine, if uneventful, up until the pain began. We then tried a series of beds-in-a-box before wising up that they are mostly overhyped marketing: a T&N, a Purple, and a in-house hybrid model from Urban Mattress, called the ‘Uptown’. All were varying levels of terrible and seemed to aggravate my point pressure sensitivity and pain more, until we did some actual research and discovered…
-Latex! Between here and SleepLikeTheDead, all-latex seemed the best option considering my point pressure sensitivity. Visited Savvy Rest for a test, and talalay latex seemed like a promising solution(not their pricing tho-- whoooa!). Upon learning that Talalay Global is the only large scale manufacturer of talalay, we sought out a more affordable manufacturer that utilized their components, which led us to FloBeds.com, a quick 3hr scenic drive away. Opted for their vZone model, three layers of varying ILD’s of solid talalay, as well as a layer of convoluted talalay topper as well as a 3" wool topper, for even less point pressure. This mattress was fairly close to what we are looking for, but just a touch too soft, and not lively enough, we seemed to need something with some ‘bounce’, returned at three months.
-Deciding that latex was the path, but springs were part of that combo, we went through a series of latex/innerspring hybrids that we thought would be our goldilocks, in order: Avocado(a touch too firm, 2" of D65, 1" of D65, all dunlop; L&P QuantumEdge base), Nest Hybrid Latex(too soft, 3" talalay 24ILD over L&P CaliberEdge, followed by a swap to 36ILD, which was too firm, but was very supportive), and now the Brentwood Home Cedar(2" D65 dunlop, 2" D65 grooved Dunlop over a L&P QuantumEdge base-- we later learned that this is made in the same facility as the Avocado, from similar components). This last one seems to be the closest we’ve gotten, but it’s still not perfect-- my back and butt seem to be missing some support, which seem to be pushing pain out into my legs.
So, at this point, I feel pretty much like I have to go custom, which leads me to two options:
1: There’s a guy locally who has a relationship with Costco, selling Reverie roadshow demo and backstock mattress for what is a unusually good deal-- their Dream Supreme 8x Mattress, and 8X adjustable base, for a shade over $1k. This appeals to us, because it gives us the option to try a few different configurations of their Dreamcell foam ‘springs’ to try and get the right firmness, and we also get a great adjustable base for a good price, which is something we want long-term anyways. OTOH, we’re also concerned that the lack of traditional springs may make this bed feel less lively, like the FloBed. Worst case scenario, we buy the set, don’t care for the mattress, sell it on craigslist for a few hundred, and now we have a really nice adjustable base for a pretty good price.
2: Go full DIY, either via whomever the community recommends. This is where I would ask for some recommendations as far as composition(and sourcing), but my rough sandwich idea is this, top to bottom:
1" or 2" 28 ILD convoluted latex top layer — for point pressure relief(apparently this feels more like a 14 ILD-- I have no idea where to get this)
1" or 2" 25-29 ILD latex core – for transitional support
3" 30-34 ILD latex core – for firm support
8" Leggett & Platt QuantumEdge Combi-Zone — for flex and livelyness
wrapped in a bamboo & wool cover, and we may use our 3" wool topper on top for more point pressure uniformity.
My idea here is that I want a good spring system with good edge support, with very firm back support, transitioning into a point pressure relieving top layer, while retaining compatibility with an adjustable base. I realize this mattress will be tall, so ideas on how to reduce height without losing effectiveness are also welcome.
Thanks for taking the time to read, and I’d love to hear the underground’s thoughts on what route we should take, as well as mattress composition, and component sourcing![sub][sup][sub][/sub][/sup][/sub]