Mattress Shopping Newbie

Hey there, brand new here, apologies if I mess this up in some fashion. This question isn’t about only Sleep EZ mattresses, it seems more general, but sleep EZ is one of the mattresses I’m considering and unless I’m missing something, I can’t just make a general post but have to address this to one of the Expert members.

Anyhow, I’m looking for a new mattress. I recently bought a tuft and needle after my old mattress completely died in the center after many years of use. Unfortunately, while the TaN was great for about 40 days, I now find it lets me sink in too much.

Some stats about me
Due to health issues/preference/laziness (heh) I spend a lot of time in bed on my side using my laptop. I sleep on my back however. So ideally I’d like something that is a good choice for both side and back positions.

I am 6 ft, 225 lbs and that works out to a BMI of 30.5 I actually have pretty lean arms and legs, and carry my excess weight in my torso. So I probably want something that gets firmer quickly and doesn’t let my hips sink in too much relative to my legs (which is the big issue with the current tuft and needle.) I’d love to lose weight and am trying with a small bit of success at present, but history suggests I’m more likely to gain than to lose, at least in the long run.

I live in a pretty small area and haven’t found any good options locally, so I’ll be buying online. I care a lot about value, but can afford to spend a good chunk of cash upfront if that’ll get me a better value long term. I am very unlikely to consider anything without a 60+ return policy (I prefer 90+ day, really).

After doing some reading here, and having a fair bit of analysis paralysis, heh, I’ve concluded that a latex mattress seems like a good choice. That would offer good support, value, and avoid sleeping hot (which I hate). I particularly like the idea of being able to open a mattress up and replace worn out layers with new ones rather than replace the whole mattress, in order to minimize longer-term costs.

At the moment then, I think I’ve homed in on three main options.

  1. Select Sleep Lifetime Dreams, Twin 9" for $800
    I like that it offers three layers instead of just two, which presumably will make for easier replacement if the middle three inches of the mattress wear out but the bottom three are fine. Other options just offer a single 6" base, so this seems like a point in its favor. It also lets me have slightly different options for each layer. Their calculator (thanks for having this!) recommends 2" medium blended talalay, over 3" Medium Dunlop, over 3" firm Dunlop. Unfortunately this mattress is currently on a sale which ends tomorrow, and will jump in price by 200 bucks, so if I want to get this I think I need to make that decision quickly before that happens. The return policy seems decent, and the free and prompt shipping is a plus.

  2. Naturalux Latex Mattress by Arizona Premium Mattress for $850
    6" Dunlop core, either medium or firm for me I expect, but I’m not sure which. The topper is either 2" or 3". The two inch option doesn’t seem to let you choose firmness, while the 3" option does but adds $65 to the price. It’s also on sale for about 200 off, but doesn’t list an ending date. I’m guessing that the only reason I’d prefer this to the Sleep EZ option is if I can’t make a decision by the time that sale ends, but this sale is still ongoing. The Sleep EZ three part mattress seems to offer superior customization.APM will also take much longer to complete the order, which I’d prefer to avoid.

  3. Pure Green Natural Latex Mattress by Sleep on Latex for 595.
    This appears to be a standard price, not a sale.
    2" top and 6" base layers, both of which are Dunlop. I assume this is the reason for the significantly lower price, relative to the other two choices. I honestly don’t care at all about how “green” a mattress is. This offers a low price, prompt/free shipping and the best return policy. Still not as customizable as Sleep EZ though, and I’m not sure whether I’d want to get medium or firm.

Basically I’d like to know if my logic here checks out, am I right to pick latex, if so, have I picked good choices based on my stated preferences/stats? Are there reasons to think I’d find the SleepEZ’s customization/talalay comfort layer (or any other feature) will make up for the significant price difference between it and the cheaper Pure Green mattress? If I do go with a 2-piece mattress, should I choose medium or firm for the base core? Is there something I’m missing or mistaken about somewhere in all this? I know that much of a mattress choice is personal preference and can’t be solved for me by others, but any and all info that can be provided to help me try and make the best choice would be much appreciated.

Finally a thank you to Phoenix and everyone else who has contributed to this site. I am very glad i found this resource.

Hello Forscythe

Thank you for your inquiries.

Based on the information you kindly provided, I would agree that the 10" (3-layer) model is the ideal mattress for you at your respective weight. At 225lbs, If you are primarily a side and/or back sleeper, I would recommend one of the following two configurations:
Medium Talalay (Top)
Medium Dunlop (Middle)
Firm Dunlop (Bottom)

or

Medium Talalay (Top)
Firm Dunlop (Middle)
Firm Dunlop (Bottom)

I recommend the first configuration if you prefer a soft/plush feel on your mattress, and the second configuration if you prefer a supportive feel on your mattress surface. At your weight, both configurations are a good ballpark starting point. The medium on top will provide the contour you will need, while the two layers below provide the gradual support. Building a mattress with 3" layers as opposed to having 6" cores allows you to make smaller adjustments/tweaks to your mattress at a time. Having 6" cores eliminates adjustment/exchange options in a mattress.

At SleepEZ we offer a 90-day layer exchange guarantee. This offers you the ability to not only unzip your mattress cover to rearrange your layers to change the feel as needed, but also allows you to exchange comfort layers as many times as needed (for 90 days) until you find the right configuration that works for you. So even if your initial configuration does not work for you, you can adjust your mattress until it is just right. This eliminates the risk of purchasing sight unseen. Our exchange policy is what sets us apart from the two other companies listed above.

Should you have more questions, please feel free to call our office anytime Mon-Sat, 10am to 6pm MST.