My boyfriend and I sold our mattress due to a cross-country move. We had an Avocado Green with the plush topper (mattress was too firm w/o the topper). I would describe it, with the topper, as medium-firm. We both liked it, and are wanting something similar now, but hoping to spend less money and also want to avoid coils due to EMF concerns. Iām chronically ill and we need to have very nontoxic materials ā natural, ideally as organic as possible (although certification isnāt necessarily important).
a āvacation mattressā for staying with family (where we currently are for a couple months and will be when we visit for a few weeks per year). Would like this to be cost-effective & low-maintenance. Iām thinking 100% latex, but open to other suggestions.
a āhome mattressā for our new home in a couple months. Iām willing to spend more on this one, and would like to incorporate wool into it. (Itāll be probably about 2-3 months till weāre in a new home, so this isnāt priority quite yet.)
Iām looking at DIY-ing from Naturally Nestledās organic toppers. They seem to be affordable and organic as well as having a 30-day return policy. (Is anyone knowledgable in latex know if these are completely nontoxic? And has anyone had experience with the return policy?)
For the āvacation mattressā, Iām considering something (from bottom to top) like 3āā firm (34 ILD) + 2āā or 3āā medium (26 ILD), and maybe an additional 2āā soft (20 ILD) on top if needed. We both like the idea of a minimal bed, Iām just wondering if this will be enough support? And if the firmness level will be similar to what weāre used to? Trying to make a decision quickly as weāre currently on a memory foam covered in plastic sheeting to avoid the VOCās ā itās working okay temporarily (at least itās a medium-firm), but not ideal!
Weād appreciate any guidance or feedback. Grateful for what Iāve learned from this site and forum so far.
I just wanted to say I just started researching the best latex toppers so Iām quite new to this and others here have more advice, but I agree with you that Naturally Nestled seems to be a high quality latex foam that is certified to be organic, eco- institute and other certifications. They also are cost effective. I didnāt really learn about that brand until after I made my purchase of an Avocado latex topper so if my new 2inch topper isnāt enough comfort on my new bed I will go with the 3inch from Naturally Nestled too.
Sleep EZ and Latex for Less also have organic latex foams that sound quite nice too!
Welcome to The Mattress Underground ! Thanks for your question.
Congrats on your new mattress shopping journey ! Thanks for including your personal statsand sleep background details, pennylo. You are both predominantly back sleepers, and I can see where your Avocado Green mattress would be a good fit for you both in that regard. We should be able to suggest some reasonably close latex options of a better value offered by our trusted members.
Several questions for you: what size mattresses are you planning to purchase and what is your budget for each? Will you need new foundations for both and if so, what are you considering? Do you have any local showrooms available for testing all-latex mattresses?
Thanks for considering a possible purchase from TMUās latest trusted member addition Naturally Nestled ! We are excited to announce that they have joined our fine group of manufacturer and retailer members representing the DIY accessories and components space, with expertise in the latex category. Naturally Nestled offers both Organic 100% Natural latex and 100% Natural latex components. Their products meet TMUās quality and durability guidelines and are GOLS, GOTS, USDA Organic, Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex, and Carbon Neutralās Control Union certified. NN does offer free returns of product within 30 days, which is a nice perk for dialing in comfort preferences.
Your proposed DIY setup seems reasonable, pennylo. The construction you describe is approximate to your Avocado Green Hybrid mattress + plush topper in concept, but there will be some feel and support differences between your all-latex DIY and a pocket coil mattress. Some find latex over coils to be a ālivelyā feeling mattress, providing more responsiveness for users who change positions frequently. Latex offers an edge-to-edge comfort surface, less motion transfer, and a more supportive feel overallā¦ Avocado also uses a layer of wool (one ounce per square foot) underneath their cotton ticking as both a natural fire barrier and to promote natural breathability of the topper. Some find that the use of wool firms the coverās feel somewhat and either like that firmness or donāt. In other words, while the ILDs of the layers may be similar, the type encasement used will determine how your body interacts and responds to the latex. The softer the materials used, the closer you will be to the natural latex and will more enjoy its supportive feel. It would be good if you could try an all-latex mattress locally for some reference, as its comfort and support feel will be quite different than that of your former Avocado Green Hybridās 5-zoned pocket coil mattress.
Thanks for your kind words on the site and glad to hear that youāre finding TMUās resources useful. Let us know how your process goes and looking forward to your updates. Thanks to @Serenitystar80 for the helpful suggestions; well done !
Thank you SerenityStar, I appreciate your input and will take a look at that website you shared. I hope that you find a topper that works well for you soon!
Sensei, thank you so much for your detailed response! I so appreciate it. For the vacation mattress, Iām wanting a queen mattress, and have an ideal budget of $800. I actually just purchased Naturally Nestledās 3āā firm and 3āā medium queen toppers, so Iām looking forward to trying those out when they get here. (The memory foam Iāve been on has been seeming to get softer and softer every night, which is probably just my imagination, but Iām really looking forward to a new mattress.) I do need to get some sort of a foundation. I would love to get a simple wooded slat base for around $200, but based on the few Iāve looked at, the prices seem to be much higher than that. So Iām also thinking about if something like a coco coir pad could work on its own? Do you (or anyone reading this) have advice for a cheap, nontoxic, slatted base or something else that would work to provide air flow? This is specifically for a mattress that will be used at most 2-3 months per year.
For the home mattress, itās a bit up in the air as to what weāre actually looking for in terms of size ā we actually mostly sleep separately due to me being a light sleeper & both of us sleeping better alone (quality sleep is important!). But we still need one of our mattresses to work for both of us for those nights we do like to cuddle and such. At the least, weāll get a Queen mattress for my boyfriend, and a twin XL for me, with a budget of $3000 for both (including frames/bases in that budget). For my mattress, Iāve been looking a lot at wool, and specifically have been considering Heartfelt Collective today. I really love the idea of the felts and the fact that they are easy to move and already compacted ā which address two of my concerns with other types of wool mattresses & toppers. And they seem to last forever. Iām also considering cotton and cotton & wool shikibutonās as well as a DIY combo mattress with a layer of latex and a layer of wool (like a wool topper or Heartfelt Collective felts). Iāve got more time to ponder this as itāll be a while still before weāre in our new home.
I may get one felt from Heartfelt Collective in the meantime to get a feel for it and see how I like it. If it doesnāt work as part of a mattress, it can be used as a rug or yoga mat, or who knows, doesnāt seem like a bad idea to invest in high-quality wool in any case! I love the idea of more minimal sleeping, so I think itāll be a matter of trying out a few things and seeing what works for my body. Given that Iām relatively lightweight and already like medium-firm, Iām hopeful that Iāll find something minimal that works for me. Iāve scoured the forums for input on wool options and thereās unfortunately not much from folks who have tried out wool toppers or wool mattresses. Iām also hoping to be able to try out a wool topper or mattress (if anyone happens to have one and is in the Twin Cities or Indy area, or even somewhere in between, let me know!)
Thanks again for all your help. I will keep this thread updated with our journey and how the Naturally Nestled toppers work out for us.
Congrats on your recent topper purchases from trusted member Naturally Nestled ! They offer a beautiful natural latex product, Iām looking forward to hearing your thoughts after youāve tried them for a while and had time to evaluate their comfort feel.
Trusted member Arizona Premium Mattress offers a queenslatted wood RTA foundation for $249, a little more than your budget permits but it could be worth the extra $$$ to purchase from a quality manufacturer. There may be cheaper alternatives on Amazon, but be sure that you research the product descriptions carefully, understand what the materials and constructions are, and that youāre comfortable with the foundationās sourcing. You could use a coco coir pad on its own but you may find that an encasement of some type would be needed to keep the bed rug and two toppers from shifting. You could always check with NN and see what they suggest for an inexpensive/ minimal setup for your new vacation mattress.
Iām not familiar with Heartfelt Collectiveās felt bed products but see from their site that the owner is one of the founders of trusted member Sheperdās Dream! If you have particular questions for Heartfelt Collective regarding their products, we may can help you reach them through Shepherdās Dream; just let us know. It does seem like the home mattress could be of the wool and cotton categories; good work on narrowing down your choices!
You have done an outstanding job with your research, pennylo. A minimalist approach will give you many alternatives to try and quite a bit of flexibility with your setup. As you have already searched forums extensively regarding wool options, youāve likely searched here as well. If not, do give a TMU site search a try, using āwool topperā or āwool mattressā for search terms. There were several consumers that chatted about their experiences previously(@mr yabo, was wool your DIY jam or only micro coils ?). Perhaps other DIY consumers will offer comments about their wool experiences, we shall seeā¦
Please do let us know how things go with both projects and good luck, pennylo.
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