Need All Latex Organic Mattress - Overwhelmed and Lost Please HELP

Mattress Talk General Mattresses Questions
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Hi There,
My apologies for the long post and thank you kindly for reading it and offering any insight!

I need to buy 3 new mattresses (King, Queen, and Full) for my family on a short timeline (1 month). For the past several months, I have sunk deeper and deeper into the mattress rabbit whole of self education and, while it has been incredibly illuminating, valuable and so needed, I am at the point of being completely overwhelmed by all the information and lost or at least incapable of bringing it home to a decision and purchase. I’m running out of time and it’s becoming stressful. I also don’t have enough time to manage multiple trial and errors and replacing parts and layers.

Thank you TMU and the community who graciously offer their time, knowledge and help to newbs like me. The breadth and depth of insight here is remarkable and has certainly helped me get to this point.

Here is what I have narrowed it down to along with details that I hope are enough to help you share your thoughts and experiences.

  1. Looking For - ALL Latex mattress - Organic (if Dunlop) and All Natural no fillers no synthetics (if Talalay). No hybrids of any sort, no coils. Nothing but pure latex for all layers. Could be combination of Dunlop and Talalay.
    Remaining components - Organic Cotton and Wool only.

  2. Must certificates - GOLS (if Dunlop), OEKO-Tex 100 and GOTS.
    Nice to have would be - ECO-INSTITUT. I know some might say certificates are meaningless due to the ‘Honour system’ and lack of tracking and accountability, but I do believe they have a place especially with the companies that are trying to be as transparent, honest as possible in making a truly clean and quality mattress.

  3. Price range - $2500-3000 for the King. I don’t want to fall or pay for the marketing strategies of the companies who sell "brand fluff’ and make you pay thousands of dollars for questionable claims and unproven ‘latex advancements’ at best. Yes, latex is expensive as a natural resource and I will pay that price, just don’t want to pay for profit margins.

  4. I am 5’ 6", 115lb female. Slender body type. Combination sleeper - Side and Stomach (worst possible combination I know and I am so confused as to how to choose the firmness layers and stacking order for this).

  5. Partner - 6’ 6", 185lb male. Slender athletic body type. Side sleeper with secondary position back.

  6. The Queen and Full mattresses will be for a 7 year old and 4 year old children. I do need advice on what firmness latex layers, stacking order and total height is best to support growing bodies and the spine of young children as I have been reading lots of biased and conflicting views on this.

  7. We don’t have any major injuries or significant pain/pressure points but we have both been waking up with some back and hip pain in recent 6 months.

  8. We currently sleep on a Magniflex (foam) 9" mattress which is medium firm to firm. We don’t like the “plush” soft feel of mattresses and we don’t like to "sink’ in (the feeling of memory foam). Although our preference has been on the firmer side, I gather this has been hard on us when we sleep on the side so looking for something with just enough support for side sleep but not more and not plush.

  9. Based on the height difference, weight distribution and sleeping positions do you think it’s a MUST for my husband and I to get split layers inside the king mattress? We are not crazy about the idea of splitting the mattress in half but if someone who has experience in this area can comment, it would be really good to know if this is something that would create significant impact. It definitely impacts pricing.

The DIY latex mattresses seem really appealing but I don’t feel I have enough experience or expertise with this to put together the right mattress for us when I think about the different permutations with layer numbers and thicknesses, firmness combinations and stacking combinations.

I have ruled out the following companies for various reasons - Avocado, Fawcett, Obasan, Saatva.

I have shortlisted the following companies and would really appreciate anything and all you can share about them. I am also open to others that are great and I may have missed.

Spindle - Organic Latex Mattress - Love how transparent they are with certificates. Have been in the business for generations and only specialize in their latex mattress. I like that it’s simple, honest. They do one product and they seem to do it well. Their mattress is not flippable though so does that really impact longevity if we can’t flip it? Their mattress is 10" and you can customize the 3 layers so this means each layer is 3" thick. I don’t know what firmness to choose for each layer (except bottom core firm)?

MFC - Presto Organic Latex Mattress - I am not crazy that they also make synthetic foam mattresses but they do seem to have all the certifications for their organic latex mattress. Their mattress is also 10" and customizable layers but it seems to have 5 layers each 2" thick. How does this make a difference compared to the 3" 3 layers of Spindle? Does it make a big difference when you sleep? Again, not sure what firmness to choose for each layer (except bottom 2"+2" cores firm)?

Sleep on Latex - So transparent. So many certificates and seem to really know their business. I’ve only read good things about their dedication and quality of mattresses and service. Their quality seems to be the best. But they are the bare bones mattress version. Their mattress is 8" with a 6" core and one 2" top comfort layer. Where is the transition layer? You can only choose between medium and firm and I have read that their medium is quite firm (especially for side sleepers) and that there is a big gap in their ILDs between the two firmness levels which makes the transitioning not so great. I really like the company and still included it in the short list because I am wondering if the whole 8", 2 layer mattress can be somehow enhanced with a topper on top to make for a great overall mattress? I have absolutely zero experience with toppers though. Have never used and unable to go into that rabbit hole now. Any suggestions on the SOL with topper?

Side question - does anyone know why SOL is not on the list of trusted mattress companies on TMU?

So this is where I am stuck at. I feel I am so close to the finish line but all your help, advice, experience would be very valuable to get there. Anything about the above companies or if there are some great ones I have missed. I also would appreciate if anyone can suggest if I go with the same company for all 3 mattresses or get each from a different one?

Thank you so very much!

@MFC @Spindle_Mattress

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Buy all 3 and do a test. Thats the only way to be sure.

John

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I’m in Canada :frowning: I don’t mind paying for the extra shipping costs for Spindle or SOL to ship to Canada but the back and forth returns and tryouts will be a massive hassle across borders.

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Id go with Flobeds VZone. Ultimate adjustability on both sides of bed. Plus has a return policy. Great 25% off Memorial Day sale now.

John

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Good morning Mystyrehead,

Yes, we do sell polyurethane foam but do not stock any. These mattresses and toppers are made to order directly from the foam plant and shipped directly to the customer. Our main business is GOLS certified organic dunlop latex mattresses, toppers and pillows.

As for the 3 x 3" or 5 x 2" latex layer composition, it does not make a big difference in how the mattress will feel. The 5 x 2" gives you a bit more options for rearranging the layers and can make the fine tuning of the firmness and comfort level slightly easier.

To help you choose the correct firmness of each layer, we now offer 3 setups for the Organic Presto mattress. Each setup will give you 9 different firmness options. This will allow you to fine tune your support and pressure relief to a high degree of precision.

Best of luck to you, and feel free to ask more questions as you go through the process.

Regards

Mario~

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Thanks for the recommendation John! I am looking at them now. The VZone is pretty impressive

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Hi Mario,
Thank you kindly for the quick reply and clarification around the foam mattresses. It’s great to know that this is the case about the foam as it makes a difference.

Could you please answer the following additional questions:

  1. Where does MFC source the latex foam from (which manufacturer)?

  2. Are you able to share any recommendation on which of the 3 setups to select for the Presto mattress for us (we are side sleepers when falling asleep and my secondary is stomach while my husband’s is back)?

  3. While the split king is more expensive and MFC would have an interest in selling this upgraded version, are you able to provide a more objective advice on whether this is truly needed in our situation (with the provided details about my husband and me in the post above)?

  4. Which of the 3 setups would you recommend for the Queen and Full mattresses which are for a 4 year old and a 7 year old? I have read conflicting opinions that an all latex mattress is not great for the developing bodies and spines of children and that hybrids with coils are better, but honestly that doesn’t make logical sense to me and am wondering what your thoughts are as an expert?

  5. Apart from being GOLS certified, is the Latex in the Presto mattress also OEKO-Tex 100 certified for harmful substances (Not just the cotton cover but the latex mattress layers themselves?)

  6. Finally, I see that the OEKO Tex certification posted on your website expired in 2021 and the GOTS and GOLS expired in January and May 2024 respectively. The Eco-INSTITUT is also for 2021. Are there updated certifications?

Thank you! I really appreciate your time and insight!

@MFC

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Good morning Mystyredhead

Best of luck to you, and feel free to let us know what mattress you ended up buying!

All the best

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We have added the updated ECO-intitut and the OEKO-TEX certificates and are now up to date,

sincerely
Mario~

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Thank you so much Mario for your thorough answers. I really appreciate the information. Thank you for uploading the updated certifications.
We are still fine tuning the layers we think would work best for us.

@MFC

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