Hi ComfortSearch,
Some of the local manufacturers or better outlets that are within reasonable driving distance to you (including Innomax which I’ve included for the sake of reference for others in the area) include …
http://www.innomax.com/ Ft Collins, Denver. They are a smaller national brand which has a few factory direct outlets and makes a range of memory foam, latex, and hybrid mattresses which tend to have better quality and value than most larger brands.
Furniture Row Store Directory Regional Factory direct manufacturer with an outlet in Ft Collins. They make a range of traditional innerspring mattresses as well as a mostly latex mattresses with a latex or memory foam topper. Good quality and value.
Directory of Verlo Mattress Locations. Find a Verlo Mattress store in your town. Regional factory direct manufacturer with outlets in Longmont and Boulder. They make a very wide range of mattresses including latex, memory foam, and gel foam. Better quality and value than most.
http://www.foamsource.com/ Boulder. Factory direct manufacturer in Boulder that makes a range of latex mattresses with good quality and value and would be well worth a visit.
http://thenaturalsleepstore.com/ Retail outlet focused on natural mattresses with outlets in Ft Collins and Denver. They carry Bella Sera, Savvy Rest, Green Sleep, Suerte, Suite Sleep, Sueno, Royal-Pedic which are all high quality latex, natural fiber, innerspring, or latex innerspring hybrids but are also fairly pricey. They would make a good testing ground for an online purchase. Bella Sera (their own brand) seems to have the best value here.
http://www.woodleys.com/ Retail store in Ft Collins (and others in the area). Carry Sermaro and Therapedic which include latex, gel memory foam, and innerspring mattresses.
http://www.urbanmattress.com/ Fort Collins, Boulder, Denver, Centennial, Cherry Creek. Retail direct outlet for their own house brand (Urban organics latex mattresses), along with a range of mattresses made by Sherwood, Suite Sleep, and VI Springs (ultra premium). Good people who have always been knowledgeable and open about their mattresses when I have talked with them.
www.haikudesigns.com/ Retail store in Boulder that carries their own house brand of latex mattresses made by Vymac. Open and informative about the contents of what they sell.
These are the better options I’m aware of in the area. I would suggest a call to any of them that may interest you along the line of this article and let them know the type of mattresses you prefer so they can make some suggestions about what they carry that may interest you. This will make sure they are able and willing to talk about the materials in their mattress and to give you a sense of what to expect if you visit them.
There is also a list for the Denver area in post #2 here with more options in the Denver area (with some duplication).
Just a comment on “sleeping cool” as well which is a big part of mattress marketing these days.
There are three main “technologies” being used to encourage “cool sleeping”
The first are the gel materials which work through thermal conductivity. These conduct heat away from the body to differing degrees (like putting your hand on a marble countertop) until the temperature has evened out at which time like most memory foam they will start to insulate you and can increase temperature because they are less breathable and can allow for higher humidity levels than other materials.
The second is “phase change” materials which are a form of gel which changes it’s state from a semi solid to a semi liquid and will either draw heat or release it depending on the temperature difference between it and the surroundings. These too don’t regulate humidity levels and the sleeping microclimate.
You can read more about the different types of gel foams in post #2 here.
Finally there is ventilation or “breathability” which can wick away the moisture and store it inside the fiber and away from your skin or “wick” it to another layer to keep your sleeping environment at a lower humidity level which allows the natural cooling processes of the body to work more effectively. Evaporation is the natural cooling mechanism and it works less effectvely in higher humidity levels. Humidity levels close to the skin will affect how we perceive temperature just like high humidity levels outdoors will make us feel hotter than it really is. Temperature regulation without good ventilation is “temporary” and can still allow the buildup of humidity close to the body which increases the effective sleeping temperature.
While all of these can play a 'temporary" or “partial” role … ventilation and sleeping microclimate is by far the most important. In other words … just feeling the “coolness” of a material has little to do with how cool you will sleep over the course of the night unless there is good ventilation and regulation of humidity levels. This is why you hear about so many people buying various gel foam materials and still ending up sleeping warm because the essential ventilation issue may not be well addressed even though they may have some effect.
There are many elements to the sleeping cool “equation” which includes the upper layers of the mattress, the ticking and quilting materials, the mattress protector, and any sheets and bedding on the mattress and all of these work together to regulate temperature and allow (or not) the natural processes of the body to keep itself cool. In other words … don’t be “faked out” by the temperature of a material when you put your hand on it or lie on it for a few minutes.
Hope this helps.
Phoenix
