Never posted on this forum, usually I'm over in Kitchens. But I just had to give you my 2 cents. We had a memory foam mattress, it ended up being returned after about 20 months. The depressions were horrible. Also, the foam didn't breathe, and we were so hot at night. We ended up going to the Sealy Spring Free latex mattress. It is the best thing we could have done. It was more money, but it really is fantastic. We aren't hot anymore, it supports you in the places where you need it. I highly recommend it. The most important piece of advice I read while mattress shopping was to remember that the mattress is NOT a luxury item. It is utilitarian, it is meant to serve a purpose. You can make it look luxurious by adding your bedding to it, but it's purpose is to help you get a good night's sleep and wake up with no back pain! This is why we didn't go for a pillow top or anything that was so soft and "luxurious". I found a lot of good information on this website. Even though the guy who writes it sells mattresses, he is so honest in his answers. And it seems as much as he would love to sell a mattress to you, he wants consumers to be informed and really doesn't seem to mind if you are buying elsewhere. So check it out. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Mattress blog

We just went through mattress shopping and have had our latex mattress for about a month now. We're very happy with it. It's hard to get out of bed in the morning, it's so comfortable! A few pointers. I read the specs on this one that you are looking at, and if anything is going to be prone to sagging it's the 3.5" foam & quilt top. IMHO that's alot of foam/padding on top of the latex and makes me wonder why. The latex underneath (2" talalay and 6" latex core) shouldn't sag. However, if it has a low ILD it will feel quite soft. 24 or even 36 ILD makes a nice top over a 44 ILD core. (the higher the ILD number, the firmer it is) But they don't tell you the ILD of either the 2" or 6" latex core. Perhaps they can tell you in the store. There are 2 types of latex: Talalay and Dunlop. Opinions vary as to which is better. Also, buying a mattress is alot like buying a car. The price on the label is negotiable and they can come down in price. Looks like it has a 15 yr warranty but is that prorated? or is it 100% for 15 yrs? The Sealy SpringFree (which is the same mattress as the Bassett Carrington Chase and the Stearns & Foster latex line) has a 20 yr warranty - the first 10 yrs are non-prorated and the 2nd 10 yrs are pro-rated. That's longer than a standard coil mattress because they know latex will hold up over the long run. We ended up with a Jamison latex which has a 20 yr non-prorated warranty. So do a little homework - there's alot of information on the web about latex mattresses - and don't be afraid to do some bargaining on the price. One last piece of advice - on the end of every mattress there is the "do not remove by penalty of law" tag which must list the contents of the mattress. Make sure to check the one you are buying - it should say 80% or 85% or 90% natural latex, etc. In other words, make sure you are getting what they are telling you. We looked at one "latex" mattress and the end tag read "100% polyurethane foam"!! I turned & left that store immediately. (It was not one of the above brands that I mentioned) That tag might not be easy to get to - it might be up by the head of the bed in which case they might have to pull the mattress out for you to read it. It's your money, make sure you're getting what you think you're paying for. This company makes most of the latex for mattresses out there - they have alot of good information on their website. http://www.latexfoam.com/mattress/why_LFI.htm Hope this helps - Good luck!

Originally, it was the sleep number bed that I was interested in. My daughter and I stopped by their show room to check them out. I love shopping for big ticket items with her because she's great at seeing things that I don't. We both agreed that laying on it was ok, but it's basically an air mattress and at the end of the day, it felt like an air mattress. They aren't cheap and neither of us felt the price justified the means. Also a lot of the reviews I read were complaints about air leaking from the individual cylinders. I think we finally bought our mattress sight unseen out of desperation, understandably, it's not something everyone is willing to do. I would like to clarify that if you and your DH have the same sleep preferences and buy 3 or 4 layers without the cut down the middle, you will never be the wiser that there are layers. They're enclosed in a really wonderful zip up cover. When I strip the bed, it looks like any other non-pillow top mattress, you can't even see the zipper. On the other hand, if you buy one that has the layers cut down the middle (for individual customizing) it does slip a bit down the center. It doesn't happen all the time and we don't feel it when it does. Occasionally, when the bed is stripped, we'll unzip the cover and fix it. It's takes all of about 3 minutes to do and is not a big deal. Also, as people age, our bodies and needs change. I like having a variety of firmnesses for that reason. Just this morning, my DH was saying he thinks the configuration he has now is too firm, so we're going to switch the layers around tonight so it's less firm for him. Takes 10 minutes tops to do (including remaking the bed)...problem solved. Lastly, and it's just a thought, if you have a place that sells foam, you may want to call and see if they carry latex. If they do, they may have a sample out that you could try laying on. Our local foam store does because a lot of people in our area like to make their own latex beds, they even sell (cheap) covers for them. Here is the link to the store by us Foam Factory. They have 6 inch layers which is good. At the very least, they may be able to answer some general questions for you about the different foams and latex.

I bought 'extra firm' because the last mattress was 'firm', and it quickly became 'medium'. Everything wears faster in this heat and humidity. If I leave a pair of sneakers in owner storage in the condo, they will have started to deteriorate by the time I want to wear them nine months later. Also, our guests are obviously getting heavier! I thought I'd add a topper until 'the rock' softened up. Poor logic?