TOPIC:

First let me quickly say that I'm grateful for this forum, it's helped me navigate the very confusing process of buying a bed.

I am searching for the best "green" bed for the money, and am leaning toward a latex bed or combination of memory foam and latex.
My priorities are:

As natural material as possible (it's difficult to tell what is greenwashing and what is legit :-/ )
Should be very firm and supportive, I'm a back sleeper and an athlete with a frequent soar back
Willing to pay $$$ but want to ensure it will last if it's more money

Does anyone have any recommendations?


Here are some options I've found so far:
1) Paramount Nature's Spa Firm Queen, ~1700 set w/box spring
The only "green" bed I've been able to try locally is the Paramount Nature's Spa Therapy, which I believe was the lowest end of the three beds they make. It felt very nice but I am not able to find many reviews for this bed. Also it seems pricey compared to others and it doesn't seem to have a lot of latex. I was quoted 1600 for the queen and box spring (which does look very nice).
www.hibernatebedding.com/collections/natures-spa/products/natures-spa-therapy-mattress

2) Ultimate Dream (Amazon)
$611 (CHEAP!) Good review, not a lot of latex but overall positive reviews
Not easy to understand how green this is. I've read some positive things but I'm hesitant to buy a bed I cannot try first.
www.amazon.com/DreamFoam-Mattress-Ultimate-Dreams-Latex/dp/B00CP85P7I/ref=pd_sbs_hg_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=1WT70GAMG9SA034KQEXA

3) Plushbed Natural Bliss Natural Latex
$2000 for queen set
www.plushbeds.com/Natural-Bliss-Natural-Latex-Mattress.html
Seems priciest option, although maybe worth it if it will truly last and is as green as they advertise.

Has anyone else had similar wishes for a firm green bed? What did you end up buying?

Thank you so much,
Matt

Hi lefteye,

I am searching for the best "green" bed for the money, and am leaning toward a latex bed or combination of memory foam and latex.
My priorities are:

As natural material as possible (it's difficult to tell what is greenwashing and what is legit :-/ )
Should be very firm and supportive, I'm a back sleeper and an athlete with a frequent soar back
Willing to pay $$$ but want to ensure it will last if it's more money

Does anyone have any recommendations?

"Green" is mostly about marketing in the mattress industry and doesn't have a specific definition. Post #4 here may be helpful to answer the question of "how green is green enough for me?" and help you separate fact from fiction. I don't know of any way to "assign" a green rating to a mattress based on a cradle to grave assessment outside of making "apples to apples" comparisons of the same or similar materials.

I would also make sure you've read the tutorial post here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines you will need to make the best possible choices ... and know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

There is no such thing as a "best" mattress in general because "best" depends on the parts of each person's personal value equation that are most important to them. There is only "best" for each individual person and their individual criteria.

1) Paramount Nature's Spa Firm Queen, ~1700 set w/box spring
The only "green" bed I've been able to try locally is the Paramount Nature's Spa Therapy, which I believe was the lowest end of the three beds they make. It felt very nice but I am not able to find many reviews for this bed. Also it seems pricey compared to others and it doesn't seem to have a lot of latex. I was quoted 1600 for the queen and box spring (which does look very nice).
www.hibernatebedding.com/collections/nat...spa-therapy-mattress

Unfortunately they don't list the specifics of the materials in the mattress so I would need more information to make any meaningful comments about the mattress (see this article ).

2) Ultimate Dream (Amazon)
$611 (CHEAP!) Good review, not a lot of latex but overall positive reviews
Not easy to understand how green this is. I've read some positive things but I'm hesitant to buy a bed I cannot try first.
www.amazon.com/DreamFoam-Mattress-Ultima...1WT70GAMG9SA034KQEXA

As you probably know ... Dreamfoam and their sister company Brooklyn Bedding are one of the members of this site which means that I think very highly of them and they compete well with the best in the industry . They are also completely transparent about the materials they use in their mattress (in this case blended Talalay latex and polyfoam) so you can make meaningful comparisons to other similar mattresses.

3) Plushbed Natural Bliss Natural Latex
$2000 for queen set
www.plushbeds.com/Natural-Bliss-Natural-Latex-Mattress.html
Seems priciest option, although maybe worth it if it will truly last and is as green as they advertise.

Plushbeds uses good quality materials and is certainly "better than average" value compared to most mainstream mattresses that use similar materials but I would make some careful value comparisons with some of the online retailers/manufacturers that are linked in the tutorial post and have similar mattresses that offer more options or lower prices for similar mattresses. A forum search on Plushbeds (you can just click this) will bring up more information about them.

If you let me know your city or zip code I'd also be happy to let you know of any of the better options or possibilities I'm aware of in your area.

Phoenix

Wow, thank you for the fast and thorough reply, Phoenix. So much appreciation.

I live in the Princeton NJ area, 08540 is the zip.

Regarding the Nature Spa bed, I did find a little more info on their website here , but not all the answers to the important questions. I'm going to call the local store and see if they can help answer.

Also I'll spend some time going through more of the articles on this site.

If you or anyone else have any specific recommendations on beds or brands for a good value latex mattress...after trying the Nature Spa, I do think a latex or foam/latex combination will provide the ideal firmness for me. I'd love to hear what others have experienced in this area.

Hi lefteye,

Regarding the Nature Spa bed, I did find a little more info on their website here, but not all the answers to the important questions. I'm going to call the local store and see if they can help answer.

Yes ... the information doesn't include any of the specifics about the mattress that can help you identify any weak links in the mattress or make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses and while they are likely to be better "value" than other mainstream mattresses made by some of the major manufacturers ... it would still be a "blind" purchase (which I would avoid). You can see some of my thoughts about Paramount in post #2 here and the posts it links to and as you can see you may not be able to find out the information you need to make an informed choice.

If you or anyone else have any specific recommendations on beds or brands for a good value latex mattress...after trying the Nature Spa, I do think a latex or foam/latex combination will provide the ideal firmness for me. I'd love to hear what others have experienced in this area.

What you feel on a mattress will be unique to you and depend on the specifics of the mattress along with your body type, sleeping positions, sensitivities, preferences, physiology, health condition and other factors (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here ). A mattress that is "awful" or "way to firm" for one person may be "perfect" or "way too soft" for someone else. No matter what the cost or "value" of a mattress or how it may feel or perform for someone else or even many other people ... if you don't sleep well on it then it would have little value to you so I would be very careful about using other people's reviews about a mattress as part of your purchase decision (see post #13 here ).

Outside of how well a mattress matches your specific needs and preferences in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences), the next most important part of the "value" of a mattress purchase is the durability of the materials. You can't "feel" the durability of the materials so to assess durability or the useful life of a mattress you need to know the quality/durability of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label which is not particularly relevant (all manufacturers have access to similar materials and use a range of lower and higher quality materials in their mattresses). If a mattress is "perfect" for you at first but uses lower quality less durable materials or has a weak link in the design then it can soften, compress, or break down much more quickly and result in the loss of the comfort and/or support which is the reason you bought it in the first place and this isn't covered by a warranty. If a mattress loses its comfort and/or support too quickly relative to the price you paid ... no matter how it feels at first ... it would also have little value to you. The "quality" specs I would use as a guideline are in post #4 here .

I live in the Princeton NJ area, 08540 is the zip.

The better options and possibilities I'm aware of in your area would be in the Trenton/Philadelphia/Wilmington list in post #4 here and in the Northern NJ list in post #7 here (there is a fair bit of overlap between them).

Phoenix