TOPIC:

I am reaching out because we are in the market for a new mattress. A few years ago, after A LOT of research we bought an Awara Mattress and it has been great until recently. I used to be a stomach sleeper but ever since having back surgery in July of 2021, I have had to switch to being a side sleeper because it hurts to sleep on my stomach or back. I have developed pressure points on my hips due to the mattress being on the more firm side and me having, what I call, "child bearing hips". I toss and turn a lot more than I ever have and I wake up with my hips hurting. My s/o and I are about the same build at 5'8" 165 pounds. He is primarily a back sleeper though. I want to go look at the Sleep Number beds but he is highly against them due to the bladders in them. He suggests we get a Latex Hybrid but I am very worried about the nonadjustable components of a hybrid vs an adjustable that could be more suited for both of our needs. We both prefer a more firm bed but I need something just a little softer due to the pressure points. At this point, it is like we are essentially starting from scratch on brands to lean more towards. And since there are so many to choose from, it can be very overwhelming. Open to all brands and types. King size. Any direction would be very helpful.

Hello,

Your needs are quite different. Husband vs wife. I would go FloBeds Vzone because you can customize each side. Im a big fan of Tempurpedic. You could do a King split. I like Luxe Adapt Firm and wife likes Luxe Adapt Soft. Another one to consider is Intellibed Matrix Supreme....marketed as "Soft"....but its soft and firm at the same time. They had 5 Intellibed Matrix mattresses at different firmnesses ranging from Very Firm to Ultra Soft. I guess you could do a split. Im not getting an Intellibed, but check it out anyway. I think your 2 main choices are Flobeds Vzone or Tempurpedic. I don't like latex, so Im going with Tempurpedic. Your husband is correct to avoid Sleep Number, from what I have read...there is still hammocking.

Let me know what you decide!!!

John

Thank you for your response. I looked up a couple of the ones that you suggested and those are a little out of our price range. I should have mentioned I would like to keep it under $3000-$3500, if possible. Do you happen to have any other suggestions?

Look up my thread "Dont be cheap with mattresses".

Im as cheap and frugal as they come, but I don't skimp on beds. Lets say your ideal mattress is $4300. and you go cheap and get a less than ideal mattress for $3500. Now you have a back ache. Now you have to go out and buy the $4300 mattress too. Now you have spent $7800. It is better to go with ideal mattress right off the bat and spend $4300. In the long run, $4300 is cheap. Don't have the money? Get a loan or do DoorDash.

I did go over to Flexus Comfort and their latex mattresses are amazing. They can do split king. I think split king was $1984 and they might even have Memorial Day sale.

Flobed Vzone had Cinco De Mayo sale on King Vzone. Normally $4200, but $800 of with sale brings it to $3400. What is there to think about? You are only out $200 (shipping) and you have unlimited latex core switch outs. I guess Arizona Premium is good too from what I have read. Im not a fan of latex personally, but it works for others.

The Purple beds are a poor man's version of the Intellibeds. Purple 4 did not work for me, but you should check it out for yourself. The buckling gel columns seems great for side sleepers. Recommendation ? Purple Hybrid 3 or Purple Hybrid (2). Im not a fan of technology anymore, but you might like it. Just because I (or anyone else) like it or hate it...ignore that. Try it yourself. Im a back sleeper.

I love Tempurpedic myself. Pro Adapt Medium, Pro Adapt Medium Hybrid, Pro Adapt Soft, Luxe Adapt Soft. I like Pro Adapt Firm and Luxe Adapt Firm myself. Some here say Tempurpedic is terrible....that may or may not be true. Try it yourself. My opinion? I feel that Tempurpedic is absolutely heavenly and so different from anything else that I have felt. The absolute best in memory foam. I visited a few mattress stores and the only brand that was carried in every store was Tempurpedic. There must be a reason. I know that consensus is often wrong, but is it wrong every time? Im a huge Tempurpedic fan.


Let me know what you get.

John

Hi TandyH,

Welcome to our Mattress Forum!

I am chiming in the Luma Sleep dedicated Expert forum to offer some guidance and apologize on behalf of our overzealous new subscriber BillyIdol. The multitude of mattress suggestions of various mattresses of different makes,, materials, and styles that he offered don’t seem to take into account your particular circumstances and may be more misleading than helpful.. So I'll bring the discussion on track and I'll do my best to give some direction to help simplify your search and diminish the “overwhelm” you are experiencing.

I want to go look at the Sleep Number beds but he is highly against them due to the bladders in them. He suggests we get a Latex Hybrid but I am very worried about the nonadjustable components of a hybrid vs an adjustable that could be more suited for both of our needs.

While the Sleep number's air bladders have an adjustability feature I’d tend to agree with your husband’s assessment. You can see some of my general comments about air mattresses here and in this article. While any mattress can be a good match for a specific person because each person's needs and preferences or the criteria that are most important to them can be very different ... in general terms I would tend to avoid them unless there is a very compelling reason that an airbed would be a better choice in "real life" (outside of the many "marketing stories" that you will hear about them) than the many other options or types of mattresses that are available to you. You can certainly find comfort adjustability in a traditional well-designed mattress of good quality/value which is well within your budget. Your husband’s choice of “a hybrid mattress” has many advantages including good ventilation, ease of handling the mattress, motion isolation, and conforming well to the body profile as you can see in the first video by Mattress Makers which is one of the Trusted members of our site.

I have had to switch to being a side sleeper because it hurts to sleep on my stomach or back. I have developed pressure points on my hips due to the mattress being on the more firm side and me having, what I call, "child bearing hips". I toss and turn a lot more than I ever have and I wake up with my hips hurting.

Different sleeping positions are part of what determines how deep a cradle you need and how thick the comfort layer(s) should be. This, in turn, affects the type of support layers that will be appropriate. The layers underneath this comfort layer can help with pressure relief for those who change positions and with thinner upper layers or ....if you sleep solely on your side it can be primarily focused on preventing your heavier parts from sinking down too far (and bottoming out onto the firmer layers below) with thicker comfort layers.
Of course, your weight and body profile will also make a difference in how far you tend to sink in and how deep a cradle you need in your mattress so for more on your "statistics", and how they can affect your choices you can read this article here .

As you are now a side sleeper I would also throw into the mix that a suitable pillow is an essential part of good alignment for the head and neck and upper body because the gap between the head and the mattress and the curve of the cervical spine needs to be supported just like all other parts of the spine.
Here are some intial thoughts to help find a good direction and narrow your search.
1. The simplest and most inexpensive solution would be to keep your current Awara mattress and add a topper for more comfort (making sure it is suitable for both you and your husband) This would imply that the mattress is in good condition (not sagging) and that both you and your husband are close enough in your comfort support needs so that you do not need his/her side mattress customization. If this is the case a topper like Luma Sleep here could be all you need.
2. If the comfort differential between you and your husband is widely different you could either purchase a new mattress with a zippered cover and with split side by side comfort customization and interchangeable comfort layers for fine tunning like this Foam Sweet Foam mattress here or DIY Mattress here .
.... go the DIY route as other subscribers have done (but keep in mind this is a more challenging process of trial and error) You'd need to contact the seller though as policies and availability change quite often lately due to supplier supply chain issues.
3. If you are considering the DIY route you could either reuse layers from your previous firmer mattress and purchase separate comfort layers to match the needs for you and your husband. Essentially you’ll be cutting open the Awara mattress, and “rebuilding it” into a zippered cover.
4. Purchase a new mattress that has more specialized zoning like FloBeds VZone mattressess. . Zoning, in general, is suitable for people that have more difficulty finding a mattress with the right "balance" between comfort/pressure relief (under the shoulders especially) and support/alignment (under the hips/pelvis especially) or who have more challenging circumstances or sensitivities, body types that are more difficult to "match" to a mattress, more complex medical issues, or who have a history of having more difficulty in finding a mattress that works well for them. There is more about zoning in this article and in post #11 here and the additional posts it links to but the only way to know whether any specific mattress (zoned or otherwise) will be a good match for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP will be based on careful testing or your own personal experience. This all depends on how much your “child bearing hips” cause you to sink through the mattress and bottom out onto the firmer layer below.

I do not know how much you had a chance to do some basic readings since you found our website but it’s worth mentioning that mattress search is a very personal quest. The first "rule" of mattress shopping is to always remember that nobody can speak to how any specific mattress will "feel" for someone else or whether it will be a good "match" in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure Relief, and Personal Preferences) because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances and you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress.

The first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here (there is a condensed version of it at the end of that post) which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice ... and perhaps, more importantly, know how and why to avoid the worst ones. Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you've read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best "match" for you in terms of "comfort", firmness, and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn't turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the "value" of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well he will sleep), durability (how long he will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn't turn out as well as you hoped for).

This said we’ll be here to offer our guidance and support to help avoid many of the pitfalls of mattress purchasing.

Phoenix

@BillyIdol as much as I appreciate your enthusiasm and participation in various threads since you registered 6 days ago with 21 posts, I’d like to ask that you refrain from interjecting other discussions in progress, especially in dedicated expert forums such as this current thread in LumaSleep's . .Contributions are much appreciated as long as they bring some valuable info and take into account the Question's specific context and person's criteria.

I thought this section was “General Mattress” questions. I didnt know there was an Experts section. Im in the process of buying my own mattress. Its an intricate process, TMU has made it a lot easier. So I am in the trenches trying to buy a new mattress.

Joh

BillyIdol wrote:

I thought this section was “General Mattress” questions. I didnt know there was an Experts section. Im in the process of buying my own mattress. Its an intricate process, TMU has made it a lot easier. So I am in the trenches trying to buy a new mattress.

Joh

It may be a bit confusing but if you look at the top under the gray tabs you'll see it shows this is an expert section (ie manufacturer or seller's thread):
Mattress Forum > Mattress Forum > General Mattresses Questions > Luma Sleep /LATEX & HYBRID MATTRESSES, MATTRESS COMPONENTS > Hybrid Mattress

So in general those threads should be getting responses from them since most consumers are typically asking for more specific feedback from that expert.

Thank you both for your input and all of the information that you gave, Phoenix. I wanted to see what the Purple mattress was all about so I tested one yesterday. I found that it would be way too soft for what we like so we bit the bullet and ordered a FloBed VZone yesterday. I think this would be the best bet for my s/o and I since we have very different sleep styles. We also really liked the fact that at any given time, we could change something if needed. We are also going to look into new/better pillows.

Thank you again!