Hi TreeGod,
I can certainly sympathize with some of the challenges that are involved with being tall although you are an inch and a half taller than I am

. Is there a reason that you are looking for a queen XL (aka California Queen) instead of a California King (which would be much easier to find since it's a standard size)?
The first one carries them but I can't really tell who the manufacture is so I can't look up reviews on them. The second carries Corsicana and New Wind mattresses that can be made to order. I've found some reviews of Corsicana (Texas-based) as hit and miss, while I can't find much about New Wind (Italy-based).
I would be very cautious about about using other people's experiences or reviews on a mattress (either positive or negative) as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you and in many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a group of people may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (see
post #13 here
).
I'm assuming that you've read the
mattress shopping tutorial
but 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 PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) 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, durability, and value.
As you can see ... outside of PPP (which is all about how well you will sleep on a mattress) ... the most important part of the value of a mattress is it's durability and a mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality and durability of the materials inside it (which is all about how long you will sleep well) regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label. If you can find out the information
listed here
about any mattress you are considering and post it on the forum then I'd certainly be happy to make some comments about the quality and durability of the materials in the mattress or the mattress as a whole and help you identify any potential weak links in the mattress. Without this information it's not possible to make any meaningful comments about the quality or durability of any mattress and if a manufacturer or retailer either isn't able or willing to provide it to you then I would pass the mattress by (see the
guidelines here
).
I'm not familiar with New Wind but I would be cautious with Corsicana because they generally aren't transparent about the quality/density of the foam layers in their mattresses (see
this article
).
If there are any other tall folks out there who have had luck with Queen XL's/weird mattress sizes I'd love to get your advice. As far as local retailers go, I live about an hour north of Los Angles if anyone knows a local retailer/company that sells/makes custom sizes. Thanks!
I personally haven't slept on a California Queen or any other odd sizes but other people's experiences may be very different from your own and you are probably in the best position to decide whether the extra length would be important to you. I know in my own case I've become quite used to having my feet stick out past the end if the bed on the somewhat rare occasions that I'm fully stretched out (I sleep on a queen size mattress) although my next mattress will probably be a Cal King (which I've never owned).
The better options or possibilities I'm aware of in and around the Los Angeles area (subject to the quality/value guidelines I linked) are listed in
post #2 here
. Some of the manufacturers on the list would most likely be able to build you a custom size California Queen mattress but you will need to make some phone calls to find out which ones (I don't know off the top of my head which of them build custom sizes).
Phoenix