TOPIC:

I'm new to this site. Just joined because of all the helpful info here!
I need to buy an organic latex free mattress. I tried latex (avocado green- way too firm and now European sleepworks Nordic- way too soft / causing pain ) and my body is very unhappy with latex in general.

I've done a bit of research on what's out there and it seems my two options are either 1)spring mattresses with organic cotton/ wool batting such as Naturepedic EOS classic or Holy Lamb OR 2) giving up on spring support and chancing the wool futon alternatives from Shepherd's Dream or other such companies on a platform bed (but from what I've read I'm concerned that this will not offer enough support).

While I really loved the feel of the Naturepedic EOS classic (both with and without their additional wool topper), here is my concern:
I spoke to the owner of a local organic mattress store and he was very honest with me about organic spring mattresses (Royalpedic, Vispring, Clean Bedroom etc which seem to all be very similar because they are all just using the same materials!). He said "I have been selling this type of mattress for a few years (an innerspring topped with cotton and wool batting) and I'm no longer able to stand behind this product because cotton and wool batting compresses over time (a few months or so) and causes big impressions in the top layer making it very uncomfortable '/ unsupportive to continue to sleep on". In other words, their durability is a problem. We discussed (due to my longing to find both a healthy AND durable mattress) whether he might consider making a new mattress down the line and he said he might- and this time he would make it out of innersprings and pre-compressed wool layers. But to his knowledge and as far as I have seen in my research, there isn't anything out there like this yet. He said "it's a very particular niche you are looking for and no one offers this yet".

So given this info, if I'm understanding this correctly, my question is whether it's a bad idea to invest in a naturepedic EOS latex free classic if it's really likely to have the same durability issue as the mattress he was describing since it only has a SUPER thin cotton/ wool top layer (the matress covering!) that is maybe 1/2 inch thick lying on top of cotton encased micro coils (support layer)? Does anyone on this forum know about or have experience with the durability of the naturepedic EOS latex free classic? Does the top layer compress pretty quickly and is this possibly Naturepedic is a little pushy about people buying the pricey wool topper with it because they know there is a compression issue? I am reluctant to buy a mattress that feels good in the store but will leave me sleeping on coils a few months or even a year or two in!
Also, I wonder why is there SO little cushioning in the top layer?
Does anyone know of a mattress that might perform better? Holy Lamb experience? (though this too has the cotton issue)

Honestly, I need a good bed to start sleeping on! So I have a feeling this is my best bet for now, but it seems like paying close to 3K for a matress (then add the topper - close to 4K!) that might not hold up... seems a bit crazy of this as good as it gets?

The only other options I can see would be trying to find someone to make me my own mattresss with innersprings and then my adding my own precompressed wool on top but I don't have any leads on how complicated this might be or who to ask. If anyone has any leads on or experience with this - would love to hear The other option is trying to sleep on a precompressed wool futon/ wool mattress. I would love to hear any feedback from people how have made the switch from spring or foam mattresses to a wool mattress or futon on a wool slat foundation (esp if they have had back or hip pain) and whether they felt it was supportive for them. (I know it's subjective but I'd like to know if anyone has made the shift well!)
Thank you!

I bought the EOS Classic late last year and then upgraded to the EOS pillowtop.

I think your mattress store is confusing a product where the comfort layer is a thick layer of cotton and wool often using foam also. This can compress down. With the EOS series it is a thinner layer which is really just there to pad the top of the comfort layer which is latex or microcoils. We had latex previously and it doesn't last that long before it compresses. Because it was a full latex heavy king size mattress it was very hard to turn or flip so it wasn't really done until we noticed the problem.

There is another poster on here that has had the Naturepedic Classic with microcoils (so latex free) for years and has not had a problem with compression or body impressions. Maybe he will see this and weigh in. If you search on Naturepedic you may come across his posts.

We haven't had ours very long but I don't think it will be an issue. When I was researching mattresses I read that it is seldom the coils that fail but rather the foam in the comfort layers. Even if for some reason the microcoils should end up with body impressions with the Naturepedic you can unzip it and change them out.

Buying a new mattress was a royal pain. I'm hopeful that this is the last mattress I will ever have to buy.

I did try an a few all wool mattresses in stores and they were really hard. I have back and hip pain and could tell right away that they would cause problems. My current configuration is a Naturepedic EOS Pillowtop with plush base coils and two layers of medium microcoils. For hip pain I find an adjustable bed with the feet raised slightly while sleeping on my side helps.

deuxcv wrote: a little late to the conversation, but for what it's worth i have eos classic with plush coils and medium microcoils. 4 years in, still love it. no cratering, no bottoming out of microcoils, sleeps super cool. happy as can be. money well spent. interesting how all our varying bodies change the perception of support. i found the microcoils plusher, yet more supportive than any of the latex configs i tried. also for my shape/size didn't like the pillowtop... too much mattress for no added comfort (for me). for more detailed writeups of my naturepedic eval, search my username and see old posts. i'm un-curvy, 6'0", 165#

This is the other poster. I don't know how to link to the post so copied and pasted it. You can search on their user name and see more details.

"I did try an a few all wool mattresses in stores and they were really hard" Marshmallowforme

I agree with Marshmallowforme that the wool mattresses ive tried in stores were very hard and uncomfortable. I actually have a $1k 4" wool "topper" (looks/ feels like a wool mattress though ) from white lotus and while it is very well made it is just so lumpy and uncomfortable + way to much wool smell that it just sits in my closet for now. Maybe someday I can figure a use for it!? Lol I do like wool in small amounts though like in the cover of my Naturepedic eos. At home I tried ~1-2" wool toppers/ pads from sleep & beyond and while I liked them ok feel wise & i especially liked the cooling aspects none of them were comfortable enough for me to keep. I returned the sleep & beyond merino wool topper, the washable Shropshire filled wool topper and the 0.5" myPad. Like Marshmallowforme said I think the wool/cotton/PLA in the cover of the eos will hold up because even if it compresses it's not thick enough to make much of a difference imo.

Marshmallowforme wrote: I bought the EOS Classic late last year and then upgraded to the EOS pillowtop.

There is another poster on here that has had the Naturepedic Classic with microcoils (so latex free) for years and has not had a problem with compression or body impressions. Maybe he will see this and weigh in. If you search on Naturepedic you may come across his posts.
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hi..deuxcv here... just looked up my original invoice. looks like i got my mattress 4 yrs ago tomorrow! like marshmallow quoted i’m as happy today as the day i got it. well, the day i settled on microcoils after a layer swap. originally had late and didn’t love it like i did in the store. you can search my posts for full thoughts on my choices.

a couple times a year i rotate the cover 180^ and flip springs over out of an abundance of caution and a ingrained fear based on past mattresses that sagged over time and left indentations, though nothing with the eos has led me to beli’ve this is truly needed. today was the day i did my fall flip flop. mattress is still square, straight edged, no sags, top feels even and i still love going to bed and waking up in it. i have no reason to believe this won’t be a 20 year mattress.

despite it being 2k more than i was originally planning on spending on a mattress at the time, i have no regrets. there was one fuckup in the manufacture that i discovered about a year ago where one of covers on the support coils was on wrong, so i the strip that indicates to place on the perimeter was on wron so i always had the firm edge in the middle which at the time was making me think the mattress had sagging issues. but once i fixed that and gave them an earful, it’s 100%. again... search my user name and read all about it.

good luck and good sleep.

Thank you so much everyone for your replies!
Marshmallow for me - SO appreciate your thorough reply! I was waiting for confirmation and after I read your email I put my purchase through so I have an EOS coming in two weeks (if I don't first drown in my latex crap mattress ! I don't know how anyone sleeps on latex. It has been SO bad / has caused huge sinking/ impressions in just a few weeks. And from a high quality place)
Looking forward to some peaceful pain free nights!

Venus,
Congratulations! I think you will be very pleased. Every night when I get on my mattress I feel like I'm getting in a top quality bed. If you don't yet have an adjustable base this might be the time to get one. They are fantastic!

What combo did you get, plush or firm base coils and soft or medium microcoils?

I found with all the mattresses I tried there was a bit of a break in period for the mattress and my body to get used to them.

For me a big selling point was the lack of odor. I was thrilled to get away from the latex smell I had been living with and have a mattress that smelled like nothing. I think you made the right decision jumping right to the Naturepedic EOS. I wish I had started there but wouldn't have known how great it was unless I had tried the others first.

Marshmallowforme:
I just posted about my current struggles with my recent naturepedic mattress in a new post ( mattress hell!)

I have so far tried all of the naturepedic combos bc my sales rep was very accommodating except for the extra firm support layer. All of them are feeling saggy to me and what I’m. trying to figure out is whether it’s the mattress itself or whether it’s my wood slat bed frame? I purchased a savvy rest wood frame ( big mistake ) a few months ago and it has slats thatsyne work for a latex mattress but apparently the slats are too far apart ( 3 inches apart ) according to the sales guy. So now we are trying to see if putting a piece of plywood under over the slats will help they bed feel less mushy.
But I’m wondering if it’s the bed ... and if it is I am not sure what next step to take for a bed . Have you tried wool mattresses on wood frames or on top of do it yourself springs?

Also I wonder if maybe trying a bed foundation would make things feel better ? I’m not used to beds being so mushy as all these organic mattered have felt to me and I wonder if it might me that I’m not used to sleeping on a wood frame and miss the support of springs ?

Meantime I have a shoulder injury from all this and am not sure what to sleep on this is this all gets resolved. maybe will buy a cheap futon frame

Thanks

I forgot to add, I see from one of your earlier posts that you use two layers of medium micro coils. Doesn’t this make your bed too high / hard to get into ? What is the height of your current bed frame and curious what you’re using ? My savvy rest frame is 17 inches and then with the naturepedic it’s all too high and then the squishiness is making it too hard to get in and out of bed.

Venus,
It is almost certainly your wood slatted frame that is sagging. To test it take the mattress off the frame and put it on the floor. Use it for a few nights and see if the sagging goes away.

If it does you need a metal frame, not a wood slat frame or a box frame that will also sag. The mattress is meant to be flexible so you can use it on an adjustable mattress frame. You can find metal frames on Amazon. If possible choose one with really short legs so when you stack everything on top the mattress isn't too high.

We are currently using adjustable bed frames which are metal frames. I bought one TwinXL which you can get different leg lengths and we got the shortest. The other TwinXL came with fixed leg lengths which we took to a local metal shop and had cut down to as short as they would go and still allow clearance for the mechanisms underneath. It cost $20 to have all six cut down. The shop was a big industrial place so they did it as a favor but it would have been about $60 to get it done at a small hobby shop that advertises their prices.

What base coils and microcoils are you using? Did you get the pillow top or the regular?