Wacky World of Rubber: Time to go mattress shopping

It's time to buy a mattress, and I wouldn't mind a bit of advice. Particularly if you have any thoughts on latex or urethane mattresses, because I'd like to support our industry if I can. But you better make it quick, because my wife and I are what I call "buyers," rather than shoppers.

In fact, the last two times we've purchased vehicles, we found what we thought we might like online, contacted the local dealer and made the purchase the next day.

And buying a mattress in many ways is even a bigger commitment than purchasing a vehicle. In all likelihood, the three places people spend their most are work, their vehicle and in their bed. So purchasing the right mattress is vital, as whatever we choose we will be sleeping on for the next decade or more.

Now the last mattress we bought has worked out fairly well. We've had it for more than 10 years. It still is fairly comfortable, but it's definitely time for a change. Don't ask me the brand. I'm normally good with brands, but actually have no idea what this one is, other than it more of the standard spring mattress type

I know we bought it in a mattress store, but it doesn't look like that will be the case this time. As I said upfront, my wife Megan and I are buyers, not shoppers. On this occasion, though, Megan had the time to do some research because while we knew at the beginning of the year we would be buying a mattress, but wouldn't be in a position to do so until the end of February.

So she has been looking at sites for awhile, reading the benefits of each, and taking a look at some of the reviews. She has sent me several to look over, but insisted we not go shopping at mattress stores this time around. Her rationale? The prices are much better than what name brand mattresses go for at brick-and-mortar stories, plus the trial periods can run up to a year. Megan said there was no way laying on a mattress in a store for five minutes can compare to actually putting it through real life testing at home.

And the two "finalists" she presented me in the last few days are the Dreamcloud Luxury Hybrid and the Awara Latex Hybrid mattress. Going through the sites in detail, these are some of the things I found to help put forth my suggestion on what we should buy (knowing full well that Megan could hold veto power in the end).

Let's look at the Dreamcloud first. Its six-layer hybrid design, included "plush" foam filling, medium density form, gel memory foam, supportive high density foam (yes, there is a lot of foam in there), a pocketed innerspring coil system and a stabilizing base foam. I will give their copy writers credit. They really filled up the descriptions with a lot more adjectives than I will share with you here.

It offers a full-year trial period with free return, and seems to hit all the needed certifications.

As for the Awara mattress, I will admit the intrigue was heightened by the fact that it is a rubber latex mattress, and I've been covering the industry for more than three decades now. We've written about latex mattresses on numerous occasions over the years, but I have never owned one.

The Awara website touts right upfront that "Our foam is made of natural latex, tapped from real rubber trees." The construction brags of "four inches of cooling natural Dunlop latex foam," claiming that is two inches thicker than standard hybrid mattresses.

Awara also touts its ecological principles. It says it's partnered with Trees for the Future, and that for every mattress it sells, 10 fruit trees are planted to restore forests in Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, Guinea or Tanzania. It says the fruit trees "will help a farmer and his family get on the path to food security and financial stability."

I also find the reviews interesting, if not always helpful. While Megan focuses on the positive review, being the journalist I want to see what unsatisfied customers say. With these mattresses, most of the negative comments centered around the bed not feeling like what they expected. Some wanted to sink in, others thought the mattress in question was too firm, while some said too soft.

But one thing I did take away from the negative reviews was that both companies honored the year-long trial period, and processed the free returns without question or charge.

So that's the choice I'm facing. If you have any advice for me, speak quickly—before the purchase is made.

Bruce Meyer is editor of Rubber & Plastics News, and he sees rubber-related stories nearly everywhere he goes. Follow him on Twitter @bmeyerRPN.