First, shipping. I ordered the mattress by telephone on a Saturday, and the mattress arrived Fedex about 9 days later on a Monday. So only 5 business days from CA to PA. Not bad at all. I was impressed by how fast my order was processed and shipped. The Full/Std mattress arrived in two boxes. Both were in excellent shape, well-taped, and had green stickers saying what was in each. The total shipping weight was about 85 lbs. One box was relatively light; one was heavy and I used a dolly to move it from living room to bedroom.
Second, unpacking. When I opened the first box, the first thing I lifted out looked like a very large latex pillow double-wrapped in thick plastic. Except it weighed about 20 lbs. Turns out it was a vacuum-packed piece of latex. Since the layers are split that means I was sent seven of these latex "pillows", the seventh being the convoluted egg-crate layer that is half as thick as the other layers but is not split. For my 105 lb Mom what was recommended by Flobeds' online "Comfort Advisor" was (Zone / Soft / Medium), so the other six "pillows' were two each of those. I should explain that the Zone is really just another layer of Soft but it includes a 12"-14" zone of Medium in the area where your ribcage rests. Thus your pointy and heavier hips and elbows/shoulders sink into the soft part while your ribcage is held up by the (medium) zone, keeping your spine in alignment. At least I think that's the theory. Also in the boxes was a set of instructions (available online in PDF at http://www.flobeds.com/pdf/LatexOwnersInstructions.pdf) and the mattress case. Oh yeah, and a real latex pillow and set of 300 TC DreamFit sheets I ordered too.
Third, putting it together. The first thing you do is put the empty mattress case on the foundation. (I had previously bought a SmartBase steel foundation). I had read some negative comments about the mattress cases some people had received from other sellers, e.g., that the case was hard and had a plastic feeling. The case from Flobeds couldn't be any more different. It is extremely soft, so soft one could almost sleep directly on the mattress case. The top of the mattress case zips completely off. I did that, laid the rest of the case on the foundation, and pulled its sides down as instructed. That is, one practically pulls the case inside-out so that one can simply lay the latex pieces on a flat surface. The next step is laying the latex. I started with one of the vacuum-packed "pillows" of Medium. It's way cool when you open them - it's like you've pulled the handle on an inflatable life raft. I got my first good look at the Talalay latex. It's beautiful looking, no discoloration or crumbling, and so soft. I couldn't resist squeezing it and thinking of that old "Please don't squeeze the Charmin" commercial. Laying down layers went very quickly. I made both sides (Zone / Soft / Medium), put the convoluted layer on top, then pulled the sides of the mattress case up and zipped its top back on, being careful to push in the flap that protects the latex from the zipper. Voila, instant mattress. Then I put my Mom's Martha Stewart mattress cover on the mattress case to protect it, followed by the sheets and spread. Getting the oversized sheets and the damn dust ruffle on correctly was actually harder than putting the mattress together. Done! Took about 30 minutes.
Fourth, impressions. After the first night my Mom said she thought the mattress was too soft. So I switched the layers around from (Zone / Soft / Medium) to (Medium / Zone / Soft). Big difference. My Mom slept on this configuration for 2-3 weeks without complaint. But I pressed her for her impressions. She hinted that maybe it was still just a little too soft. So I made one side of the bed as firm as could be with the layers I had: (Medium / Medium / Zone). Whoops, too firm. So I switched to (Zone / Medium / Medium). Just right! For the past month my Mom has been sleeping on that configuration w/o any complaints. However, I was bothered by the fact that this leaves the other side of the bed as (Zone / Soft / Soft) - essentially all soft. So I decided to take advantage of Flobeds much-praised firmness guarantee. The most important thing is that my Mom is sleeping comfortably. She never wakes up with knee or hip pain like she did on her old mattress. I give Flobeds mattresses a big thumbs up.
Philly888Subject: Our new bed
Thanks for your help - we got the cover to our bed last night & set it up immediately. My husband and I appreciate the excellent customer service we received from Flobeds. We are also enjoying the bed - after sleeping on a futon for the past 10 years, it is a luxury! The packaging system is ingenious, by the way. Who would've thought you could fit a queen size bed into a bunch of very carryable boxes? I was tickled.
Anyhow, thanks again.
Ava K.
