We looked at the line at Bloomingdales along with the Shifman brand. Kluft looked like a quality product but the cost looked out of line with other quality competitors.
I suggest you also look at Royal Pedic, they make 2 latex models that are high quality and very comfortable. Dealers might be hard to find, I suggest you check their website or contact them directly. BTW for full disclosure we did purchase a Royal Pedic set with an all cotton mattress and a 4"thick organic latex/wool topper, which we absolutely love.

Cuse69

Cuse69, thanks for the information about Royal Pedic. I did find some dealers near me who had a few mattresses on display and tried out a few different mattresses. I eliminated the pillowtops, since they were too high, so I am considering the all cotton and the latex.

One question for you; did you try the latex model and if yes, how does it compare to what you purchased in terms of comfort? I ask because while I did try the all cotton mattress, it was with the 3" topper and I found this to be a little hard. They did not have the 4" topper in the store.

mhillgal

Here is the information that Royal-Pedic provides regarding firmness of the various combinations. The scale is 1=most firm 5=most plush

8"cotton mattress 1
8"cotton mattress w/3"topper 3
8"cotton mattress w/4"topper 4 (2x the latex in a 3"topper)
8"cotton mattress w/5"topper 4 (3x the latex in a 3"topper)

8"cotton mattress w/2"organic topper 2
8"cotton mattress w/3"organic topper 3
8"cotton mattress w/4"organic topper 4
8"cotton mattress w/5"organic topper 5

Royal Latex Mattress (7 zone latex with cotton padding) 2
(this is a 8" thick Mattress)
Royal Latex Quilt-Top(7 zone latex w/cotton&wool padding) 4
(this is a 9-9.5 " thick mattress)

Based on your comments I would suggest the Royal Latex Quilt-Top (this is available in an organic version also if you are so inclined). We found the 4" topper to be softer that the 3". The quilted latex was not available for us to try, but we did try the Royal Latex Mattress (rating of 2)and found it too hard without a topper. We opted for the 8" cotton mattress with the 4"organic topper for the feel and the fact it only contained natural latex, organic wool and organic cotton cover (this eliminates any fire retardants in the topper if you might have any chemical sensitivities). Also, with this arrangement flipping the topper (75lbs) is much easier that a large pillowtop mattress. I would suspect that the Royal-Pedic firmness ratings are a reasonably good predictor of the firmness but for the cost of these units I would recommend you find one you can actually try. Again I went from waking after a fitfull night of tossing with pain to most nights finding myself in the same position for the entire night, extremely sound sleep and no back pain whatsoever. I could not be more pleased. My wife is equally happy with significantly fewer episodes of waking due to night sweats/hot flashes. This is probably due to the properties of the organic wool/latex (and no polyurethane or polyester) in the topper. We previously slept on a Sterns & Foster pillow top purchased for approx $3000 six years ago.
I hope this information helps, please ask away if you need more information or clarification.

Cuse69

Hi Cuse69
I'm thinking about purchasing a Royal-Pedic latex, and had a few questions:

(1) Are you still happy with your Royal-Pedic? (I know you have the cotton version) Have any issues come up, re: quality, comfort, etc.?

(2) How does the Royal-Pedic compare to the Sterns & Foster you had, in terms of quality and feel/comfort? I had the Sterns & Foster Buckingham Kingsbridge and loved it, but they don't make them like they used to!

(3) Should I expect to pay full-price for the Royal-Pedic? I.e., most mattress manufacturers and retailers seem to set the 'retail' price articially high with the intention of putting them 'on sale' or to otherwise 'discount' them all the time. I haven't seen the same with Royal-Pedic, so am wondering if the ostensible price (which seems to match Royal-Pedic's official list price, which is also the price at which they sell directly to the customer) is as-is -- i.e., no room for negotiation and never on sale. Just want to make sure I'm not paying full price when I could get it for less elsewhere.

Many thanks!

What mattress did you purchase? I am also looking to the Kluft and have not as yet seen the Royal Pedic. Are you still happy with your mattress? I am looking at the Kluft Overture on sale at Bloomingdales for $1800 (without the box spring as I have a platform bed). If you purchased the Royal Pedic, which model did you get and what did you pay for it?

Thank you,