I’m in the market to purchase a mattress topper for a fairly firm spring mattress. I’m 6’0" 180pounds and generally sleep on my back. My friend who often sleeps over sleeps on their side and probably weights about 140pounds. I’m trying to determine whether to get a 24 ILD talalay latex gl (slow response) or just a 24ILD pure talalay latex.
I’m tempted to purchase a 24 ILD latex slow response because I’m concerned about the other person being comfortable sleeping on their side on a 100 latex. Is that a valid concern? Also, there were barely any reviews of the slow response gl latex on this website (or the web in general) so I’m concerned about purchasing that and having it not provide enough support.
I appreciate any thoughts anyone might have.
Thanks
Hi lightrat,
The choice would be a matter of preference between slow and fast response materials, not a matter of firmness or support. If you like the idea of latex but like the “feel” of memory foam then the slow response would be somewhat similar (not the same though) and would make a good choice. If you prefer faster response and more resilient materials then the fast response would be the better choice. I would treat them as “equals” in comparative ILD’s in terms of pressure relief.
That’s probably because it’s not as popular as fast response and most people who are looking for a slow response material end up choosing memory foam. In terms of “support” they would be similar in the same ILD but keep in mind that slow response latex is a comfort material not a support material so would only have an effect on secondary support (the type of secondary support that fills in the gaps in the sleeping profile) and is primarily for pressure relief. The deeper layers of the mattress provide primary support.
If I was choosing a topper I would personally would tend to choose between materials I was familiar with and had tried and would tend to avoid unknown materials. The Pure Latex Bliss line has a range of mattresses in their Hybrid models that use slow response Talalay and they have a retail finder on their site here which may give you a way to test it which is really the only way to know with any certainty which one you prefer.
Talalay GL used to be called Nuform (the material because there is also a mattress called this that doesn’t use slow response latex) but this didn’t have any gel in it. It is also most commonly seen in the PLB hybrid 3.0 mattresses and they call it Active Fusion slow response. A forum search on Talalay GL slow or Nuform or Active Fusion slow (you can just click these) will bring up more posts about it but still not as many as other types of latex.
Phoenix
Phoenix,
Thanks for your help. Very informative. I’ll be sure to update this thread whenever I have purchased one and give me thoughts on it. One other question: do the discounts for the member site of this website apply to mattress toppers (or do they just apply to mattresses?)
Thanks
JM
Hi lightrat,
The discounts apply to mattresses only but some of the manufacturers also give the discount on other products even though it’s not necessary or expected so it doesn’t hurt to ask as long as it’s not seen as a “negative” if they don’t.
Phoenix