100% Natural Talalay vs Synthetic Talalay vs 100% Dunlop

[phoenix]

Hi The Toddler,

I’m trying to decide if 100% natural talalay is best for me in a comfort layer of if I could get away with a cheaper blended version.

I believe the article you’re searching for is in post #2 here (which you may have already read), but it summarizes in one place the characteristics of synthetic, blended and natural Talalay.

How does being “more elastic” translate to how it feels on a mattress?

The natural, being a bit more elastic, can be a bit more “buoyant” and will firm up faster (have a bit of a higher compression modulus) than the synthetic. This might be noticeable to some people in the softer upper layers of a mattress, but most people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Most of the Talalay produced by Talalay Global and Radium is blended.

I had a very good experience with a natural talalay 3" comfort layer on a pocket coil/latex hybrid. It was in the low 30s IDL. In softer versions I was in the bed, in harder versions I was on the bed, but with this, I felt like I was floating – in a good way. (And Dunlop felt too traditional; with the talalay, I felt like once I sunk in, it also gently pushed back to help with alignment. Does that make sense?)

Yes, that makes perfect sense. In the combination you tried that was the more “medium” of your group, it provided for you the best balance between conforming and support.

Based on what I’ve read, and the ILD I’m interested in, it seems like 100% natural would be a better choice for me. Any thoughts?

My best advice is to go by your personal results from testing the combinations in person. Were you able to compare a blended and natural Talalay of the same ILD from the same manufacturer side by side? All latex will generally be a quite durable material, and I wouldn’t be able to predict if you would be able to discern the difference between a blended Talalay and a natural of a similar ILD. Some people can tell the difference or they prefer the natural for personal reasons, so there really wouldn’t be an incorrect choice here. Both types would be breathable and supportive, with the natural theoretically getting a bit firmer than the blended when compressed past 25% or so of its thickness. The alignment that is important to you (which is also what I would have you prioritize) will be derived mostly from the innerspring unit you are using. Durability between the two layers should be comparable.

Phoenix