Now, I will say that if I had all the knowledge I have now, I would saved the money and went with a 3 inch soft dunlop instead of the talalay underneath the serene foam topper. Why? Because to be frank, I don’t think most anyone would notice much of a difference underneath any type of memory foam. The serene foam is no exception. In fact, it deadens the bounce quite a bit but doesn’t completely eliminate it. IMO, it gives a great sweet spot.
So, during this process, I had seen someone in my area on facebook marketplace selling their lightly used 2 inch soft dunlop from (puregreen sleeponlatex). I decided to buy it as he was only selling it for 50 bucks. It was a great deal. Well, with this I was able to try out a bunch of different configurations. I came to the conclusion that the 2 inch talalay i bought for testing didn’t feel all that different from the 2 inch dunlop at the same ILD. If I were to have no memory foam at the top, I would still opt for the talalay in the comfort layer as it is slightly more comfortable and soft feeling than the dunlop. However, it’s really not as big a difference as you would think. And if it’s underneath a memory foam layer, I’d wager most people couldn’t tell the difference. One reason I’m not upset that I have the 3 inch soft talalay layer instead of dunlop as i’ve read it is quite a bit more durable and will last longer. Which is great for any comfort layer. I want durability.
However, my advice to you is to save your money and go with 3 dunlop layers underneath a 1-2 inch memory foam layer on top. And I would highly recommend serene foam for that. The cost difference is pretty huge. But if you still want to put a soft talalay like I have, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed either. Going with talalay at the core really seems like a total waste of money to me and will make your bed bouncier, and that is something you stated you really aren’t a fan of.
Best of luck to you in your mattress experience! Let me know if you have any other questions for me :).
It’s great to see that you’re zoning in on your ideal DIY mattress build - thanks for keeping the forum up to date on your progress and decision points! Please do let us know what mattress encasement you decide on and report on how it affects the overall comfort of your mattress.
Similar to you, I found that the difference in feel between the Talalay and Dunlop latex was not as significant as I expected. I wasn’t able to make an apples to apples comparison as the Talalay and Dunlop layers I ordered were different ILDs, but it did make me wonder whether the additional expense of Talalay was worth it in the end. I’m sure some folks can feel the difference more notably than I can, but my experience was similar to yours.
If there were only a “DIY Mattress Showroom” where you could assemble, try out and price various layer combinations (including different mattress encasements) before ordering the component parts - now that would be something!
Omg you are so right. Such a thing doesn’t exist. Just like, have your own DIY mattress store. Where people could test out any number of configurations, and buy it all directly there at the store. Not just latex, but different memory and poly foams and encasements. You could definitely charge a premium as well. I feel like it’s an untapped market. Someone has to have thought of it before… I wonder.
Emily that would be amazing! Talk about a Goldilocks experience!!
Gormeroth, one other question: What is your rationale on using a 3" core instead of a 6"? Most of the builds I’ve seen have a 6" core followed by 2-3" of transition layer then 2-3" comfort layer. Based on the experiences you’ve mentioned, I wonder if one would feel any difference between 3" vs 6. Obviously it’s an easy way to trim off some unnecessary expense if the 3" feels the same.
From my reading, the differences are pretty negligible for 2x 3" vs 1x 6" core. Also, i wanted a more smooth support transition from 3 inches of firm to 3 inches of medium. Something that can’t be done with a single 6 inch core. It would have to be either medium or firm. I look at the bottom six inches as core. So if it was 2 inch layers, i’d have 3x 2 inch cores. I think it just comes down to personal preference. 2x 3 inch core layers just made the most sense to me.
Oh I see! Yes I’ve seen several members suggesting using two 3" layers instead of a 6" layer for the core for further versatility. I didn’t take into account your memory foam serving as your comfort layer and soft Talalay as an additional comfort layer or transition layer.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts after you apply your encasement!
[quote=“GeauxTigers” post=86658]Oh I see! Yes I’ve seen several members suggesting using two 3" layers instead of a 6" layer for the core for further versatility. I didn’t take into account your memory foam serving as your comfort layer and soft Talalay as an additional comfort layer or transition layer.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts after you apply your encasement![/quote]
So I’m trying to decide on an encasement. Likely the 40/60 Organic Cotton Case. A real issue I’m having now is whether to get a 9 inch encasement for my latex and just treat my 2 inch serene foam as a literal topper on top of the encasement, or to get an 11 inch and have it be as part of the mattress.
I am wondering if it affects overall comfort. The reason I’m considering a 9 inch encasement for the latex layers itself is because my brother and his wife visits from out of town and are on the heavier side. so if i have to give up my bed, and i know they prefer a more firm mattress. So pulling the serene foam off would be an easy fix… so i’m not sure.
I imagine placing the serene foam topper on top of vs within the encasement would affect the overall feel slightly. Which placement will feel better to you is hard to predict. Maybe you could simulate the difference by placing a flannel or jersey knit fitted sheet over the latex layers then compare putting the serene foam on top to within the fitted sheet?
If you think that putting the serene foam within the encasement feels better, then I don’t think this precludes you from removing the serene foam when family visits. Having an encasement that’s a couple of inches taller than its contents for a few nights doesn’t seem like that big of a deal in my unprofessional opinion :).
I believe I already mentioned the expandable knit ticking that DIY Natural Bedding sells, which would be another option that would give you some flexibility (albeit for an upcharge).
Based on information from Roger with SleepEZ, by placing your topper on top of the encasement instead of within it, you get a more plush conforming feel. He was referring to a Talalay topper but I would think the same would apply to a memory foam topper