Advice for Couples Seeking All Natural Latex Options

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

I hope this post helps others as we’ve finally made a decision.

First, background on us: We’re both side sleepers, I’m a 6’ 200 lb male, and she is 5’5" 115 lb. We’re in the market for a latex bed and had, like many other, no idea what we were in for when we started this process months ago. I researched the benefits of latex over other materials, learned about polyfoam corse and the difference in Talalay vs. Dunlop, and the benefits of natural/organic.

We were initially leaning towards Brooklyn Bedding’s Aloe Alexis line, but after speaking with Jacob at BB and hearing him sing the praises of the Essence over Aloe Alexis, I was sold on all natural, particularly with Talalay in the comfort layers. Using this sites membership, I researched many other national dealers, narrowing our list to the following other companies: CozyPure, FloBed, Sleep EZ, and SleepingOrganic.

After further consolidation, we landed on Sleep EZ and the top contender to Brooklyn Bedding and were considering their Organic / Select Sleep 13000 (13") primarily as it offered the most configuration with all natural Talalay throughout (typically more expensive than Dunlop) for a very good price. I still wasn’t sold, but called and spoke with Shawn (Sean?) tonight who was incredibly helpful addressing our concerns (a split mattress? what configurations would be suit us? etc.) and actually talked me out of the 13" and into our ultimate choice: the Sleep EZ Organic / Select Sleep 10000 10" as the only thing we’re giving up is the 3" higher profile and a bit of configuration which really wasn’t relevant for us. Shawn/Sean explained there no difference in durability or comfort between the 10" and the 13". I would be saving a few hundred with the former and my GF and I prefer a lower profile bed so we were sold.

I am 6’ 200 lbs and my GF is 5’5" 115 lbs so we’re getting a Soft (single piece, well glued) top layer followed by a M,F on my side and a S,M on hers — all in natural Talalay. This would give me the option of swapping my bottom layers (to S,F,M) for additional support while still leaving her mind at ease about a single piece top layer (S). Shawn/Sean also said that if I found the S,F,M still too soft, we could ship back the top layer and he would send us a single M-S (glued) top layer to provide me with more support.

So, there you have it. I believe we’re getting an excellent product in 9" of all natural Talalay, with considerable configuration options - particularly when considering returns/exchanges - from a reputable national dealer who, as evidenced by my two phone calls with them tonight (9:00 PM on the East Coast!) has excellent customer service.

I’m curious what others - including the omnipresent Phoenix - have to say and would be happy to answer any questions as undoubtedly many of you are in the same boat!

2

I weigh more than you and I can assure you 10 inches is enough – you could probably get away with even less. Our configuration is simpler – 6 inch split core (my side firm my wife’s miedum) and a 3 inch top soft (I think most woud call it medium) comfort layer. Not sure when all is said and done all the permutations splitting things into three layers really translate into all that much difference, that was basically the advice I got from Ken at Arizona Mattress. Also my research and discussions convinced me Dunlop was a better choice for a core but that’s whole nother can of worms.

3

Hi idlewild,

Needless to say … I think very highly of SleepEZ (and Shawn) and it sounds like you did some great research and made some good comparisons and ended up making a purchase that is the best “match” for you based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

In other words … I think you made a great choice … and congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

I also think that you are nowhere near the weight range where you would “need” 12" of latex.

I hope you have the chance to share your comments and feedback once you’ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on your new mattress for a bit.

Phoenix

4

Awesome - thanks for your reply.

So, to be clear, you’re one solid 3" (Talalay?) latex Soft over 6" Dunlop latex split: Firm for you and Medium for her? I went with S-M-F for me and S-S-M for her primarily to keep the single piece (even though it’s glued as it’s Talalay) on the top layer – my GF has a thing about a split comfort layer. One of my concerns is that the Soft will be too soft for me, even if I put a Firm underneath it…

I had thought the same and specifically mentioned this to Shawn at Sleep EZ but he convinced me to get Talalay (which is actually more expensive for him than the Dunlop). I can’t remember exactly what he said, but I know he commented about how Talalay is more “consistent” throughout, noting that I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference in firmness between 3 pieces of Talalay with the same ILD whereas I might with Dunlop since Talalay is flash frozen.

Phoenix, care to weigh in here too?

Thanks again!

5

I definitely will do.

And one recommendation for your site - especially since it helped me (and others) so much - would be to turn on auto-subscribe such that the “Subscribe: Check this box to be notified of replies to this topic.” is checked by default. It would help alert members to when other’s post questions regarding their previously posts, many of which are from 1+ years ago…

6

Hi idlewild,

I would treat the choice between Talalay and Dunlop as a preference choice … not as a “better/worse” choice in either the comfort or support layers of a mattress (see post #7 here).

I thought about this when I first started the site but in the end I decided to make the subscriptions “opt in” rather than “opt out” so that the members have complete control over the forum posts or categories they are subscribed to. I thought it would be less “intrusive” that way (although I still go back and forth to some degree in my thoughts about this).

Phoenix

7

Im comparing these beds too, i’d ruled out SleepEz because of higher cost. But their adjustment system is pretty slick. to be clear these are the two mattress we are talking about:

https://www.sleepez.com/latex-mattress-9000.htm 8" 3 +3 +2

Latex Mattresses On Sale - Latex Mattress Toppers - Phoenix, AZ 8" latex 6+2

Prices KING size.

Sleep Ez : 1800.00 free shipping
Arizona : 1395.00 +150 shipping = 1545.00

Quality of materials is equal.
Is the sleep ez layer system worth an extra 255$ is the question.

as a wild card you can upgrade the Arizona to a 6+3 configuration for 9" of latex for 100$ more.
the 2 free pillows do add significant value to the Sleep Ez deal as well

but wait, it does get more confusing.

you can get 9" of latex from Arizona in the 6+3 for 1645.00
Sleep ez is either 8" or 10" and 10" will cost you 1995.00

Arizona’s 3" Latex over Pocket coil is 1420$ delivered.

take another 5% off everything above for MU.

8

Hi Elderblaze,

Just for the sake of clarity … SleepEZ has either a 9" mattress that has 8" of latex or a 10" mattress that has 9" of latex.

This would depend on the parts of each person’s personal value equation that are most important to them which may include delivery times, any bonuses that come with the mattress, the options that are available to customize the mattress after a purchase by either rearranging or exchanging layers and the costs involved for any layer exchange if that becomes necessary, the specifics of the return policy and the costs involved, and any of the other objective, subjective, or intangible factors that are involved with a mattress purchase that may be important to each person.

Phoenix

9

So I haven’t pulled the trigger just yet (despite my GF’s now amplified pressure, because I’m really unsure of the layering and latex types.

I thought I was set on an entire Talalay: S-S-M for her and S-M-F for me, but after reading THIS I believe we may want our second and third layers - still going with the SleepEZ 10000 / 10" to be Dunlop for extra firmness.

Phoenix, I read your post regarding the different latex types, Dunlop vs. Talalay, and noted this bit:

“one is not ‘necessarily’ better than another in either pressure relief or support layers if the right layering or ILD is chosen for each … but you may need to choose a softer ILD with Dunlop than with Talalay to get similar pressure relief in the comfort layers or a firmer Talalay vs Dunlop to get similar levels of support in the support layers. A “one step” difference in ILD which would be about 4 - 5 ILD would be “in the range” for most people where they felt similar.”

I believe we’re set on Talalay as the top layer, but now might go with a Medium versus a Soft. And then for the 2nd and 3rd layers, I might feel that we have to go with Dunlop especially if we choose Soft Talalay on the top.

Ugh…

10

Hi idlewild,

I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding … and of course the ultimate test of your choices which is when you actually get to sleep on it and decide on how well the initial layering you chose works for you.

Phoenix

11

I spoke with Shawn again and they (Sleep EZ) has the following ILDs in stock for their Talalay latex mattresses:

Soft = 20
Medium = 30
Firm = 40
Extra = 44

This is on the higher (firmer) side, and although I think I would prefer to sleep on a Medium, I’m going to give the Soft a try to keep a single consistency on the top layer. Shawn also advised that Dunlop consistency can vary greatly so he strongly advised keeping with Talalay.

I don’t want to, but I know I’m most likely going to have to return one or more layers but it’s worth it to get that perfect fit.

What did you think of the Savvy Rest “How to Choose” page?

12

I’ve only worked with Dunlop latex, so I’m only going to comment on their top two models.

I have found that a Soft/Medium/Firm combination is a common choice. Maybe 60% of all Queens and Kings pick that combination. Among my customers, Soft is chosen as a top layer about 70% of the time.

The customers that have picked a Soft/Soft/Medium or Firm tend to not be any smaller bodied than usual, maybe short, but not necessarily having a dainty build.

In my experience only and we have a small shop, so my experience is limited, only 1/4 customers who have significant pain from car accidents or fibromyalgia have found latex to be comfortable. Now if the lady who had fibromyalgia had only been feeling well enough to try out the wool topper, she might have found a working option.