Hi ATX2014,
[quote]At Austin Natural Mattress, I really liked the “Nature” by PureLatex Bliss on sale for $2,219. I have a feeling you may have some familiarity with this bed, but the specs are pretty simple:
Mattress Design:
10" Mattress Height
4" Pressure Relief Layer: Talalay Latex
6" extra firm talalay latex support layer
All from Latex International which owns PureLatex Bliss as you likely know.[/quote]
You can see the specs of the Nature here. It uses blended Talalay and Talalay GL fast response (which is blended Talalay with a phase change gel added into the latex) in the top layer which are all good quality materials and there are no weak links in this mattress.
[quote]At Sleep RITE, I liked two variations of basically the same bed - the Lake Travis (12" on sale for $2,100) and the Lake Austin (10" on sale for $1,800). Also pretty simple specs:
Made from Natural Talalay Latex:
36-lb all latex core with…
Three 2" 26-lb comfort layers (the smaller Lake Austin only has two of the 2" comfort labels).
Also has an organic cotton bamboo cover.
He mentioned the manufacturer, but I unfortunately didn’t write it down. I know their latex has preservatives unlike Austin Natural, but not sure that bothers me too much though I would generally prefer less chemicals. 12 year complete warranty, plus 2 years prorated.[/quote]
The name of the manufacturer isn’t as important as the type and quality of the materials. This mattress also uses Talalay latex but they don’t specify whether it’s blended or 100% natural (when Talalay latex is called “natural” it often refers to blended Talalay and if it’s called “all natural” or “100% natural” refers to latex that only uses natural rubber). If it’s the blended Talalay it would be the same material as in the Pure Latex Bliss Nature (except it doesn’t have the top layer of Talalay GL) and if it’s the 100% natural it would be the more costly 100% natural latex.
I’m not sure what you mean by “preservatives” in the latex. All latex uses some kind of antioxidant or antiozonate in the formulation to protect it from oxidation.
There are no weak links in either of these mattresses either.
All of these mattresses would certainly be well worth considering.
Phoenix