Hi gellibelly,
There are many brands that make this type of general construction (a few inches of latex over polyfoam with or without some type of quilting layer) but this general construction also has a very wide range of “feel” and performance depending on the specifics of the type of latex used, the ILD (softness/firmness) of the latex, the type and firmness of the polyfoam base layer, the thickness of each layer, and the type and construction of the quilting/ticking layer. All the different layers interact with each other and even in this general “category” of mattress (latex polyfoam hybrid) there is a very wide range of possibilities.
There are so many variables that local testing can give you a general sense of various materials and components but not the specific feel and performance of a particular combination of materials unless they are exactly the same.
For example … if you go to Ergo Sleep Systems here … you will find a de Courcy and Company polyfoam/latex hybrid which has a similar construction but the cover is different, there is no polyfoam quilting layer, the latex is Dunlop and may have a different ILD (firmness level) than any of the options you may choose from Dreamfoam, and the ILD and type of polyfoam in the base layer is unknown. In other words … while this may give you a general sense of the “overall feel” of this type of construction and it may even “match” your needs and preferences … it won’t “match” the specific pressure relief, alignment, and preferences that you may experience in another mattress that uses very similar materials in different versions or firmness levels. With more information about the specifics used in the de Courcy mattress … it could provide a general guideline but it still wouldn’t be a “target” to be “duplicated” which wouldn’t be possible with the different types of materials and components in each mattress even if they are in the same “category”. This is where the knowledge and experience of a manufacturer can come in handy to help you “translate” one type of construction (if you have all the specific details) into another.
Some of the Diamond mattresses also are in this general category of latex/polyfoam mattress (for example the Ethos peace) but again the differences would result in two mattresses that could be very different even though they were “roughly” similar.
Even PLB and (dozens of other manufacturers) has a latex/polyfoam hybrid which is similar (the PLB hybrid 3.0 Harmony has 3’ of talalay latex over a polyfoam core) but it has no quilting layer and the specific details or the “comfort specs” of each layer (such as ILD) are not known.
So to find a mattress in any particular area that was similar (and many of the “brands” that make a mattress like this such as Restonic or Therapedic … which are groups of independent licensee factories that use the same name … can make mattresses differently in each area) would require calling different retail outlets and asking …
and hope that they knew enough about the mattresses they carried to make a suggestion that was accurate. The brand wouldn’t matter (there are dozens who make something similar) … only the construction. The more you know about the details of your local testing … the more valuable it may be as a guideline. The most important information would be the ILD of the comfort layer and the type of latex as these would be two of the most important “comfort specs” and many won’t even know the ILD of the mattresses they carry because it is not a factor in the quality of the mattress. There would also be little reason for them to find out or give them to you when the comfort and support of a mattress can be tested for without knowing these “comfort specs”.
So I would tend to use local testing as a guideline but not as a specific “blueprint” and then you would need to “trust” the guidance of the manufacturer and their ability to help you make the best possible “comfort” decisions based on a combination of your feedback, their knowledge, and the “averages” of their customer base that may have a similar body type or sleeping position to you.
[quote] have read in other posts that PLB tends to be softer than other latex mattresses. Now that we have tested PLB out, should we then go firmer on the ILDs in customizing a mattress from say, SleepEZ, based on the old ILD specs of PLB mattresses that we like (I’m aware the new ILD specs are not readily available for PLB)? I’m deathly afraid of custom ordering a mattress online and then realizing what we thought we wanted isn’t really what we wanted.
In addition, other than SleepEZ, what other good local or online all latex retailers/manufacturers would you recommend that provide good quality and value? [/quote]
The old “specs” of the PLB are in this thread and as you can see they tend to use various layers of 19 ILD on top. The toppers (they are usually 2" and 3") are in the 14 - 15 ILD range. One of the advantages of some of the online manufacturers is that they allow for a layer exchange which means that you can make changes to a specific layer if it doesn’t quite “fit” what you are looking for. Bear in mind too that the 19 ILD latex in the PLB is a bit softer than the “standard” soft layers of many online manufacturers such as SleepEz and also that layer thickness and the layers that are over and under every other layer will affect how the mattress feels and performs. In other words you can’t “isolate” each layer and “duplicate” it without taking into account how every other layer and component affects it. The fact that you liked the PLB Beautiful says you like soft latex and you can take this into account but the Beautiful may also not provide you with the best alignment (unless you specifically tested for this as well and not just “comfort” which is subjective).
The bottom line is that there is really no way to remove the “risk” of an online purchase completely and trying to make it as “safe” as a local purchase just isn’t possible. You can reduce the risk however through seeing “patterns” in your local testing (and many may not have enough time or energy to do local testing that is so extensive and requires a lot of effort to find out specs from many places that may not have them or be willing to provide them) and through the return or exchange policies of various manufacturers that provide recourse after a purchase. These policies and options are all “built in” in varying degrees into the mattress purchase and price of the mattress.
Of course the “benefit” of online manufacturers … especially the better ones … are that they provide a source of quality and value (however each person defines value) to areas of the country where the same type of value may not exist locally. While there is no way to know with absolute certainty how an online mattress may feel and perform (unless you have tested the exact same mattress locally) … the goal is to tilt the odds in your favor of making the best possible choice so that an online purchase is within your own personal “risk tolerance”.
Post #21 here has a list of many of the best online and “on the phone” manufacturers that I know of. All of them are members of this site which means that I think very highly of the quality and value of the mattresses they make and sell along with their knowledge, service, options, and guiidance. There is a wide range of different options, prices, features, and benefits in the list but all of them are among the “best of the best” IMO (which of course is why I invited them to become members).
Phoenix