Almost ready to buy! All-latex...some final advice requested

[phoenix]

Hi spup345,

He read the Ergonomics of Sleeping or something along those lines

This is probably the book he meant and it’s one of the best on the topic and is really in depth and informative

-Radium Talalay – Is it good (high quality, durable, etc.)?

Yes … you can read more about the different types of latex in post #6 here but Radium makes great quality Talalay and they have also told me that the softer versions of their 100% natural uses a special curing paste so that it has the equivalent durability to their blended Talalay.

-Their latex base was, he believed, from Latex International in the US because he said it would be too $$ to get the quality of the Radium to serve as the full thick base. Latex International he said was the most cost effective way to have a firm Talalay base upon which they can put the higher quality Radium. Is this all accurate? Should I have concerns about the base?

They would know more than I would about which type of Talalay they use in their base layers.

-He said that Dunlop typically has clay in it and it will wear down over time (clay will settle to the bottom, end up on the floor over time, that Talalay doesn’t have this issue). Is this accurate? If yes, does it apply to all Dunlops (specifically, the Sleeptek Sri Lanka Dunlop in the Oyasumi @ Clean Bedroom)? If yes, is Talalay the more durable/longer lasting purchase then?

I treat 100% natural Dunlop (which typically doesn’t include clay which is a filler) and blended Talalay as being equivalent in terms of durability. 100% natural Talalay would be a little less durable although Radium have told me they compensate for this with a different curing past. None of the better quality 100% Dunlop manufacturers use clay fillers as far as I know (including the better known manufacturers like Arpico or Latex Green or CoCo latex).

-Their mattresses are 10-yr warranty…does that mean I’ll need a new mattress or topper or coils after 10-years to due gradual wear/tear? Would the all-latex mattress get me more longevity than the Oslo w/ the coil base? (The good thing is their cover zips open so I can change out the base or topper whenever I want he said instead of buying a whole new mattress…)

Warranties have nothing to do with how long a mattress will last any specific person or when they may need to be replaced (see post #174 here). You can read more about the factors that affect the relative durability and the useful life of a mattress in post #4 here. With a component mattress then yes you can just replace the layers which have softened or broken down without replacing the whole mattress.

Not entirely relevant, but I’m curious about this:
-He said that athletes/etc. tend to like the Stockholm for its firmness because if you are very muscular/strong/heavy, firm body on firm base (lots of coils in Stockholm) gives you less of a “bruising feeling” than firm body on a softer base because the softer materials can feel like they are pushing against your body (I guess like the princess & the pea concept in reverse)…is this accurate in general?

They would know more about the body types that their mattresses “fit” on average than I would but what they are saying makes sense to me because athletes tend to be more “finely tuned” and sensitive to sleeping out of alignment.

-Total cost w/ foundation & delivery was about 1/2 that of the Oyasumi at Clean Bedroom. Isn’t Talalay more generally more $$ than Dunlop? Is there any fundamental reason why the Oyasumi (Sleeptek Euro II) would or should cost 2x the BE All Talalay latex bed (i.e. ~$3500 vs. ~1800)? He seemed to indicate they use similar quality materials to something like a Duxiana but some folks like paying through the nose because they think it speaks to quality…

100% natural Talalay is generally a more costly material than 100% natural Dunlop yes although the cover and quilting and the other parts of a mattress’ construction and materials can also have a significant effect on the price of a mattress and like any industry there are many other differences between the pricing policies and costs, and margins of different retailers and manufacturers that are included in the cost of a mattress. These kind of differences are not uncommon in the industry (which is why it’s always a good idea to make some careful comparisons) but which one is the “best value” for you would depend on all the criteria of your personal value equation that were most important to you … including the price of course.

I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding

Phoenix