My GF and I tested out some mattresses at sleepworkny in Massapequa NY. Nice salesman Joe.
After trying a number of latex and latex/coil hybrids we liked the PLB Nature. This is: [ul]
[li]10" Mattress Height[/li]
[li]4" Pressure Relief Layer: Talalay Latex[/li]
[li]6" Support Core: Talalay Latex[/li]
[/ul]
I can’t really figure out what the cover is made of…except that it’s washable and there is no layer of wool. Not sure if this will make the mattress sleep hotter. Not sure what ILD the layers are.
Phoenix, I get the sense that you feel there are more reasonably priced choices for the same construction. What other choices to I have?
edit: I just found these items in another thread:
This is not 100% organic latex but a blend
The layers are:
2" ActiveFusion Fast Natural Talalay 21 ILD
2" Natural Talalay Pressure Relief 28 ILD
6" Natural Talalay Latex Support Core 36 ILD
Now I’m thinking that for what this costs, it should be 100% natural not a blend
[quote]I can’t really figure out what the cover is made of…except that it’s washable and there is no layer of wool. Not sure if this will make the mattress sleep hotter. Not sure what ILD the layers are.
Phoenix, I get the sense that you feel there are more reasonably priced choices for the same construction. What other choices to I have?[/quote]
In general there are 3 ways to buy a mattress and each person may be more comfortable with one or the other of them based on their risk tolerance or the parts of their personal value equation that are most important to them. One is making a purchase of a local mattress that you have carefully tested and are confident that is a good match for you in terms of PPP. The second would be an online choice where you use your local testing and any other information that may be helpful to choose a mattress from an online retailer or manufacturer that you believe would be functionally similar to the one you tested in terms of PPP (and in the case of a latex mattress this may be a component mattress where you have the option of choosing the firmness of one or more of the layers). The final way would be a complete DIY mattress where you buy the exact same materials and components (or as close as you can) and put the mattress together yourself. There is more about these options in post #2 here.
There is also more about the different ways that one mattress can “match” another one in post #9 here and the posts it links to.
If the PLB Nature is the best of your local finalists and you are confident in your testing and are most comfortable with buying the actual PLB Nature vs a different mattress then post #32 here includes several PLB dealers that can ship across the country that you can use for value comparisons (make sure you call them because the listed prices for PLB are controlled and may not be the actual selling prices).
If you are comfortable with an online component latex mattress that would be similar in terms of PPP but may not be exactly the same and where you have the option of customizing the layers both before and after a purchase if you need to then I would consider some of the manufacturers or retailers that are members here that sell latex mattresses online. There is a link to a list of them in the tutorial post.
If you are comfortable with the additional risks of a complete DIY mattress and any extra research, testing, or trial and error that may be involved along with any extra costs involved if one of your layers needs to be changed for something else (if there is no refund policy) then a DIY approach may be the best approach for you and the component post here has some of the better sources I’m aware of.
The PLB Nature uses blended Talalay. You can read more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here.
You have lots of good options … but which one is “best for you” really depends on which direction you are most comfortable with.
[quote=“matressgeek” post=35949]My GF and I tested out some mattresses at sleepworkny in Massapequa NY. Nice salesman Joe.
After trying a number of latex and latex/coil hybrids we liked the PLB Nature. This is: [ul]
[li]10" Mattress Height[/li]
[li]4" Pressure Relief Layer: Talalay Latex[/li]
[li]6" Support Core: Talalay Latex[/li]
[/ul]
I can’t really figure out what the cover is made of…except that it’s washable and there is no layer of wool. Not sure if this will make the mattress sleep hotter. Not sure what ILD the layers are.
Phoenix, I get the sense that you feel there are more reasonably priced choices for the same construction. What other choices to I have?
edit: I just found these items in another thread:
This is not 100% organic latex but a blend
The layers are:
2" ActiveFusion Fast Natural Talalay 21 ILD
2" Natural Talalay Pressure Relief 28 ILD
6" Natural Talalay Latex Support Core 36 ILD
Now I’m thinking that for what this costs, it should be 100% natural not a blend
Thanks,
Charlie…[/quote]
I built my own Latex Bliss “Beautiful” model knock off at less than 1/3 the cost and of higher quality regarding materials - 3" each of 19ILD, 28, 36 Latex Intl. talalay. The ActiveFusion is a marketing tool according to experts I’ve talked to. Here’s photos and construction details of mine -https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/mattress-cover
The blend is a better product than the 100% natural.
I don’t know what was the price of the Nature, but you should be able to find it for a little less then 2$k. Never pay the retail price for a mattress. I was able to get it for 2050$ here in Canada, so it should be less in USA.
I would keep in mind that what is best or “better” for one person may not be “better” or even suitable for someone else and each person may have unique needs and preferences and their own set of criteria and personal value equation which is important to them.
I know you are well meaning and excited about the mattress you built but I just wanted to add a caution that the goal of the forum is to help people make informed choices based on their own unique needs and preferences and the parts of their personal value equation that are important to them and some of your posts are on the edge of being overly promotional (either about the specific DIY design you built, materials, or a company) which is against the rules of the forum and some of the information you are providing is only “partly correct”.
Phoenix, you are the man and take into consideration folks personal choices as good as any. He asked about a Latex Bliss mattress and that’s what I built while profiling their upscale model, the “Beautiful”. If you don’t want me to express my happiness (as many others have here) then I’ll shut up.
Blended is better than natural in the real world. Now, if you’re into the religious paradigm of “pure” , “organic” and “natural” thing, then no, you don’t have the mindset to accept a blend no matter how much better it is. For starts, there is no such thing as “pure” and “natural” as pointed out so well by diynaturalbedding here → https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/organic-latex-mattresses-information-overload
(My spanking should have been done via a PM IMO.) B)
The mattress you built was different from the PLB Beautiful although it was certainly in the same softness range. I always appreciate any of the form members that “express their happiness” with what they built but when you are new at this and don’t have a great deal of experience with mattress design and theory it’s easy to forget that what works for you may not work for someone else and that a DIY construction can be a risky choice for some people. The price of the individual components in a mattress are only part of the “value” of a purchase and each person can have very different criteria about what represents good value based on their own personal value equation.
Sharing your thoughts about your own choices and making specific recommendations for someone else based on a limited amount of knowledge and experiences are also different from each other and if something works well for you or if you are excited about the outcome of the choices you made it doesn’t indicate that your choices may work out as well for someone else.
There can be a fine line between sharing your experiences and making specific recommendations and it’s a line that I keep a close eye on in the forum so that it doesn’t turn into some of the other forums I’ve been part of (see post #2 here) where it can become difficult to differentiate between opinion and fact.
If by “better” you mean more durable then in the case of Latex International then their blended is more durable than their natural (especially in the lower ILD’s). There are many other definitions of “better” though outside of durability that have to do with feel or performance or even personal preference and there are also other differences between 100% natural Talalay and blended Talalay that may be important for some people that makes one “better” than the other in their specific application. What is true for Latex International’s Talalay may not be accurate for other materials or manufacturers either. This is not a “religious paradigm” as you put it … it’s a legitimate preference that each person needs to decide for themselves. As you are pointing out as well … 100% natural means that all the rubber in a core is natural rubber vs a blend so from this perspective (which is the normal usage in the industry) there is certainly 100% natural latex although rubber is not the only material in any latex core (see post #7 here).
It wasn’t a “spanking” … just a caution to be careful to express your opinions or experiences as being applicable to you and not to cross the fine line into “promotion”. My “working assumption” is that all the members here have read the rules of the forum and my reply needed to be visible so that the information you posted was “corrected” so that others that read it realize that some of it may not have been completely accurate or relevant to their own unique circumstances.
I am always grateful when the members here post about their thoughts or experiences and these can benefit all of the other members as well but it’s important that opinions are expressed clearly as opinions rather than as fact and that they take into account that each person can be very different from others when it comes to a mattress that is suitable or is the best “value” for them.