Any Vendors Send Samples?

I’m still considering how to tweak my Dunlop mattress a bit, still not sure exactly how/what. I’m still sleeping cold, but more bothersome I’m still having days when I wake up with hip pain on the side I usually sleep on, and the pain today has radiated all the way to my knee, which isn’t making me a happy camper. Right or wrong, I’m convinced that the pain is far more likely, in my case, to come from too firm rather than too soft a comfort layer. I figure if there’s one thing I’ve learned in nearly 63 years, it’s how my body reacts to things. I’m more concerned about the possible lack of pressure relief (my shoulder doesn’t seem to sink in as much as I’d like as well as the hip pain) than about temperature - I know the possible fixes for that, and will try flannel sheets first.

My daughter has already ordered me a great set of flannel sheets for Christmas, and I know if I ask nicely she’ll hand them over as an early present . . . I know they’re good quality flannel because I ordered her a set in a different colour, and already have those.

I’ve never even felt of Talalay latex, which led me to wonder if there are any of the online vendors who make a habit of sending out small sample pieces of their latex on request. I’d at least like to see what Talalay feels like, compared to the soft Dunlop I have. If I wanted to try a Talalay topper, I don’t even know what ILD would be a little softer than the 16-18 ILD that my Dunlop comfort layer claims to be . . . I’d bet 14 ILD would be softer in Talalay, but don’t know how 19 ILD Talalay would compare. Don’t know how much I would be able to tell from a sample, but I would like to know it if is even a possibility. Your opinion on that would be welcome, Phoenix.

I can’t find anywhere relatively nearby that sells Talalay latex except the store that sells the Pure Nature Bliss line. Phoenix, I don’t suppose you know of any of the stores in the Roanoke VA or Greensboro NC area who sell natural Talalay? I don’t want a blend - for no other reason than I just don’t want it, but want a natural product (or as close to one as there is). I almost hate to go to the store with the PLB line, as I might lie on one of their beds and like it too much - and it would be hard to tell how their 14 ILD topper would feel on top of my Dunlop bed since they don’t sell beds the equivalent of mine.

If I were to decide to try a softer latex topper, I think 2" would be sufficient - I know I don’t want to mess up the good alignment I have now by going with anything too thick.
So far, it seems that a 2" natural Talalay topper is relatively hard to find, and the few I have found seemed quite expensive. I’d also want to source a cover for it.

Part of me says I should leave well enough alone, and then there are days like today when that radiating hip pain tells me that I’m going to have to try something sooner or later. Like dn, it’s a matter of “feed the OCD” - I already know the OCD isn’t going to go away, so may as well try to ease the hunger pangs.

Hi Clawdia, we ordered both the large natural and large blended samples from flobeds for comparison.

https://www.flobeds.com/products/samples.htm

It is hard to fine 2" toppers but you might want to check Sleep EZ 3" talaly topper.

Hi clawdia,

I don’t know which vendors send out samples off the top of my head but a quick call to each one you are considering would quickly find out.

I would be very cautious though because pushing down or squeezing a small sample with your hand is very different from sleeping on it because ILD is only part of what makes one layer feel softer or firmer than another. In general though 14 ILD Talalay will be about the softest latex you will find with the possible exception of some of the newer continuous pour Dunlop versions which are softer than most of the molded Dunlop. 19 ILD Talalay would probably be a little softer than 16 - 18 ILD Dunlop for most people. I know that SLAB sells samples here but the site says they are out of 2" and 3" versions so I don’t know what the thickness would be. I would personally test out Talalay as a complete topper or as the top layer of a mattress rather than a sample because it will give you a much better sense of what it feels like to sleep on and even blended talalay will give you a reasonable idea of the “feel” of 100% natural Talalay since they are very similar.

I have a box of twelve different 4" x 4" x 4" samples of blended and 100% natural Talalay (from Radium) and while I can tell the difference between them there is no way I would be able to tell what they are like to sleep on from squeezing samples.

Pure Latex Bliss makes a 2" and a 3" blended Talalay topper that is 14 ILD, a Talalay GL fast response gel Talalay topper that is 15ILD, and a 100% natural Talalay topper that is N1 which is in the range of mid - upper teens. There is a retail store finder on their site here that will tell you the closest stores that carry them and a call will tell you which ones they carry.

There is a list for the Greensboro / High Point, NC area in post #2 here and for the Roanoke area in post #5 here but you would need to call them to find out what type of toppers they may carry.

There is a list in post #4 here of topper and component sources and some of them sell 100% natural Talalay but as you mentioned it’s generally more costly than 100% natural Dunlop or blended Talalay.

Phoenix

I received 4" x 4" x 3" “soft” talalay and “medium” dunlop samples from Savvy Rest - both all-natural. Free of charge :slight_smile: They’re very reluctant to reveal ILDs…I may have to kidnap someone and interrogate them :evil: :wink:

All you need is 300 of those 4"x4" units and voila, a queen sized layer :wink:

Also yes, feeding the OCD machine is easier than stopping it… Plus, no harm is making the perfect bed and experimenting the whole way there :slight_smile:

Hi dn,

I think my whole life is one big experiment sometimes … but there’s never enough time to experiment with everything that I want to try :slight_smile:

I guess that’s where imagination and dreams come into play :slight_smile:

Phoenix

I do know that there’s no way to extrapolate from a sample what a queen size slab would be like - but I’ve never even touched Talalay. A sample wouldn’t tell me it would be a good thing, but what I was thinking is that it might tell me if I couldn’t stand the feel of the stuff even in a small piece. I can make up my mind very quickly when I run into something I don’t like.

Since my insurance deductible is paid for the first time ever ($2500 annual deductible), I think I’m going to go see my doc and ask if he’ll order a series of hip x-rays - may as well make sure there isn’t something else going on that’s causing this kind of pain.

Best I can tell by going thru the lists of nearby vendors, none of them sell natural Talalay - closest is the Pure Bliss line, and I didn’t know they had a 2" topper - maybe I’ll give that store in Greensboro a call, although I’d not buy from them, I might at least be able to get a feel of it. There’s a Savvy Rest dealer up in Floyd, VA, but I prefer talking to folks who aren’t reluctant to reveal information.

I wish I had unlimited funds - I’d be doing all sorts of experimenting, to the point where it would probably turn into an ongoing hobby of sorts (know what I mean, dn and Phoenix?). :slight_smile:

At this point, the only way I can test out a Talalay layer on top of the exact mattress I have is to buy a topper and see how it works. I saw that SleepEZ, I think, has a sale on a 3" Talalay topper, but they don’t say on the website what ILD it is, or even if there’s a choice of firmness.

I confess to a massive case of telephone-phobia - most days, I’d literally rather take a beating than make a phone call. Seems to be a result of a horrid case of encephalitis I had back in 2003, when I ran a fever of exactly 103.9F for more than a month - after a year, I recovered to about 80% of my baseline, but that’s as good as it’s ever going to get. Humans just aren’t constructed to run that kind of fever without residual damage.

All I can do is be glad I had a better functioning brain than a lot of people before I got sick, because otherwise I’d probably be a blithering idiot unable even to write a coherent post. Writing has been much easier than talking since that episode, so whenever possible I write instead of talk.

Does anyone know what SleepEZ’s return or exchange policy is on toppers?

@Phoenix, Clawdia,

Re experimenting, I’ve got 2 completely different 3" layers coming in to try (I’ll pull a 3" layer out of my bed to try). So definitely have next round of things I’m seeing.

The most experimental of them is an attempt at the westbury II top feeling, so I got a 2.5" convoluted polyfoam (2.8 lbs density, 35 ifd, CertiPUR, hd36-hq), over which I’m putting 0.5" polyfoam, (2.8 lbs density, 50 ifd, certipur, lux-hq). A bit of a dominating layer there. Used foam by mail… I know that’s really risky based on your experience, Phoenix, but it was a third the local shop cost and polyfoam only, so if it’s throw away material I’m fine. Of course, who removes high quality latex to try polyfoam? That person would be me :wink: I can’t very well write about this stuff without trying it! And who knows, i might like it too!

So far, I’ve got/tried

  • Dunlop of various layering
  • wool, 3"
  • soon to be polyfoam in a interesting layering
  • and I’m half convinced I need a LAtex international N2 3" to try also… That may be next acquisition!

Hi Clawdia,

They allow 90 day returns less shipping costs.

The rough ILD’s for their standard toppers are listed here.

Phoenix

Thanks, Phoenix - I may have to conquer the phone fear long enough to give them a call. I didn’t really expect that anyone allowed return on toppers - everything I’ve seen calls them a “personal item” or some such, and makes 'em a case of once you buy it, it’s yours. If they’d take a return, I might be willing to risk shipping costs to try it.

I see their range - don’t know if a 19-22 Talalay would be softer than my Dunlop mattress or not. It would be different, I guess. I’d really like more of a sinking-in feeling than I’m getting now. The all natural Talalay I saw in a queen there was $500 - and then there’s a topper I saw advertised as $340, but it didn’t give ILDs or softness indications at all, so I don’t even know if there’s a choice on that one.
(I know - one way to find out is pick up the phone and call.)

I thought I’d seen somewhere that they offered a 14 ultra soft, but then I think I saw that Shaun was discouraging someone on that one - now, I don’t see it, so maybe I was looking at another vendor.

Hi Clawdia,

They could special order it but you’re right that they (and other manufacturers as well) normally tend to discourage using the softest latex because it’s less durable than firmer latex and can also be more risky with alignment.

Phoenix