Brooklyn Bedding Natural Latex vs. Total Latex vs. Dreamfoam Total Latex (only available on Amazon)

Hi RohitK89,

There is more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here, more about 100% natural Dunlop vs Talalay in post #2 here, more about natural vs blended Talalay in post #2 here and more about natural vs synthetic rubber in post #2 here. There is also more about the difference in “feel” between Dunlop and Talalay in post #7 here. For the most part … it comes down to a preference based on feel and performance, budget, or on how important a “natural” material would be for someone for personal reasons rather than a “better/worse” choice in terms of durability.

I’m not sure what you mean because it’s still listed on their Amazon site as it has been in the past. It’s listed on page 2 in this view of their products and is on page 2 in this view as well. It’s also on the Brooklyn Bedding site as well and is one of the mattresses that is available through both of the two sister companies. Their Dreamfoam site only lists a few of their mattresses but all of them can be ordered there for those that wish to have their 45 day comfort guarantee or want to take advantage of any specials they are currently running. They are the same regular price on both the Dreamfoam and the Brooklyn Bedding sites but the return and exchange options are different with each and they both have different specials from time to time. You can see the current Dreamfoam special for mattresses ordered on their Dreamfoam site on their faceboook page here and the current Brooklyn Bedding specials are here.

Phoenix

Thanks for the response, Phoenix! Yeah, I was thrown by the total latex no longer being on Dreamfoam’s website. What are your personal thoughts on the quality of the natural latex mattress offered by Brooklyn Bedding?

Also, they are currently running a special where they’re offering $150 any mattress. In your experience, is this a good deal, is there a chance of a better deal around Black Friday?

EDIT : For anyone looking to buy the mattress, I chatted with Brooklyn Bedding’s support, and they told me that they are going to offer $200 off + 2 free shredded latex pillows as a Black Friday deal (instead of the current $150 + 2 pillows deal). If you chat with them or call them, they’ll apply it to your order now.

HiRohitK89,

As you probably know Brooklyn Bedding is a member of this site which means that I think highly of them and I believe they compete well with the best in the industry.

My thoughts about a mattress always depend on the materials that are inside it and in the case of the Essence Natural Latex Mattress it uses 3" of 100% natural Talalay on top of 6" of 100% natural Dunlop with an organic cotton cover quilted with wool. All of these are high quality materials and there are no weak links in the mattress and they would be very similar in terms of durability so the choice between them would really be a matter of preference (which type of latex you prefer) and budget.

There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here but the value of a mattress purchase is always relative to how it compares to the other finalists you are considering when you are making your final choice (see post #2 here).

Thanks for letting us know about the upcoming Black Friday sale :).

Phoenix

Thanks again, Phoenix.

So today after work, the wife and I went to a couple of brick and mortar stores here in the city. We went to Room & Board (http://www.roomandboard.com/) and Dixie Foam (http://www.dixiefoam.com/).

Dixie Foam only had two latex mattresses, and they were both 6" Talalay single-piece construction mattresses. One was on the “soft” side, the other on “medium” I was told that the medium was about 4 lbs/cubic foot.

Room & Board offers a natural latex mattress (http://www.roomandboard.com/catalog/bedroom/room-and-board-mattresses/natural-latex-mattress). It’s “dual-sided”, and they say you can flip it over to get either soft or medium. They said the soft is 2lb/cubic foot (didn’t know about the medium).

I tried all of the above, and I think I felt best on the Dixie Foam medium mattress. It’s hard to judge though, since that’s essentially just lying on a 6" piece of foam without any topper. On the Room & Board ones, though, even on the firm side, I felt like I sagged a bit in the middle.

Some pics : https://imgur.com/a/fwE7Y

Thoughts?

I like Dixie Foam, since they quoted me a price of $2500 to get a 10" custom mattress made, but I don’t think it’s natural latex.

Room & Board offers a better seeming mattress, but it’s about $2700, delivery and taxes included. However, they offer a full return and refund policy, which is kinda enticing.

I’m pretty conflicted. I realize the final decision has to be mine, but if you have any advice that could help guide towards the best call, that’d be pretty appreciated.

Hi RohitK89,

The density of latex is a “comfort spec” and isn’t particularly important because when you are testing a mattress in person careful testing and your body will do a better ob of telling you whether a mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP. With polyfoam and memory foam density is a “quality spec” and is important to know because it’s the single most important spec that determines the quality/durability of the material. There is more about the specs of the materials and components in a mattress that you would need to identify any lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress in this article but both of these are a high quality and durable material. You can also add a topper to a mattress that has a single 6" core if you need a softer layer on top for additional comfort or pressure relief.

This isn’t accurate information because you won’t find any 2 lb natural latex (it would have a much higher density). This would be a spec that would be more typical of good quality polyfoam … not latex. Having said that … there are no lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress. You can see some of the typical densities for 100% natural Dunlop in different firmness ranges in post #2 here.

There is more about the most important parts of the '“value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses. Only you can decide which one is the best match for you in terms of PPP or the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you but both of these use high quality materials and none of them have any weak links in their design so they would all be a durable choice.

If you were to add a latex topper (in a suitable firmness level) on top of the 6" core at Dixie Foam then you would have a more similar comparison between the two but the Room & Board also uses a wool quilted cover which would be more costly and would help regulate temperature better than a thinner or non quilted cover (see post #6 here). There is also more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here and more about the differences between Dunlop latex (in the Room & Board mattress) and Talalay (at Dixie Foam) in post #7 here but both are high quality materials and the choice between them would be a preference choice not so much a “better/worse” choice. The Room & Board mattress and I believe the Dixie Foam mattress are also two sided as well (see post #3 here) NOTE ADDED: Dixie Foam is now a member of this site as well.

Phoenix

Actually, Phoenix, I’m stacking both of them against the Brooklyn Bedding one, which also has a wool topper on top.

Hi RohitK89,

I’m guessing you mean a wool quilted mattress cover rather than a topper? (Brooklyn Bedding doesn’t sell a wool topper).

Phoenix

Yes, sorry, that was what I meant.

7 questions you should ask before making a latex mattress buying decision

Hi Hashim

I’m not sure why you posted this because it’s just an ad for Plushbeds meant to direct internet traffic and sales to their site. It’s on the borderline of being considered advertising (I’m not sure if you are connected to Plushbeds) but I switched your post into your own topic since it wasn’t relevant to the topic you posted it in.

Phoenix

Pulled the trigger! Ordered today from Brooklyn Bedding. After chatting with Mario (Sevilla) and describing my wife’s and my build to him, he suggested I go for the ‘soft’ firmness, and I opted to follow his advice. He was also generous enough to offer to waive the exchange fee (!), in case it’s too soft when we get it. Highly excited for the mattress! Next step is to go to ikea this Sunday and get a bed frame so that we’re ready!

Thanks for all the help!

Hi RohitK89,

Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

You certainly made a great quality/value choice and I’m looking forward to your feedback when you’ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.

Phoenix

Follow up review here :https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/initial-impressions-review-brooklyn-bedding-essence-all-natural-latex-mattress

After reading up on your site, I think I’ve narrowed my choices down to Brooklyn Mattress and Dreamfoams Ultimate dreams. The Brooklyn mattress guy said that they have higher quality of materials than Dreamfoam. I am still torn between the Soft and Medium firmness of the Brooklyn mattress. After reading RohitK89’s review, I’m concerned that the soft might be too soft. I had written that we had both really liked the feel of the Boyd 920, but you commented that this may not be a quality product. Any idea which of these mattresses would feel the closest to the Boyd 920?

Hi Bixler,

I switched most of your posts into a new topic of their own so that it’s easier to refer back to your previous posts and our conversation doesn’t get mixed in with other member’s topics.

Not surprisingly (since they make both mattresses) they are correct.

The Brooklyn Bedding #BestMattressEver uses 2" of blended Talalay latex on top of 2" of synthetic Dunlop latex on top of a 6" 2.0 lb density polyfoam support core with a quilted cover that has a thin layer of polyfoam (less than an inch).

The Ultimate Dreams latex has a 3" blended Talalay latex comfort layer on top of a 6" 1.8 lb polyfoam support core and a cover that is quilted with about 1.5" of polyfoam.

The Brooklyn Bedding #BestMattressEver does use thicker layers of latex in the comfort layers and uses a higher quality/density 2 lb polyfoam support core.

There is more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here and there is more about some of the general differences between Dunlop and Talalay in post #7 here but the choice between different types and blends of latex is more of a preference and budget choice than a “better/worse” choice because any type of blend of latex is a high quality and durable material relative to other types of foam materials.

While both of these would make a very durable choice for most people that are in more average weight ranges (lower 200s or less) … the Brooklyn Bedding #BestMattressEver would have a durability advantage although this would make a bigger difference for those that are in higher weight ranges (mid 200s or higher) than for those that are in more “average” weight ranges.

Some of the other differences outside of the price are that the Ultimate Dreams latex has a wider range of firmness options available while the Brooklyn Bedding #BestMattressEver has 3 firmness options although 3 firmness options would cover the needs and preferences of the large majority of people and for some people having more options than this can add to the confusion of making the most suitable firmness choice.

The Brooklyn Bedding #BestMattressEver also has a 120 day trial period and a free return policy so there is no financial risk in trying it in your bedroom instead of a showroom while the Ultimate Dreams has a 45 day trial period and returning it would cost $99 so the risk is a little higher (the 45 day trial would only apply if you purchased the Ultimate Dreams from the Dreamfoam site which also provides you with an additional 10% discount compared to their Amazon prices).

I have never slept on the Boyd mattress and have no personal experience with it so I really don’t know how any mattress would compare to it even for myself … but even if I did each person’s experience can be very different depending on their body type and sleeping style so different people can have very different opinions about how two mattresses would compare anyway.

When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.

I would also be very cautious about using other people’s experiences or reviews on a mattress (either positive or negative) as a reliable source of information or guidance about how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you and in many cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on either in terms of suitability or durability (see post #13 here).

In the end the only way to know whether any mattress will be a good “match” for you in terms of PPP (regardless of how suitable it may be for anyone else) will be based on your own testing or sleeping experience so if you can’t test a mattress in person then the options you have after a purchase and the return/exchange policy and the costs involved would generally become a more important part of the “value” of a purchase. With a free return policy there is very little risk in trying a mattress outside of the time you spend testing it or returning it if it turns out not to be as suitable for you as you hoped for.

Phoenix

Thank you for this extremely helpful post! I was considering dreamfoam but after coming across this I have realized that brooklyn bedding would be a better candidate for me with my higher weight. I will be calling tomorrow to speak with a representative for advice regarding whether medium or firm would fit me best!

Hi Optical.Dream,

I just had two nights sleep on the BB “Medium” mattress so I figured I’d chime in. I woke up a few times during the first night of sleep but the second night I slept straight through (for the first time in awhile). I think it took a day for my body to get used to actually being supported. I’m 235lbs and on the old mattress my midsection would sink right in (it was a 7-year old Simmons ComforPedic Memory-Foam mattress). For me, the “medium” BB mattress was supportive with just the right amount of feeling of being “in” the mattress instead of on top. Obviously this is just my experience so YMMV.

This is probably a long shot but we tried out a few Tempurpedic mattresses in the store and found the BB “Medium” to be very similar in feel to the Tempurpedic Flex Prima mattress (which is listed as Med-Firm) with respect to Tempurpedic’s firm soft scale.

Although it is early, I’m very happy with the BB mattress and actually just bought a second one for the guest bedroom.

[quote=“Galactica28” post=53327]Hi Optical.Dream,

I just had two nights sleep on the BB “Medium” mattress so I figured I’d chime in. I woke up a few times during the first night of sleep but the second night I slept straight through (for the first time in awhile). I think it took a day for my body to get used to actually being supported. I’m 235lbs and on the old mattress my midsection would sink right in (it was a 7-year old Simmons ComforPedic Memory-Foam mattress). For me, the “medium” BB mattress was supportive with just the right amount of feeling of being “in” the mattress instead of on top. Obviously this is just my experience so YMMV.

This is probably a long shot but we tried out a few Tempurpedic mattresses in the store and found the BB “Medium” to be very similar in feel to the Tempurpedic Flex Prima mattress (which is listed as Med-Firm) with respect to Tempurpedic’s firm soft scale.

Although it is early, I’m very happy with the BB mattress and actually just bought a second one for the guest bedroom.[/quote]

Greetings Galactica,

Thank you for sharing your experience with the medium mattress. I’m right there with you at 240lbs and have been leaning more towards the medium due to my sleep positioning varying so much during the night. I’ve been sleeping along the edge of a 10 year old mattress and am truly hoping that a new BB mattress will be my ticket to getting my back and deep sleep in order again. I will update with which choice I make!

Hi Galactica,

Thanks for taking the time to share your comments and feedback about #TheBestMattress ever … I appreciate it :slight_smile:

It’s great to see that your purchase worked out well for you.

Phoenix

Hi BallpoinZen and Optical Dream,

Congratulations to both of you on your new mattresses as well :slight_smile:

I’m also looking forward to your comments and feedback when you’ve had the chance to sleep on them.

Phoenix

PS: There is also some good information about their firmness choices on their page here that can help you decide between their different firmness options and if you are undecided then you can also select the “help me choose” option when you order and they will contact you to give you a firmness recommendation.