I’ve been to 5 mattress stores looking to replace my 30 year old mattress King Koil foam- I am looking for a latex mattress and have done research on them. One site said that having a dunlop core and talalay top is a good combination. However, every salesperson had something different to say and even gave contradictory advice from - “You don’t want talalay in your mattress since the formula is secret and you don’t know what else is in it:” - to “why would you want Dunlop in your mattress - it’s what tires are made of”. In any event - most did not answer my questions directly and did most of the talking.
More recently I’ve been to Gardner Mattress, Furnature (which has Saavy Rest Mattresses) Watertown Mattress, Sleepy’s, (Sleepy’s seemed the worst) Jordans ( can’t remember as a while ago)
I don’t know what to believe anymore. I did the tutorial, but still am confused.
Any suggestions?
Unfortunately this is fairly typical in a large part of the industry where salespeople provide misinformation that is more focused on selling the mattresses that they carry than educating their customers. Some of this (such as the comment about tires) is completely ridiculous and indicates that the salesperson that told you this knows little to nothing about the latex used in mattresses.
The choice between Dunlop and Talalay would be a preference choice (not a “better/worse” choice). There is more about the different types and blends of latex in this article and in post #6 here. There is also more about the difference in “feel” between Talalay and Dunlop in post #7 here but the best way to know which one you prefer would be based on your own testing and experience.
There are some very good options in and around the Boston area and the better options and possibilities I’m aware of are listed in post #2 here.
The salesperson who commented about tires was from Sleepy’s.
The salesperson at Gardner told me of this website after I mentioned a website that said a good combination of a latex mattress is the core being dunlop and the top being talalay. This salesperson at Gardner did not agree.
Also salesperson at Furnature said that he doesn’t recommend talalay at all because they don’t share their formula and he’s not sure what’s in it. I think he said the company is in Pennsylvania that produces the talalay.
Are any part of these 2 comments correct?
I like a firmer mattress, but being 66 yo and have some orthopedic issues - thought I should have a less firm top. Does that make sense?
I am close to Acton so I will visit Spindle Mattress.
I looked at the posts that you suggested. This forum is so helpful!!
There are many people who prefer a Dunlop latex core with a Talalay latex comfort layer. Others would make a different choice and have different preferences. This would be a preference issue and one isn’t “better” than another … they are just different. There is more about some of the differences between Talalay and Dunlop in post #7 here but the most reliable way to know which combinations of latex you tend to prefer is your own personal testing or experience.
No latex foam manufacturer shares their complete compounding formula but most of them will disclose the blend of synthetic and natural rubber in their product. There are two companies that produce Talalay latex. One of them is Latex International and they are based in Connecticut. The other one is Radium and they are based in Holland. Both of them produce high quality Talalay latex. There is a latex foam manufacturer in Pennsylvania called Mountaintop Foam but they produce continuous pour Dunlop in a range of natural/synthetic blends (from all synthetic to all natural) … not Talalay. The latex they produce is also a high quality material.
Most interesting of all … Savvy Rest which is the manufacturer of the latex mattresses they sell provides the option to choose either Talalay or Dunlop layers (although Furnature may not carry both) and they are the source of the comparison video in the link I provided in the first part of this reply.
There are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone that can’t feel what you feel or see you on a mattress or that doesn’t sell a specific line of mattresses to suggest a specific mattress for someone else based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here). Your own careful and objective testing using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post or your actual sleeping experience is the most reliable way to know whether a mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences).
I think very highly of Neal and Spindle mattress and as you know they are one of the members here so a visit there would certainly be a good idea IMO.