Going to try keeping this short and to the point. Purchasing a new mattress soon and decided latex as the comfort layer is a good choice for me. Arizona Premium Mattress/Mattresses.net seems to have a good selection of materials at good prices.
My circumstances seem to very closely resemble this user’s post. I LOVE a soft feel on the top.
My specs:
side sleeper 95% of the time
5’ 9" ~215lbs
Questions:
Hybrid pocket coil + latex or full latex?
What combination of layers and ILD’s(prefer 19 ILD Talalay on top)? Talalay+Talalay? Talalay + Dunlop?
All 3" layers on the pocket coils? Combo of 2" and 3"?
Thanks for the questions. Customers in our showroom prefer the feel of all latex over the pocket coil 2-1. If doing all latex I would do Firm latex (36) on the bottom, then Medium (28) then the soft #19. You can do either dunlop or talalay on the bottom.
If going with the hybrid then you only need to two top layers.
I recently built a twin mattress using Ken’s 7" poly base layer (ILD 31), followed by his wavy 2" latex hybrid layer (ILD 24), followed by a Dunlop 3" layer (ILD 20). I am a side sleeper and have similar proportions to you. This combination works great for me. I have not pain or stillness. I am 63 years old and play tennis 3 times a week. When I wake up I feel like I am in my 40’s! I wanted to go cheap due to this being a den mattress. If you really like a soft feel I would think if you went with all latex it would be even softer.
[quote=“Arizona Premium” post=79768]Thanks for the questions. Customers in our showroom prefer the feel of all latex over the pocket coil 2-1. If doing all latex I would do Firm latex (36) on the bottom, then Medium (28) then the soft #19. You can do either dunlop or talalay on the bottom.
If going with the hybrid then you only need to two top layers.
[/quote]
Think I’ll go hybrid with the 8" coils. Will using 2 of the 2" wavy Dunlop(4" total) + the 3" 19 ILD Talalay be overkill/too many layers? The price and feel customization of the wavy latex is very tempting. Figured it would be interesting to play around with flipping the wavy latex around or stacking them in different orientations with the Talalay. Does the feel (wavy side or flat) change only when used as the top layer or the feel changes used as the 2nd layer too?
And if 4" of the wavy latex is too much I could give one to a family member/friend. That complicates the cover though, as the depth (15" or 13") would be unknown until a final combination of layers is decided. Would likely have to purchase the cover at a later date.
Will the pocket coils be fine on a ~25 year old box spring?
Your mattress sounds amazing! I used to play tennis but was never very good. People in my graduating class were top 100 in state so compared to them… not so good. Super impressive to still be playing at your age! Currently 29, waking up feeling 50 haha.
The wavy toppers can be used anywhere in the build and you can play with the waves up or down on both. Your idea of playing with the 2 wavy toppers is interesting and doable but I think it’s overkill if using the 3" 19. If doing so then I would wait to get the cover until you are certain you want to use all 3 in the final build. As far as the 25 year old box springs, time to retire them. I have had many people complain about their new mattress already dipping only to find out it was the box springs causing the issue, not the mattress.
I just ordered the components for my DIY mattress last week. I’m so excited to get it and see how it feels! After so much deliberation, I was getting overwhelmed and finally pulled the trigger.
Everything came from Arizona Premium. I selected the 8" combi coils, a 2" Dunlop medium layer and a 3" Talalay plush layer. and the bamboo cover.
I hope this feels as amazing as I think it will. Will certainly post my thoughts when it comes and I’ve tried it out!
About to place my order for the coils, protector, and 2x wavy Dunlop, holding off on a cover/encasement for now. Besides the cover depth I still can’t even decide between a basic/thin knit cover that gets you super close to the latex or something a little thicker/quilted with wool? So many choices :unsure: .
Decided to get the top Talalay layer from Mattresses247 at eBay as they seem to keep some stock on hand. Hopefully it will arrive early next week so it can be used on my current mattress in the meantime. Being the holidays and a produce on order outfit, I’m expecting the stuff from Arizona Mattress to take a good 3-4 weeks to arrive.
The only thing that takes time here is making the covers. Since you are not ordering that at this time the rest of the components will ship quickly. The wavy toppers are in stock as is the coils.
An update: everything arrived and I’ve tested quite a few combinations of layers, of which only one has worked well so far. Using all layers (15" deep in total :woohoo:, 8" coils + 2x 2" wavy down + 3" 19 ILD Talalay) is the only combination that has worked well for me as far as comfort/lack of pain goes. It’s quite comfortable and seems to really reduce the pain in my shoulders and hips. There’s still some variations to test with wavy up/down using all layers too.
My current sheets (new ones on the way) do not work with a 15" mattress so I tried various combinations with less layers, none worked very well for me. The protector came at a later date which I’m currently using to protect and hold all the layers together. Now that it’s pretty much decided using all layers (15") is the way to go, I can start finding a cover/ticking for the mattress.
Question: is it normal for the coils to be longer and wider than the foam? The coils even slightly hang off the brand new platform I put together (KD Frames Charleston). Or is it because the coils have not been put inside a cover yet? Does the cover somewhat compress the coils closer together reducing the length and width?
I’ve spoken to Ken in the past about this but wanted to get a second opinion again for my DIY build. Making a day bed/ trundle combo for our guest room. Bed will double as a couch during the day for tv watching.
Bought 2 twin latex bed for kids from APM in Ild 32 which are fantastic bit a little on the firm side. Plan to add 2" toppers to the beds to soften them up. These are the 3 options I am considering:
2" wavy topper from APM (Dunlop Ild 24)
2" blended talalay topper from APM (Ild 19)
2" 100 natural talalay topper from mattresses247 (Ild 24)
Would love to get the wavy as price is incredible but concerned about the feel of putting Dunlop over talalay and using Dunlop as comfort layer (less responsive).
Souls I stick with talalay toppers or take the chance in the wavy?
I just made a special purchase of 2" all natural Dunlop in the #19 range which I will be discounting to $89. It’s a little more than the wavy but I think it would do the job better and it’s all natural. The feel is quite nice and will work with the talalay beds you have now. Call me if you want them since I have not put them up on the site yet.
Thanks Ken. Now that I think about it the wavy topper would not be a good choice when using the bed as a couch as you would feel the waves.
Between the the natural Dunlop and the blended talalay toppers which would be better for my purposes (using as bed and as couch)? The Dunlop topper should be a tad bit firmer than the talalay which may be better for a sitting surface correct?