Hi Mark in Texas,
I would keep in mind that PLB has MAP pricing (minimum advertised pricing) and the actual selling price for PLB mattresses can be lower than advertised prices but of course having said that it’s very unlikely that it would be anywhere close to $100 per inch (queen) plust the cost of a similar good quality cover. The PLB also uses Active Fusion fast response in the top layer which will be a little more costly than the Talatech just in case you want to duplicate the layers more exactly.
There is “Active Fusion” temperature regulating technology in both the cover and in the top layer of Talalay GL. While I also think that most of this is more about marketing than real life performance … I also believe that it will have some small effect on regulating temperature. Active Fusion uses a phase change gel material that absorbs and releases heat and regulates temperature in both directions but doesn’t “wick away” heat in the same way as technology that is based on moisture wicking and ventilation (which I believe is more effective and longer lasting). Whether this will have a bigger effect on real life performance that is a bigger factor than the mattress protector you use or the sheets and bedding you use is questionable because once you are in an “optimal” temperature range" then “more optimal” is mostly meaningless and for most people a Talalay latex mattress wouldn’t have temperature regulation issues (although a thinner stretch cover that “allows” you to sink more directly and deeper into the latex itself will be less temperature regulating than say a wool quilted cover). There is more about the factors that can affect temperature regulation in post #2 here.
Phoenix