Hi Gizmo1955.
Glad to have you on our Mattress Forum! Welcome!
Organic certifications have almost nothing to do with the quality or performance of a product It’s virtually identical to the same material that doesn’t have an organic certification, even though the organic certification adds to the cost of a product. It also doesn’t test the final product for harmful substances or VOC’s (although of course an organic product would generally be considered as safe … there is nothing to “prove” it) so it would require a second certification such as Eco-Institut to confirm that there are no harmful substances or VOC’s in the final product. Generally, are plenty of people in the industry that question the “value” of an organic certification vs the same material that doesn’t have an organic certification. Many consumers are rather concerned with the “safety” of a mattress than whether it has an organic certification. While organic certifications do matter for those whom this is an important criterion, in IMO the “organic” marketing talk is rather blown out of proportions and praying on people that that started to equate organic with safety. Ther are perfectly safe and performant materials that do not have an organic certification.
I’d also point out that in today’s market, “natural” can mean almost anything to the point whereby itself it has little meaning at all. Pure Latex Bliss for example uses the description “natural Talalay” to mean a blend of natural and synthetic rubber that is 30% natural and 70% synthetic. They call their 100% natural Talalay “all-natural” to differentiate them (which is misleading). Some manufacturers use it to indicate “mostly” natural rubber (say 85% natural rubber) and some use it to indicate 100% natural rubber. many stores confuse the two and don’t know which material they are selling.
Without knowing the specifics … natural is just one of those words that have little meaning by itself and I would want to know both the type of latex they are using and the specific blend percentage of NR (natural rubber) and SBR (synthetic rubber) in the latex.
You can read a little more about the different types of latex in this article and in post #6 here .
Both innersprings and a firmer latex core can be used as a support layer and each has very “different” characteristics but the most important differences are the ones you can feel and that you personally prefer. Both can be softer or firmer depending on design so a pocket coil could be firmer than a latex core or the other way around they could be zoned or not all depending on the specifics of the components you are comparing. I would definitely consult SleepEZ about which of these would be better for a plus-size sleeper. There is more about this in post #10 here and more detailed information about innersprings vs latex support cores in post #2 here and more about the different types and blends of latex in this article and in post #6 here or post #29 here
A high BMI presents special challenges and generally requires firmer materials (in the support layers especially). There are also a number of forum posts and threads about mattresses and higher weights and a forum title search on heavy Some examples include:
- Latex & Memory foam for heavy-weight in post #2 here and …
- Starting Mattress specs for heavy-weight person in post #2 here and …
- Mattresses for a heavy-weight person topic here and …
- about Mattresses for Plus size people in Post #3 has more information and suggestions about heavier weights.
The “weakest link” in a mattress in terms of durability is normally in the upper layers (the top 3" - 6" of the mattress) that are compressed more deeply when under the weight of the sleeper and not generally in the deeper support layers so the firmer bottom layers of a mattress will have more effect on feel and performance than they will on durability for most people.
Higher BMI will wear out faster the latex in lower ILD because there I linear dependency between the two with latex (which is not the case with MF or Poly) I don’t think you have to go into much detail but for example, a 100% NR from Talalay Global has “14 ILD ~ 2.5 lbs/ft3…xsoft 19 ILD … 3.0 lbs/ft3…xsoft” which being in such a low density will wear out a little faster for higher weight ranges. That is why a component-style system would be good for them as they can change the top layer when it starts to break down.
As you probably know by reading our forum the differences you’d perceive are solely based on your personal specs, individual needs and preferences in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) but SleepEZ are familiar with PTB and are very skilled at assessing any differences between the two mattresses based on averages of customers that have a similar sleeping profile and personal specs.
Thank you for your kind words and recognition of the time of effort that goes into maintaining our site. Much appreciated!
The newest SleepEZ discount code is 5% off Mattresses (Code: MUG5) which is on top of any discount codes offered by Sleep EZ with their regular promotions. Discount codes change from time to time so the 10% discount offered a while back was stand-alone and could not be stacked on top of any current site sales.
All in all, it looks like you are on the right track and also in the very good hands of “SleepEZ” who is one of the Trusted members of our site and also a TMU mattress expert with their own dedicated forum
Phoenix