Dunlop Latex - Which side faces up/down

Mattress Talk General Mattresses Questions
1

Two variations of the same question regarding dunlop latex:

  1. If there is a tag affixed to the side of a dunlop layer, can you rely on its orientation to tell you which side should be facing up versus which side should be facing down?

  2. If there is no tag, is there a way to tell which side of the dunlop should be facing up?

2

There should be no correct way to orient the latex foam if it was manufactured well. Talalay is more consistent than Dunlop but I haven’t found either to have what I consider a significant performance difference in either side facing up/down.

3

to confirm, settling isn’t noticeable with modern day dunlop?

4

Hey latern71,

Good to see you on the forum :slight_smile: . Hope you and Mattrebuild don’t mind my joining the party for a bit.

Generally speaking, manufacturers produce modern day Dunlop latex to be multi-directional as it is not designed to have a different top or bottom, but rather to be used on either side. “Settling” is rarely an issue. On occasion, in the case of a Dunlop core being cut down into thinner layers, there have been issues with the bottom-most layer experiencing slight settling and therefore feeling slightly firmer, but site inspections insure the correct ILDs and specs are observed before the latex leaves the factory. Hope this helps :wink: .

Thanks,
Sensei

5

thank you both for the responses.

I originally asked because I have both 3" firm and 3" medium firm dunlop layers that I have been playing. Whether they are side by side on the floor or swapped into the same position in a mattress setup, I cannot tell a difference between the two in terms of firmness. Is that unusual or that just a result of the ILD ranges for each layer being so close together?

6

Not sure where the dunlop latex came from but I can tell the difference between the SOL 20ILD and the 30ILD although it’s very minimal compared to the difference between the SOL 30ILD and say a 44ILD, that difference was far more dramatic. When actually testing the materials the 44ILD actually came out closer to 50ILD so keep that in mind too.

7

I don’t know the full range but the ILDs are listed at 31 and 35 respectively.

8

Hey lantern71,

Thanks for your reply :slight_smile: .

Using Phoenix’s ILD numbers, 31 is classified as medium and 35 as medium firm. The differences in ILD density is so minimal between these two that you likely will find it difficult to perceive one’s slightly denser construction from the other. Is this your Flexus Comfort mattress?

Sensei :slight_smile: