Dunlop vs Talalay For a Heavy Person

[phoenix]

Hi Venexiana,

Thanks for the update on your mattress shopping journey.

We prefer the feel of Talalay to Dunlop and are not bothered by the bounciness some people complain about.

You are correct, the Talalay tends to have a more buoyant feel. This does subside a bit over time, and also of course varies by layerings. I’m glad you found a style of “feel” that you like.

The SavvyRest foam layers we played with at the store were marked with manufacturer’s markings and we were able to confirm that the SavvyRest soft is in fact Vita Talalay N5 while the medium is N7. We find N5 to be too soft while the N7 is too firm as a top layer so we think that N6S and N6F would be ideal.

Yes, those are the correct Radium designations for Savvy Rest. They list the N5 as about a 15-20 ILD, and the N7 as about 30-37. They are careful to note that these are approximate, but not official, numbers. But they certainly give you some good ideas. Your personal testing is the best judge, as you already discovered.

However, SleepEZ does not carry all grades of Radium Vita Talalay (N3-N9 as specified here www.themattressunderground.com/media/kun...mILD1_2014-04-17.gif ). They even called their supplier but are not able to special order N6 for us.

I spoke with SleepEZ and while they are able to acquire any foam that Radium produces (either in their direct container loads that they import or from their US distributor), the N6 level isn’t a popular choice for them and they choose not to offer it, as the variances between the N5 and N7 cover the spectrum for their designs much better and are applicable for a larger range of customers. Even if they made an exception and placed a special order for a specific foam layer, it would generally be about a five week wait for it to arrive from a container, and with the extra fees associated with that it wouldn’t be a good value for you, which is another reason why they choose to stick with the foam layers that they do.

According to the FSF “Specifications of our Latex” at www.foamsweetfoam.com/index.php?route=in...on&information_id=30 they seem to carry what may be the Vita Talalay N6 but FSF is about $500 more expensive even with a -$300 coupon.

I’m not familiar with the exact designations of the Radium layers that Foam Sweet Foam associates with the ILDs they list on their web site, so a phone call to them would be the best way to confirm that if you were curious.

Our plan B is to try switching to Talalay Global foam. We live an hour away from the Connecticut factory and they operate sort of a factory direct store Price / Warranty & Density Chart - Hamden, Connecticut - KTT Enterprises . I spoke to the owner today and we’ll be going there on Friday to try different configurations.

I’m glad you’ll be able to take a look at some products at KTT Enterprises in person. KTT is owned by Nancy and Dick Coffey. Dick’s dad was one of the founders of what is today Talalay Global (Latex Foam International). KTT is a separate company from TG but maintains a close relationship with them, while also offering quite a few solid latex specialty products along with their latex foam layers for toppers and mattresses. They should be very helpful in your quest, as they are quite knowledgeable. Their entrance is a bit “hidden” on the backside of an industrial warehouse area.

We also concluded that we would prefer a stretch knit cover as opposed to a woven fabric cover as used by SavvyRest. We are even contemplating a zippered stretch cover without (wool) quilting to get more direct Talalay feel. However, we are concerned about potential problems with the middle seam if we end up with a split top layer or with shifting layers due to less robust non-quilted cover material. Any advice?

Feeling the middle seam in a latex component system is not a common complaint unless the layers are “bunched up” just a bit when the product is being assembled, or the layers are quite dissimilar on each side. Because latex layers are quite “sticky” and they have a high coefficient of friction, they don’t tend to migrate much once they are in place. A thinner stretch-knit cover will certainly allow more of the softness of the latex to be felt (layers closet to your skin make the largest difference), and it is possible that switching from the stiffer Savvy Rest cover to a stretch-knit might make an upper layer of latex in the N7 or so ILD range feel softer to you as compared to the Savvy Rest configuration, realizing that any other layer changes below the upper layer will also impact your overall comfort.

Are there any other places that sell covers only?

While not a complete list, post #4 here in the Mattress Covering section has a few more cover suppliers.

[quote]For the record, the 3 layer SavvyRest Serenity (they only had Serenity at the store) combos that came closest for us are:
Person 1, 185lb
SOFT / Radium N5 / 17.5 ILD
FIRM / Radium N8 / 38.5 ILD
FIRM / Radium N8 / 38.5 ILD
comment: the overall feel was a bit too soft
Person 2, 300lb
MEDIUM / Radium N7 / 32.5 ILD
FIRM / Radium N8 / 38.5 ILD
FIRM / Radium N8 / 38.5 ILD
comment: the overall feel was a bit too firm
Our plan B with the Talalay Global / KTT foam is:
Person 1, 185lb
KTT N2 / 20-23 ILD
KTT N4 / 30-34 ILD or KTT N5 / 35-40 ILD
KTT N5 / 35-40 ILD
KTT N5 / 35-40 ILD
Person 2, 300lb
KTT N3 / 25-29 ILD
KTT N5 / 35-40ILD or KTT N4 / 30-34 ILD
KTT N5 / 35-40ILD
KTT N5 / 35-40ILD
If we were to go with a single top layer it would be KTT N3 / 25-29 ILD.
[/quote]
I’d use the guidance of the systems you tested on the Savvy Rest and then present that to KTT upon your visit and I would use their guidance as to what they think will most closely approximate what you tested and can put you closer to what you desire. While the ILD range of the TG and Radium foams are similar, they don’t feel exactly the same, as there are differences in formulations. Additionally, using a stretch knit cover will influence your comfort on top of the mattress, and KTT might also have on hand some different thicknesses for your upper layers where they may be able to offer up different combinations to address the softness you’re attempting to achieve.

Good luck on your visit!

Phoenix