Hi suffolk,
As you mention … I would make sure that you make some careful “value” comparisons as far as the type and blend of latex you purchase but for those that are looking for mostly synthetic Dunlop (which is still a good quality material) the materials you purchased can be good value.
This would likely be what Latexco calls their Puralux which is a blended Dunlop that uses a continuous pour method of production that is poured in layers up to 3". ILD comparisons between different types of latex and different manufacturers can be “tricky” at best because not all of them use the same methods to measure ILD and ILD is only one of several factors involved in the softness or firmness of a mattress.
I would also be careful with covers because covers at this price are certainly not the equivalent of more costly covers which use higher quality materials. their listing mentions “Bamboo fabric quilted with mixed PU Fiber and wool.” which at this price I would assume meant mostly polyester fibers in the quilting.
[quote]the second piece i got was a 1" 16-18 ILD topper from a seller hahtauctions
www.ebay.com/itm/200891704357?ssPageName...id=p3984.m1423.l2649
in the description its labeled as dunlop, after a call with the owner it is actually puralux from latexco. another wrong labeled product, but i knew from research on here that puralux was good product so i ordered it. it arrived today and looks good, i put it on the top of my homeade mattress i mentioned above.[/quote]
This is actually labeled correctly because Puralux is blended Dunlop made with a continuous pour process.
Hahtauctions is the same as sleeponlatex. I have talked with Karl here and he is knowledgeable and committed to providing accurate information to his customers.
When you are dealing with eBay sellers you will find that there is a wide range of levels of “accuracy” in the listings and this is part of the “risk” of this kind of purchase.
Some of the continuous pour Dunlop from both Latexco and Mountaintop foam has a very nice “feel” even though it’s not the same as molded Dunlop or Talalay. It’s somewhat in between the two.
The choice between types of latex is really a matter of personal preference so there really isn’t any insight I can provide except to use the materials that you prefer. There is no better or worse here.
As far as specific layering … I normally don’t provide “advice” about layering and leave that to discussions between customers and retailers because there are too many variables and complexities involved to make “theory at a distance” an effective way to make good choices but I don’t mind providing a few general comments or insights but I would need much more specific information and feedback.
Just to repeat … your mattress has the following layers from top to bottom …
1" 16 - 18 ILD Puralux
2" 5 lb memory foam
3" blended Dunlop 34 - 40 ILD
6" 1.8 lb polyfoam 36 ILD
Bamboo cover (or perhaps a bamboo polyester blend) with what is probably mostly polyester fiber in the quilting.
If this is right (and the specs are accurate) it’s not surprising that it would be very firm because 5 lb memory foam is usually firmer and more temperature sensitive than lower density memory foam and you also have an inch of latex and a polyester quilted cover on top of it which would reduce the heat reaching the memory foam which allows it to soften. 5 lb memory foam would be firmer than lower density in this configuration. You also have quite firm 34 - 40 Dunlop latex underneath this and you may also be “going through” the top layers and feeling the firmness of this layer below it. 1" of soft latex would not be enough to modify the firmness of the rest of the materials. This may also be connected to the thickness of the layers that you need above any firm layers and your body type
Part of the challenge again is that ILD’s are not consistent between materials so that it’s often difficult to compare them and there are other factors involved in the firmness and softness of a mattress (such as compression modulus, layer thickness, and point elasticity and in thecase of memory foam temperature sensitivity and speed of response).
To make any meaningful comments though I would need more information about your height, weight, weight distribution/body type and the specific variations of your sleeping positions along with the types of mattresses you are used to sleeping on and more about your personal preferences.
I would also need to know how long you have slept on the configuration you have been trying and specifics about the actual symptoms you are experiencing in pressure relief and alignment terms. “Too firm” for example is an assessment of your mattress not a description of your actual sleeping symptoms and has little meaning because there are different types of firmness and softness (see post #15 here) and softness/firmness itself is subjective and relative for each person.
I should also mention that almost all stomach sleepers spend much less time on their stomachs than they realize so any other sleeping positions you may have would also be helpful.
Can you provide more details about what are the actual symptoms you are experiencing and where on your body and in which sleeping position are you experiencing them?
Phoenix