Hello again,
We are in the market for a new mattress for us and one for our 4-y old who will transition to a full-size bed.
For her, the only choice we have other than the national brands (at least for now) is the Natura Moonbeam.
Quilt: cover Natural cotton fire barrier
6oz/yd2 Pure NaturaWool™
Core
1" Talalay latex
5" Plant-based foam (unfortunately, I don't have more info on the foam as of now)
Could you please comment on this choice? Many thanks in advance!
Hi manazca,
I’m not sure why this would be your only choice but post #2 here includes some links to the better forum topics and posts about children and mattresses that may be helpful and include more information and links to many other options that would be a good choice for children as well.
They don’t say whether the Talalay is blended or 100% natural but either way it would be a high quality material although with only an inch of latex I would hope that the price would reflect this as well.
They don’t mention the density of the polyfoam support core (plant-based foam is just polyfoam … see post #2 here) so I can’t make any meaningful comments about the quality of this part of the mattress although it’s most likely in the 1.8 lb or higher range (I would want to confirm this) and if this is the case it would also be a reasonably good quality material that would be a suitable choice as well and there would be no obvious weak links in the mattress.
Phoenix
Thank you so much, Phoenix. I truly appreciate your help.
[quote]
I’m not sure why this would be your only choice but post #2 here includes some links to the better forum topics and posts about children and mattresses that may be helpful and include more information and links to many other options that would be a good choice for children as well.[/quote]
I really have a hard time finding options around here to be honest. Most stores I’ve seen have the national brands. Latex is rather hard to find, even as a layer. I did read the other posts you recommended which I fond very helpful but also discouraging as I see the limited options I have (and at higher prices) compared with the US or bigger Canadian cities. I was told at a store for example (from the list you recommended) that budget is what makes them have the mattresses they have in store.
I will look for online options as well but I feel less attracted to that option (especially with regard to buying a mattress for us; maybe I can consider that for my daughter).
[quote]Quilt: cover Natural cotton fire barrier
6oz/yd2 Pure NaturaWool™
Core
1" Talalay latex
5" Plant-based foam (unfortunately, I don’t have more info on the foam as of now)
They don’t say whether the Talalay is blended or 100% natural but either way it would be a high quality material although with only an inch of latex I would hope that the price would reflect this as well.
They don’t mention the density of the polyfoam support core (plant-based foam is just polyfoam … see post #2 here) so I can’t make any meaningful comments about the quality of this part of the mattress although it’s most likely in the 1.8 lb or higher range (I would want to confirm this) and if this is the case it would also be a reasonably good quality material that would be a suitable choice as well and there would be no obvious weak links in the mattress. [/quote]
Natura was excellent in getting back to me with some answers:
They have this one retailer only in my area. The price is around $900 for the full size.
Another option is the Sunshine mattress:
Quilt:
Natural Cotton Fabric ticking
Natural cotton fire barrier
6oz/yd² Pure NaturaWool™
Core:
6" Talalay latex core
Mattress Height: 6 ½
The ILD is a medium firm, range of 26-32. Price: $1600 (or $1300 for last year’s model).
The store also has a 6’ all natural Dunlop latex mattress but it is totally out of my budget ($2100). Plus the 15% Canadian taxes, of course 
I would really appreciate your opinion about it.
Thanks again so much!
Hi manazca,
- The foam is a Firm Foam, 5 lbs rating.
This is almost certainly wrong because this isn’t a density that you would find for a polyfoam base layer and it seems that the person that provided you with this information may not be familiar with polyfoam densities or they would have immediately recognized that this wasn’t correct. This may be coming from the same source as was mentioned here and here. Having said that … the polyfoam is probably in a suitable quality/density range even though this wouldn’t be correct.
I would really appreciate your opinion about it.
I’m always happy to make comments about the quality of the materials in a mattress but only you can decide on the “value” of a mattress purchase because value is always relative to the other mattresses you are considering or are available to you and on the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (see post #13 here).
The biggest part of “value” is deciding which one your testing indicates is the best match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) and how well you are likely to sleep on a mattress.
Next comes the relative durability and useful life of the mattress and I can certainly make a few comments about this.
The blended Talalay latex is a high quality material but with only an inch of it the polyfoam below it would play a significant role in the durability and useful life of this mattress and I would want to know the correct density of the polyfoam support core. Knowing your body type would help as well (lower density polyfoam is more suitable for lighter body types than it would be for heavier body types and this is a significant part of the relative durability of a mattress). This would be a suitable choice for your daughter but it may be a less durable choice for you but again I can’t really make any meaningful comments without knowing the specifics of all the materials in a mattress.
Blended Talalay latex is a very durable material so there would be no weak links in this mattress. There is also more about a latex hybrid vs an all latex mattress in post #2 here. Because this mattress is relatively thin and is a little on the firmer side … this may be a better choice for a back or stomach sleeper than it would for a side sleeper because side sleepers generally need thicker and softer comfort layers to relieve pressure when they sleep on their side but again your own testing will be the most reliable way to know this. If there is no difference between the materials in “this years model” and “last years model” and they are both new (not a floor model or comfort exchange) and they both have a warranty then I would certainly choose last years model.
The store also has a 6’ all natural Dunlop latex mattress but it is totally out of my budget ($2100). Plus the 15% Canadian taxes, of course
This would be closely comparable to the Sunshine mattress in terms of durability (see post #6 here for more about the different types and blends of latex) and the choice between Talalay and Dunlop would be a preference choice rather than a “better/worse” choice (see post #7 here).
These are really preference choices that would be based on the criteria that are most important to you and that only you can answer based on the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you. There is more about online vs local choices in post #2 here and in this topic that may also help you decide on whether you are comfortable with any additional risks involved with an online purchase (and I would also factor in any exchange or refund policies into the “value” and risk of an online choice as well).
Since your daughter won’t be able to provide you with meaningful feedback about PPP an online choice can certainly make a lot of sense for a child’s mattress if there are no comparable options available locally but for you it would really be a matter of your own risk tolerance and the options that you have available online vs locally.
Phoenix
Many thanks!
All these options are for my 4-year old (I decided to look into one mattress at the time so I’ll deal with our needs after as it is more difficult given that PPP is involved which pretty much rules out online choices for me/us.
I’ll go look more into the new info you provided!
The lady got back to me very quickly and did acknowledge the mistake: the foam is 1.8 LBS just as you expected .
Hi manazca,
I think that any of the options you mentioned would be suitable for your daughter but there are also many others that would also be available to you as well that would have similar materials or designs but are in lower budget ranges.
The choice will really come down to which materials you tend to prefer for your daughter and the budget range that you are comfortable with (latex foam and wool quilting and natural or organic fabrics in the cover are all more costly materials than polyfoam or synthetic fabrics or fibers).
Phoenix
I was extremely busy at work and couldn’t follow up on this. My husband now threatens he’ll just go buy a mattress himself if I do not make up my mind soon :oops:
I have two new options for our 4-y old, more in line with our budget. Both are from MFC and I feel that this might be the best way to go for us at least with regard to our daughter’s mattress given the limited options available in our city. (I was also very positively impressed with their quick replies and help)
Could you please tell me what you think?
MEDIUM - 38 ILD TALALAY LATEX FOAM CORE MATTRESS & COVER-6", removable velour terri cover
I like the all latex idea, esp. compared with the Natura I considered before. But would it be too hard for her?
I am not sure about the foam idea in general (smell, feeling, heat).
Thanks a lot again for any advice!
Hi manazca,
Could you please tell me what you think?
I don’t think so no. Neither Latex International or Radium make Talalay that is 49 ILD (which is what they list as their firm) and medium would be softer than 38 ILD so I suspect that their ILD numbers may be using the manufacturer’s 40% compression numbers (which would be higher) rather than their 25% compression numbers (which would be the numbers that are more commonly listed for latex) and if you have talked with them and confirmed that it’s a medium then it should be fine.
This is a high quality polyfoam that would be “somewhat” similar to latex in terms of how it feels although it wouldn’t be as resilient or elastic or quite as durable as latex. If you are comfortable with polyfoam in general then most people wouldn’t have any issues with either heat or smell.
Phoenix
Thank you, Phoenix. I think I prefer to stay at latex after all.
It turns out the 38 ILD is a firm one and the 49 ILD is an extra firm. In that case, would the 38 ILD be too hard for my 4-y old?
MFC suggested a topper to make it softer. Would adding a 2 inch topper be the way to go? They have a soft (20ILD) and a medium-firm (30 ILD) natural Talalay latex topper.
In that case, I wonder if I should go for the 8 inch medium-firm Allegro mattress (Natural Latex Mattress & Organic Bed Topper | Soft. Medium. Firm | MFC).
My daughter is in the 90+ percentiles for both weight and height if that matters.
Many thanks again.
Hi manazca,
It’s a little firmer than the norm but I don’t think it would be too firm for most children no. I would try it first and then if based on how she sleeps on it you think you need a little bit of extra softness then you can add a softer topper afterwards.
A good base mattress will also allow you to either add a topper or change the firmness of the topper as she gets older if she needs additional softness and pressure relief.
Phoenix
Thank you very much. I ordered the 6 inch mattress :woohoo:
I can’t wait to get it. Hopefully, this will also help us in choosing a mattress for us (but more about that soon 
)
Very grateful for your support!
Hi manazca,
Congratulations on your new mattress!
I’m looking forward to your feedback when you receive it.
One down and it seems only one more to go 
Phoenix
After all this time we were finally able to convert my daughter’s toddler bed to full-size and install the new mattress. She only slept on it for 2 nights but she’s very excited (granted, it is the Frozen sheets, probably!)
I was very happy with the MFC order. The mattress came quite fast, it seemed in excellent shape, we also got the discount related to this website. I won’t be able to provide more feedback on the mattress itself, at least for now but my daughter seems to be enjoying the larger bed very much.Two more mattresses to go now 
Many, many thanks again for your help as well as for creating this website.
Hi manazca,
Thanks for the update … and it’s great to hear that your daughter likes her new “big girls bed”
Phoenix