Fine-tuning Our SleepEZ 10000

[phoenix]

Hi LEW,

Your post brings up some interesting concepts that are part of mattress design and theory that are not always obvious so I’ll make a few comments about them.

The only thing that I didn’t like was that it didn’t seem to conform to my body the way the other mattresses I had tried did. I didn’t know if I was “feeling things” or if it might be true. The cover was three layers, course cotton, wool, cotton, with the wool for fire retardancy. This cover wasn’t at all stretchy and I guessed that the combination of that and the dunlop latex might have contributed to the feel.

The type of cover and quilting in a mattress can make a significant difference in how the top layers respond. The less stretchy cover (with one or two woven cotton layers) along with the wool quilting as well as the Dunlop latex (which gets firmer faster with deeper compression than Talalay so you don’t sink in as much even in the same firmness level as Talalay) would combine to account for what you felt.

This time Sean wasn’t in, but an energetic fellow named Romeo was. After explaining that I was in for a second trial he left me alone to play on the bed. After 15 or 20 minutes I told him that I was looking at his Wazee street mattress as well as a Savy Rest, that the cover on the WS was much more strecthy than the Savy Rest and seemed to conform more to my shoulder blades. It also seemed softer than the 30 ILD and 42 ILD ratings for the 6 inches layers would suggest.

There are several things that would account for the difference here. The first of these is that the cover is a stretch knit (not a woven cover) without any quilting which would allow you to sink into the latex below it more. The second part of this is that layer thickness plays just as big a role as layer softness and they work hand in hand to produce the “softness” you feel. There is more about this in post #14 here. Finally … Talalay latex has a lower compression modulus or support factor than Dunlop and doesn’t get firmer as quickly as Dunlop as you sink in more. All of these together would result in a much softer feeling layering and more “adaptable” mattress than just the ILD’s alone would suggest (as you mentioned).

First of all the cover is supposed to be 100% organic cotton. It seemed to me to be too stretchy to be all cotton, though I don’t really care. The two 6 inch layers were held together by a sheer mesh and the size of the holes varied as you moved down the mattress. The larger holes allow more flexibility, so it is essentially a multi-zoned mattress. I think this explains why it didn’t seem as hard as it should have for the firmness rating. The holes are smaller in the hip area and larger in the shoulders. This would allow more give in the shoulders, more support in the hips. Romeo told me that Sean, the owner, had worked on this design with Comforpedic, who makes it for them at a local factory. This is also the kind of design I thought I might do well on after all of the time spent here, reading, and reading, and getting advice.

The holes in latex are part of what makes it softer or firmer (along with the blend of air and latex in the formula) and there is absolutely no reason to worry about them as they are a part of all Talalay and most Dunlop latex. They contribute to airflow as well (although the cell structure of latex is what makes the material more breathable than other materials). The zoning that you mentioned can also be helpful because just as you said it allows the shoulders to sink in more and at the same time “stops” the heavier pelvis/hips from sinking down too far. While latex itself has what some people call “natural zoning” because of its high support factor … actual zoning can certainly be helpful when its necessary or beneficial.

I think too that the local factory that makes them is Therapedic rather than Comforpedic (which is the name of some of the Simmons memory foam mattresses) but of course who makes them isn’t nearly as important as what is in them and how well it works for you.

It sounds to me like you have found a construction that works well for you and to me this is well worth some extra cost. I’ve often mentioned that when people look back on a mattress purchase 10 years down the road … they will remember much more about how well they slept on it than they will how much they paid for it … within reason of course

So for the second time … congratulations on your new mattress … and I’m looking forward to your feedback when you have the chance to sleep on it.

Phoenix