Help in Paradise

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

First off, great site and thanks for all the work you have put in. This is a great resource for people.

The wife and I have been sleeping on a Springwall Chiropractic with a 3" Talalay Latex topper (5lbs/ft^2, ILD 24 or 28, don’t remember). It has been been extremely comfortable for us. I am a side sleeper, my wife sleeps on her back. I am 6’ 170lbs. The Chiropractic is well past its prime and we are looking for a new bed. I can’t stand the feeling of memory foam, as a restless sleeper I like a very responsive bed. So we are mainly looking at Latex beds.

As you are aware, the options in Hawaii are limited. I am wiling to go the DIY route. Do you have any recommendation on which of the vendors you list ship to Hawaii without more than doubling the cost?

The best I’ve found locally so far is the Island Dreams Aolani at Slumberworld. Here are the specs they gave me
1.2" super soft foam
3" natural dunlop latex 5lbs/ft^2
2.5" memory foam 4lbs/ft^2 (yuck!)
2" natural dunlop latex 4.4lbs/ft^2
4.75" HD poly support base 2lbs/ft^2 non-woven

Unfortunately I can definitely tell it has the memory foam layer.

We also looked at the Aireloom Verbena and Serta Verismo but their materials looked even lower quality.

If I go the DIY route, do you have any suggestions on configuration to most closely match the firmness/feel we currently have? (e.g., 3" layers of ILD 36, 28, 24). Since I am not looking for super soft, should I care whether it is dunlop or talalay? Is there a covering that is better for warm humid climates (e.g., wool or something else)?

Any help/guidance is greatly appreciated.
David

2

Hi davidj,

You’ve probably seen this but just in case … the members here who sell online are listed in post #21 here. I don’t know which of them ship to Hawaii or the cost involved but a few quick calls to the ones that are most interesting to you should quickly find out … and it would be great if you could let us know the results for others who in Hawaii who have the same question.

If this is really 5 lbs/ft3 it would be much firmer than 24 or 28 ILD (Talalay in that ILD would be less than 4 lbs). I don’t know what else would be in this mattress (either over or under the latex) but if you are right on top of the latex then it could give a good sense of the comfort layer ILD you would do well with. 24 would be soft and 28 would be in the range of medium.

The memory foam would change the feel of this mattress compared to latex alone so this really isn’t a good design to use for comparison purposes because of the way the memory foam will change the feel of the latex and you wouldn’t really know how much of what you are feeling is the latex or how much is the memory foam. I personally like the “latex over memory foam over latex” feel (although not as much as all latex) but of course all of this is personal preference.

Interestingly enough … the Verbena here doesn’t seem to contain any polyfoam according to the description but according to a salesperson there it may (see post #2 here). I would check the law tag on the mattress to see if there are any lower quality materials but if it is in the range of 8 to 9" and is all latex it would be surprisingly good value for an Aireloom mattress.

You haven’t given me much to go on but based on the limited information you provided and because you were quite happy with it … I would tend to use the Springwall as a reference point (assuming that the top layer was the latex and your ILD information is close) and go with atop 3" layer in the same ILD. I would go with layers underneath this that were height/weight appropriate. The manufacturers you work with will give you suggestions here that are most appropriate for their particular designs as long as you let them know your “stats” and the other information they would need to make good suggestions). If you have tested and slept on Talalay and like it … I would stick with what is familiar to you at least in the comfort layer (24 - 28 ILD).

The choice between Dunlop and Talalay is really a personal preference with Dunlop feeling firmer in the same ILD (because it gets firmer faster with compression). Talalay also feels more “lively” than Dunlop. If the Verbena is all Talalay latex then this would be a good reference point for how a Talalay latex core feels. You can read a little more about Dunlop vs Talalay in post #7 here which may also help you choose between them.

I would be surprised if most of the listed manufacturers didn’t ship to Hawaii at a reasonable cost but of course there are advantages to a local purchase if that’s possible and the “local premium” isn’t too high for the type of mattress you want. If you are not confident in either the layering of your old mattress or don’t have the chance to test latex without "“other” materials that would change its feel … then I would go with the more general suggestions of each manufacturer based on more detailed conversations with them and on their suggestion for the “average” choice for your height and weight.

Phoenix

3

Thanks for the fast response. I will report back any Hawaii shipping information I obtain.

FYI - here are the specs Slumberworld gave me on the Aireloom Verbena Plush (not all latex)
1" Super soft foam
.75" Memory Foam
1" 15 ILD Energia (3lbs) supposedly has a feel between latex and memory foam
1" 19 ILD Talay Latex
6" Green Foam Core 2lbs

And here is the Firm version
1" Super soft foam
.75" Memory Foam
1" 35 ILD Energia (3lbs) has a feel between latex and memory foam
1" 44 ILD Talay Latex
6" Green Foam Core 2lbs

It was definitely a case of the firm being too firm and the plush being too soft.

I wish I remembered the ILD of our current topper. I bought it 10 years ago and remember that I ordered a medium firmness and that the supplier had just switched to a lower ILD for their medium, but I don’t remember if they switched from 32 to 28 or 28 to 24. I remember their soft was 20 ILD (don’t remember the vendor either :-).

Thanks again for the advice.
David

4

Hi davidj,

It’s great to see that they now appear to know the layering of the Verbena mattresses (they didn’t t months ago) but it’s also odd that their description doesn’t match the description on the site which says it is all latex and has no polyfoam but I would guess that the site description is the one that is likely incorrect (although you could check the law tag). It would certainly be better value if it really was all latex.

The layering of each model would be too complex and has too many materials to use it as a reference point for a latex layer IMO with the possible exception of being an indicator that you like a comfort layer in the range between soft and firm.

Most manufacturers would consider medium to be in the range of 28 - 32 and would consider 24 to be soft but of course this can vary between suppliers.

I’m looking forward to any more feedback you can provide which I know will be helpful for others in Hawaii.

Phoenix

5

I have received two replies on shipping information so far.

For APMC they estimate a queen sized latex mattress would cost around $475 (using UPS) to ship to Hawaii.

For SleepEZ they ship the queen sized 3-layer mattress in three separate boxes (one for each layer) and each box costs around $50 to ship for a total of $150 to Hawaii.

I’ll report back when I get more numbers, but I don’t expect anything better than the SleepEZ price (which is quite good for Hawaii).

David

6

Hi davidj,

Thanks for sharing the information … it’s great to know and it will be very helpful for others in Hawaii :slight_smile:

Phoenix