I spoke briefly with a gentleman at SleepEZ, this was just a preliminary call so I didn’t want to take much of his time. After asking my weight - 195, sleeping preference - side mainly, preference - firm, he suggested med talalay over med talalay over firm dunlop. This combo seems to make a lot of sense to me with the double med layers for side sleeping and the firm dunlop for firmness.
After mulling this over I began to think of how the latex may soften over time as I tend to sleep on the same portion of the bed and worry that it may cause a pocket of softer latex. I have lower neck pain and sagging seems to aggravate this therefore support is very important to me. I will sacrifice some comfort softness for good support.
I’ve read the mattress information section here and understand that blended has better endurance than natural rubber in the lower densities but the advantage may disappear at higher densities? My question is would I be better served with blended med talalay or natural rubber dunlop in the first or second layers? And of course any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
All mattresses will soften to some degree initially when they break in (over the course of the first 30 - 90 days or so) as the foams lose any of their “false firmness”, the materials settle, and the cover loses any of it’s initial stiffness.
Latex is a very durable material and any softening will be less than other types of foam (polyfoam or memory foam) so I wouldn’t make my choice based on how it will feel years down the road or take any latex softening into account when you choose your mattress. A medium won’t turn into a soft for example.
This would be a preference based on which type of latex you prefer and the parts of your personal value equation (including price) that were most important to you. There is more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here. All of your latex options are good ones (and medium Talalay would be a durable material in both versions) and all of them can be used in a mattress design that would be suitable for you in terms of PPP and durability. The choice between Dunlop and Talalay would be a preference choice (see post #7 here) and the choice between 100% natural Talalay and blended Talalay would also be a preference choice as well (some people just prefer to sleep on more natural materials for personal reasons that would have little to do with durability or safety and are happy to pay a higher price for them).
When you can’t test a specific mattress in person (or a mattress that is close to identical) … then I would always make your layer firmness choices based on more detailed conversations with a knowledgeable and experienced online manufacturer (which includes all the information about you and any local testing you have done that can help them help you more effectively). They will be your best source of guidance about the layering choices they have available that have the best chance of working well for you and will know more about “matching” their specific designs to different body types, sleeping styles, and preferences than anyone else (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).