Help with mattress core identification

[phoenix]

Hi beanbag,

Ken said it was a 31-35-31. I found that kind of odd because everybody else is calling that kind of ILD “firm” on ebay. I guess I will wait to see if anybody from Latexco responds. Also, this mattress really does measure out to 6", and not 5.5" like on the mattress.net web page. In any case, I found this core to be too soft when used with my topper.

I would keep in mind that firmness and softness are completely subjective and each person’s experience on a mattress can be completely different from someone else. there are some members on the forum that have tried mattress that some people would find “ultra firm” and completely unsleepable that for them are still too soft.

However, I remembered one tip I read from an ebay seller that said that because of the way dunlop latex is made, one side is a little firmer due to particles settling. So I flipped the core over, and now I think it is a bit too firm!

This is correct because of the way that molded Dunlop is made and the latex particles can settle when they are being manufactured and the actual ILD’s can also vary across the surface (see post #6 here). The difference between the top and bottom though is not usually dramatic, especially with 2" of soft Talalay on top of it … and if using one side of the Dunlop core is too soft for you and the other is too firm then it would normally mean that you are much more sensitive than the norm and much smaller changes in a mattress would have a larger effect on you than most people. In cases like this I would tend to use the firmer side up and sleep on it for a few weeks to give your body time to adjust and then consider adding a thinner layer if you still need some extra firmness. There are also some suggestions in post #2 here that may be helpful for fine tuning a mattress that is too firm.

So now I am wondering what I can do about this. I figure two possibilities are:
a) core soft side up. Use only a 1" soft topper, or a slightly harder 2" topper
b) core hard side up. Add an extra 1" of transition layer of maybe 26 or 28 ILD

If you go with “A” I would tend to sleep on the soft side of the core first and then add a layer using your own experience and the topper guidelines here as a reference point. If you go in the direction of B do need an extra inch of Talalay latex then SLAB and KTT Enterprises both have this available. I would also keep in mind that your mattress cover and any mattress protector or even your sheets and bedding can also have an effect on how the mattress feels.

Phoenix