About 18 months ago, my husband and I purchased a ViSpring Coronet mattress. He is 6’4"/230 lbs and I am 5’3"/140 lbs. Single king mattress. His side is firm. My side is medium. We live on west coast of Florida and do not have many choices for higher end/natural/organic mattresses. Lots of big box store/Mattress firm options. We decided to travel to Miami to see the ViSpring and decided to purchase since it was the best option we had found. We were getting out of the Cloud Tempur-pedic because the mattress completely sank on my husband’s side and I am 52 year old with all the hot flash/night sweating sleeping issues! My husband and I are both active and have injuries to prove! Hip and shoulder issues wake us up nightly. Bottom line - ViSpring is like sleeping on concrete! There is no plushness or feedback. We are side sleepers and roll from side to side and hurt because of lack of cushioning. Over vacation this summer, we slept on a Simmons Napa Black Beautyrest and had better sleep than we had in months because of the plushness and comfort on our joints. Bottom line- we have over 6K invested in the ViSpring so we think it is best to add a topper. After extensive research, I think I have choices narrowed down to Talalay latex, Wool or a combination of both. I am concerned that the Talalay topper, by itself, will sleep warmer! I find it interesting that almost no manufacturer combines these two materials in one topper-just don’t know why… I spoke with Organic Mattresses in Boston and the associate recommended that I purchase a 2 inch Talalay topper and then a 3 in wool topper to stack on top of the latex. I am also considering a topper that Custom Comfort Mattress sells - 4" Talalay covered in 2" of wool. That topper is approx $2,700 plus shipping. I just can’t find a lot of info on this combination. Finally, Sleep Like a Bear is suggesting a 3" custom Celsion topper (2" 15 ILD over 1" 27 ILD for me and the opposite for my husband) with a cotton/bamboo encasement. We need some plushness and I need to sleep cool!! Our room is set to 67 degrees every night. We sleep with organic bamboo sheets on a wool/cotton spring mattress. Should I pursue the combo topper from Custom Comfort, custom latex from Sleep Like a Bear or should I look into a and a separate wool topper to place over a talalay topper???
Flgirlmom:
I can help provide some information for you on this I think.
I recently added a thin quilted wool topper to my mattress. My current mattress has a 3" 15 ILD (very plush) Talalay latex topper on it. I am a warm sleeper (I can’t deal with any memory foam), but personally never had any issues with this all-latex set up at my home (after I changed away from my current mattress protector to one that used a thinner polyurethane film).
Recently, I wanted to add a wool topper over my latex topper for some of the benefits I perceive there to be of wool, and I also wanted to sample the comfort. I’ve personally been happy with the results. As you’re familiar with the feel of sleeping upon natural fibers, as well as the more “temperature neutral” and breathable nature they exhibit. By placing this wool topper over my Talalay latex topper, I find that my body heat doesn’t pool (not that it did with the latex) and dissipates rather quickly if I get out of bed, especially with the topper being “loose” from the latex topper. Also, the topper just slightly “firms up” the comfort of my latex topper, so I sink in just a bit less, so there is less insulating of the foam surrounding me. It is still quite comfortable, and personally I am finding that I do prefer this feel of a natural fiber layer between me and the latex topper.
Regarding what to purchase, this is of course very personal, and you’re considering adding two different materials on top of your current mattress (whether combined or not), so it can be complicated in how everything works together. If you were visiting my store, I would suggest a separate component approach, as it allows you more flexibility, not only if you are unhappy with something initially, but also as your comfort preferences change over time you can change out layers, plus the extra breathability by having the componentry separate, and as the materials wear over time you have the ability to replace layers independent of each other.
Most of your extra plushness will come from the latex layer, so for adding softness I would focus upon that first. Talalay tends to be more popular than Dunlop for extra plushness in a topper, but everyone is different so what works best for you may vary. I would avoid going too thick with the wool topper, as you’re relying mostly upon the latex for the extra plushness, and then the wool for the breathability and the extra added comfort it provides, but if you go too thick with the wool it can insulate a bit.
Anyway, from a retail and a personal standpoint, I hope that advice is useful.
Jeff Scheuer
Mattress To Go
Jeff,
Thank you so much for your insight! This information definitely validates my gut feeling on choices. Today, I was able to find a small organic mattress dealer who had a Savvy Rest Vitality Talalay 3" topper as well as an OMI Wooly 3" topper on display. I laid on both independently over a firm spring mattress. I found the Talalay topper to be plush, but almost gooey. After a few minutes, I found it a bit hard to move and when I turned to my stomach, I felt overwhelmed. Conversely, I found the OMI Wooly topper to lack the plushness and spring that the Talalay provided. Then, I stacked the Wooly topper on top of the Talalay. It was pretty amazing! I still felt the plushness of the Talalay latex through the wool, but there was a sense of softness that the wool itself provided at the same time. I think the sales associate thought my experiment was a bid odd! Then, I asked her to lay on it herself - she couldn’t believe it! She was amazed, saying she would be purchasing this combo next week for herself!! I am taking in your advice over thicknesses now. I don’t really want 6" of toppers if I can avoid it, but at the same time, I don’t want to compromise on the balance or feel. I think that we need the 3" of latex, but now wondering if I should drop an inch of wool or stay with the OMI product. Also, while I really liked the Savvy Rest Talalay, still wondering if I should consider a 3" Celsion topper at 15 ILD to help with temperature control?? Could the Talalay latex trap heat sitting under the wool?? Are there other brands or choices I should be considering??
Check these out. We have one on top of a rather firm foam mattress and really like it: Latex Mattress Topper
In addition we use a St. Geneve Dormeir wool mattress protector:Mattress — St DORMEIR
The Dormeir link didn’t copy well in my last post. I’ll try again.
https://www.dormeir.com/mattress/
Thanks for your suggestions. It looks like the Berkeley latex is either 1" or 2". Which do you have? The Dormier mattress pad is just a pad vs a topper, correct? No added cushion?
Sorry. Forgot to mention ours is the 2". The 1" would not be enough for your situation. Yes the Dormeir is just a skirted pad which we added for protection because it is washable. It also provides a little extra cushioning when it is new. Ours is a few years old and multiple washings has decreased its original fluffiness - no surprise.
Flgirlmom,
I’m glad you found some items to test. The Savvy Rest Vitality is plush natural Talalay latex from Radium, in the ultra plush ILD range of 15-20 or so. The cover is a thinner organic cotton casing. I have a 3" topper similar to this on my mattress with the older 2" Savvy Rest Woolsy topper (Disclaimer: I do offer Savvy Rest at my stores).
Regarding your thinness question, OMI does offer a 1.5" version of their wool topper. You may wish to investigate that.
As far as the Celsion topper, that is just the trade name that Talalay Global puts on their blended latex using a small amount of phase change material (paraffin wax last time I was informed) that can assist a bit with temperature regulation, but with the wool topper above the latex layer, I wouldn’t make this as much of a priority. My topper has this same material and honestly I can not tell the difference, and latex itself is quite breathable. I would focus more on the comfort.
Regarding other options, I know there are a lot of sources for toppers (latex and wool) in this post that is referenced often on this site.
-Jeff Scheuer
Mattress To Go