I talked with Majestic in Kamloops and they do tend to use mostly 1.5 lb polyfoam both in the upper layers and the lower layers of their mattresses. This is on the low side for polyfoam … and while it’s certainly better quality than 1.2 lb which is more common in the comfort layers … in combination with the layers of fiber they also tend to use in all their mattresses it could certainly account for the impressions you saw over time. In a memory foam mattress (which has memory foam over polyfoam) I would not consider anything under 1.8 lb density in the support layers unless you were in a low budget range. 1.5 lb polfoam would be similar to some of the “better” foams that many of the larger manufacturers use (often in combination with even lower density) although I personally would start looking for higher quality/density polyfoam once I was looking at prices over @ $500 or so. 1.5 lb polyfoam can work well in a two sided mattress in reasonable layers but not as well in a one sided mattress.
That would depend on your preferences because memory foam is very different from latex. Latex is more durable than memory foam and won’t soften as much or as quickly. If you prefer the feeling of memory foam though (which is a more “in” the mattress feeling than latex which is more “on” the mattress feeling and more motion restricting than latex which is more “lively”) then I would be aware that lower quality memory foams (less than 5 lbs density) are less durable than higher quality/density memory foams and I would completely avoid any memory foam that was less than 4 lbs unless durability was not an issue. I would also avoid any memory foam that was not CertiPur certified (tested for offgassing and harmful chemicals).
I guess I’m more confused in a way now than ever. I like the idea of latex better (better longevity, cooler mattress, high satisfaction rating, less off gasing), but have never had the opportunity to try one out. I’ve tried memory foam with my topper and at sleep country; I like the feeling of being cocooned in the bed, but my husband doesn’t. As well, doing a quick and dirty online search, the best I could come up with is the Essentia mattress company in Vancouver, but holy moly, expensive! A lot of companies online that are more reasonably priced don’t ship to Canada. Any ideas?
Thanks so much for the help
Tracey
A search on Essentia will bring up a whole thread about them and other references. I believe that they are certainly overpriced and the idea that they are “latex memory foam” is rather strange to me and probably misleading. In any case … I certainly wouldn’t pay what they are asking for a mattress that probably contains more polyfoam than any latex.
Two of our members make layered latex mattresses (where you choose your own layers and put them in a zip cover) that they often ship to Canada. They are …
While they are different and offer different options … they are both great quality and value. There is one advantage at the moment which is that the Canadian dollar is higher than the US dollar
It would help to have tried a couple of latex mattresses (either Talalay or Dunlop) in various degrees of firmness to give you a sense of what you prefer (either in materials or in firmness).
If any of the dealers here are within reasonable driving distance of you it would give you a chance to test a high quality Dunlop latex mattress (although the prices are quite high).
I’m still waiting for a reply from a couple of others that may carry latex (or at least latex in the comfort layers that may be worth testing for a reference point) but so far no other options that I’m aware of.
thank you again for your quick reply! mattresses must really be your life! thank you again for the suggestions; i’ll try and get to a place in town that sells novotec (sp?) and try them out if i can. if they actually have the mattress. its amazing how they don’t put the prices of those mattresses on the web
have a great day
tracey
Well phoning around no one in kamloops carries the novotech mattresses, just pillow and bedding. I know you’ ve commented on the Boyd latex lower models, but how about the natural flex ultra? On the website it says it talalay and Dunlop latex layers but doesn’t give ild specs or any other info. I can probably get this model from wholesale furniture here.
Thanks
Tracey
When I talked to wholesale furniture brokers they told me they didn’t have any of the Boyd latex on the floor.
The Boyd Natural flex Ultra line is a polyfoam/latex hybrid but they use the talalay latex on the top of either polyfoam or more layers of Talalay or Dunlop (the latex layers vary from 3" to 9"). They would also make a good testing ground for the feel of latex and could also have good value depending on the price. It would be nice if someone carried them locally.
http://www.sleepcountry.ca/storesearchresults.aspx?d=50&l=Kamloops-BC has a mattress called the Zenbody which is 9" of what Sealy calls “smartlatex”. It would be closest to Dunlop latex although it’s mostly synthetic and has inserts which “zone” the latex with other materials so it wouldn’t feel quite like 100% natural Dunlop but it would be “Dunlop latex like” and give you a bit of a sense of what Dunlop latex feels like (it may be on the firm side). (ADDED they no longer carry this mattress and there is nothing else there that I would consider)
Novotech is very nice but it is also very pricy and I didn’t find an outlet near you that carries it. It also uses many different layers but at least one of the models (the neutral sleeper) uses talalay for the top two layers.
It seems that the only place (at least that I’m aware of) that you could test various different layerings of both Talalay and natural Dunlop is in Kelowna.
If I discover anything else I’ll include it here and if you find something I’ve missed then I hope you let us know as well
ADDED: See post #2 here for the Kamloops area and post #4 here for some better options in the Okanagan area.
thanks again! well, kelowna is pretty close ; its only about 2 hours away and a nice drive. another store contacted me, sleepys in kelowna. they carry the iron man t3 (?) but it sounds too slick to be true. i couldn’t find any specific information at this time online about it, but my gut tells me expensive for what i’ll get
thanks again
its nice to have someone be so helpful
tracey
The Ironman site used to have more complete descriptions of their mattresses but the pages for each model have disappeared. If memory serves me correctly their top layers did include Celsion latex (a cooler version of Talalay) and other latex layers as well over different types of support systems.
While they certainly have an interesting construction … if you do go to Kelowna … the PLB and the Snugsleep would be much more typical of the feel of the two different types of latex.
the Ironman would be closer in its construction style (combination of memory foam and latex) to the Novotech.
i found another guy in kelowna who is custom making latex mattresses. sleepys (with an s, not a z) is his company and he’s dealing with talalay latex and fairly reasonable prices. my hubby and i can’t get to kelowna until sunday when his store is closed, but he said he’d open if he knew when we’d be there. he uses latex international latex and can do a split king 10’ at a pretty good price. have you heard of him before?
http://www.sleepys.ca/ would also be well worth including in your research if you go to Kelowna. As you probably already know from their site, they make an 8" and 10" latex mattress that uses Talalay, can be customized for firmness, and can even include a side to side split. They don’t say who makes it but that is not as important as the ingredients which seem to be high quality.
I don’t know their prices but I would assume they are likely to be better than most other similar options in the area and will be interesting to see how they compare to the Pure Latex Bliss. They are the type of small sleep shop that usually has more knowledge about their mattresses and better service and value than the larger or more mass market outlets.
Thanks for including them in your comments. I knew about them but didn’t have this particular mattress listed in my notes so your research and questions will certainly help others in your area to find better options
Geoff (the guy I talked to) said they get their latex from latex international. He really seems knowledgable and I was glad for your site when I was talking with him. You provide an excellent and helpful service for us mattress newbies! Thank you so much!
I had a long conversation today with Geoff at Sleepys (actually 3 because we were interrupted a few times) and I have to say I was truly impressed. He has been in the industry for over 30 years and he really knows his stuff both about different foams and about mattress construction. He doesn’t “cheap out”, sells the best he can find, and doesn’t shy away from telling people the truth about mattresses or the industry. We swapped some stories and he shared his ideas and thoughts about mattresses with me which not surprisingly were very similar to mine. He is truly one of the better “mattress people” that I have met and is passionate about mattresses and helping people to find what is best for them. It also doesn’t hurt that he runs his store on a lean budget and has narrow profit margins which translates into great value.
I’m glad that we had a chance to talk (triggered by your thread … ty) and a visit to his store would definitely be worth the drive IMO. I doubt you will find better in the Okanagan valley
That makes me feel sooo much better about buying from him. Your opinion is very valuable and if you say he sounds good, I can trust him. Thanks for all your help; who knew buying a new mattress would be so complicated? It was easier buying a car!
Tracey
will do. am planning a trip down on sunday if possible. my hubby and i both had to work all week because of the holiday and i have a course i have to attend on saturday. me and my back are getting really excited about a new mattress!
well, i finally got my new bed! a couple of weeks ago, we took a trip to kelowna and went mattress shopping! jeff at sleepys opened the store for us (he is not normally open on a sunday) and let us try the 2 most popular beds there. i was looking for a feel close to the ‘nature’ mattress i had tried in the pure bliss series and selected the 10 inch. we also tried the iron man mattresses (which were nice also) but opted for the longer lasting total latex. he had a special on at the time, so we recieved 2 free iron man pillows (which i loooove) that i took home that day. the mattress arrived yesterday, and the boys set it up in my bedroom. it did have a slight smell, but after only a couple of hours with the windows open, and with a good mattress cover, the smell was gone. its soo nice to wake up without a lower back ache! and i was able to sleep in the bed for the whole night (i have been switching to the sofa in the middle of the night with my old mattress because of pain). my guy actually had to get up and put more clothes on because he got cold; i don’t think heat retention is going to be a problem this summer . i hope the mattress doesn’t change too much over time, because as of now i love it!
thanks for all your knowledge and help
tracey
It’s always amazing to me how good the level of service is at some of the smaller and better outlets. Just imagine phoning a chain store and “suggesting” they open up the store for you!
While every mattress will of course soften to a degree, latex does so much more slowly that other foams so you can look forward to keeping the feel you like for a very long time.
You did well … and a trip to Kelowna is worth it anyway (it’s one of my favorite places in the summer time … once it warms up that is :))
Tracey - hopefully you still get notifications for this topic Can you give an update now that we’re a year later? I’m now in where your shoes were then, and I’m considering Sleepy’s and the latex choices he has. How is yours holding up?
still loving my bed! it’s about 36 degrees celcius and the mattress is very cool in the summer. lots of support and i can barely feel it move when my hubby comes to bed at night (doesn’t even wake me anymore like he did when we had a coil mattress). i can’t recommend sleepes enough. they were so knowledgable and helpful and went out of their way to make sure we were happy. i’ll never go back to a conventional mattress again!
cheers
tracey
