In the middle of my "field testing"

[phoenix]

Hi sleepySuzan,

Interestingly, after shopping around for over a week, I had ruled out latex entirely, having tried many mattresses and always finding them too firm, too bouncy, not firm enough, etc. But then yesterday I went to Literie Laurier and found some latex options that really did appeal to me, so I figured it was just a matter of finding the ILDs that matched my personal preference.

This is often the case and it can be surprising for some people how much difference there is in different designs that use the same materials. That’s one of the reasons I normally suggest not to “define” a whole category of mattresses by just one or two examples.

They had one mattress I tried that came pretty darn close to meeting all of the above criteria. The comfort layer was made of a high quality gel-infused blue memory foam (I think he said the density was about 5.1 lbs/sq feet) with a Talalay latex support core. The salesman told me that if ever I got fed up with the memory foam because it was too hot in the summertime or whatever, I had the option of flipping the mattress over and sleeping directly on the latex. That seems like a practical option to me but I would be curious to have your thoughts on this idea.

The gel memory foam is good quality but the practicality of sleeping on the other side would depend on how the latex side felt and performed for you. In theory it would work but in practice it would be quite different from the memory foam side and you would need to sleep on it or carefully test the other side to see if it was suitable or comfortable for you. In effect it would be a different mattress although you could add a topper to the other side if the sleeping surface wasn’t soft enough.

The only issue with that particular mattress was that the latex support core was rather firm for my taste (I prefer a medium-firm mattress). I asked the salesman if it would be possible to make one with a lower ILD support core, and he didn’t seem to think it was a great idea, he said it might not offer the same level of support. But from what I read about latex cores on your website, this isn’t necessarily true: “… This means that even a relatively soft latex (28 ILD and higher) can be used as a mattress core where its upper softness can help to form a pressure relieving cradle while its deeper firmness can still provide excellent support (the ability to prevent heavier parts of you from sinking down too far) and keep your spine aligned.” Once again I’d be curious to have your thoughts here.

A support core is supposed to be firmer and would normally be firmer than 28 ILD. “Medium Firm” is also subjective and has many definitions and would also be subject to each person’s perception, body type, and sleeping style. One definition would be a firm support core with a medium comfort layer, another would be an “overall impression” that was subjectively “medium firm”, another would be the “feel” of a “medium firm” comfort layer, and yet another may have a soft comfort layer that was thin enough that the “feel” of a firmer support layer came through more so it felt firmer than just the soft comfort layer would feel on a different support core. There is no specific meaning to “medium firm” in other words because it can be used in many different ways. The support core generally should be on the firmer side because it is responsible for your primary support and for “stopping” your pelvis from sinking in too far beeyond the comfort layer. 28 ILD would generally be considered a “soft” support core for most people even though in a comfort layer it would be closer to medium. Don’t forget that all the layers of a mattress interact and affect each other and that comfort layers and support layers have different functions. The comment was meant to describe a situation where the comfort layer was either very thin or there was no comfort layer at all so you would have a softer surface and then deeper support (because of the higher compression modulus) all in the same layer or with only a very thin comfort layer. In a mattress that already has a softer or thicker comfort layer then the same support core could easily be too soft. I agree that a support core in this range would probably not be a good idea with a soft gel memory foam comfort layer for most people (although again this all depends on the specifics of each person’s body type, sleeping style, and preferences).

Regarding the Zedbed, I did get the density of the foams by calling the company directly (the store where I tried the mattress didn’t have this information): Comfort layer: 5,5 lbs/sq ft; Support layer: 2,2 lbs/sq ft; Base layer: 1,8 lbs/sq ft. That same day I called another local manufacturer and gave them these specs to find out if they had something comparable. I got a rather puzzling response. I had only given the guy the price of the mattress and density of the comfort layer when he interrupted me in total disbelief. He said that it was simply “impossible” for Zedbed and the retailer to make a profit by selling a mattress at that price with those quality materials –only small retailers like himself could afford to be so competitive—therefore I must have been lied to about the specs. Wonderful. I have no idea if this dude’s assumption makes sense or if he has a bit of an ego problem (I’m sensing it’s the latter), but either way, it is a prime example of how confusing mattress shopping can be to consumers who want to make an informed decision.

All of these are good quality materials with no obvious weak links and would be typical of the quality of the materials used by Zedbed. As you are discovering there is a wide range of quality and value in the mattress market that knowing the specifics of the materials can help bring to light although of course there are other parts to value (including the suitability of a mattress) that are just as important. I would doubt you were lied to or misinformed about the specs.

The price he was offering me on this mattress was not much more expensive than the Zedbed I had mentioned earlier, so this seems like a better value, considering the superior quality of the latex core

I don’t know the specifics of each mattress (layer thickness and design etc) but I would think that considering the manufacturers they would both be good quality and value and that some of the other parts of your personal value equation would be just as important a part in deciding between them.

Phoenix