Thank you for your website. We have found the information and advice very helpful as we have been searching for a mattress that will meet our needs and keep it within our budget.
I am looking at an Innergetic mattress that has three layers:
6" High Performance 7 zone Core: Dunlop 60% natural 40% Synthetic (Center 31 ILD, Lumbar 33ILD, Head/Foot 29ILD)
3" Natural Duvet Dunlop 85% Natural 15% Synthetic (22-25 ILD)
1" Soft Topping Dunlop 20% Natural 80% Synthetic 18-19 ILD)
Cover Bamboo Cover with no polyfoam, only fiber quilting
They normally offer a “glue spray and zippered cover,” but zipper is glued to not open. ( Would you suggest glue or no glue? Left open to unzip?)
I am concerned about the 1" topping because of the ratio of natural to synthetic. The price is $999 and so it fits in my budget. We are in our early 50’s, my wife is 5’03" and weighs 140 with sciatic, lower back and hip pain. She is a side/stomach sleeper. She would like the support needed for these areas but the benefits of less pressure to those points that latex offers. I am 6" and weigh 170, sleep primarily on my stomach, sometimes back. This mattress feels comfortable to both of us, but we would like your opinion on the construction and quality of the materials.
We are working with a local mattress manufacturer, Southern Mattress in Columbia, SC. They can assemble the mattress as we request. This is the mattress they offer for this price.
Thanks for your help,
StKaAllen
Hi StKaAllen,
Overall these are good quality materials for the budget range IMO but this would also depend on the size you are considering and on whether it was mattress only or a set because this makes a difference in the “value” of a mattress.
While I prefer 100% natural Dunlop because of the greater elasticity and higher performance of natural rubber, Dunlop blends can also be good value and even synthetic latex is also a good quality material compared to most polyfoam alternatives.
The 1" of mostly synthetic Dunlop (which is probably Puralux from Latexco) is also within the range of “lower quality” materials (lower quality in this case means compared to Dunlop with a higher natural content) that I consider to be acceptable in a quilting layer (around an inch or so or less).
So if you are in the market for an all latex mattress in this budget range and you have carefully and objectively tested the mattress for PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) in all your sleeping positions then I would consider this to be good quality and value for the budget range (again depending on the size and what goes with it).
If it was me … I personally believe that the benefits of having a zip cover with access to the layers and individual layers that can be replaced if necessary either because they soften or your needs and preferences change outweighs the benefits of gluing the layers together.
Phoenix
Left out a few details! This is a queen sized mattress. They offer a foundation, with a solid top (feels like a thin plywood) that the mattress would sit directly on. It is covered with matching fabric and “looks like” a traditional box spring for an additional $100. It can sit on our existing bed frame. We have not decided what type of foundation we will use. We have seen the metal frames that eliminate the need for a box spring-type foundation, like this, for example:
http://www.brooklynbedding.com/genius-hi-rise-frame
If we buy the set, we would get 10% off. If I calculate correctly, the total would be $989 for the foundation/mattress set. Our existing frame is pretty solid, whereas the hi rise frame appears to be a lighter weight frame. Any suggestions there?
We are now on a mattress we purchased from Sam’s Club, Serta Euro top. It’s about 5 years old and we’ve not been happy with it for the past 2 or more years. It has a body impression on both sides and has gotten progressively more uncomfortable. We see why you’d call these “throw away” mattresses.
Thanks again for your help.
StKaAllen
Hi StKaAllen,
Based on your information … I would call this good value.
I am a little hesitant with both a wire grid foundation and a solid surface foundation for an all latex mattress (for different reasons) but having said that the solid surface foundation they offer also seems to me to be good value (depending on how it is made and the type and thickness of the surface) so if you are comfortable with the slight additional risk of a solid surface that is less ventilating and it seems to be well made and strong then it would probably be worth considering.
Other good foundation options are listed in the foundation thread here.
Phoenix
We are going to order our mattress today! We will have them assemble the mattress with layers of latex unglued and the zipper left accessable to the layers.
Their foundation is prefabricated wooden slats, that they cover with carpet and cardboard, not plywood as I previously stated. I am not sure of the spacing of these slats. I would think that this covering would block off the air flow and defeat the purpose of the open slat design. Would you agree? We are going to see if they can provide a foundation with 3" or less spaced slats, covered in fabric to allow more air circulation. If they cannot provide what we’re looking for, we’ve seen the recommendations you’ve posted on the site to order online.
Next is finding a good mattress protector, I am leaning toward a fully zippered breathable cover to fully protect the mattress. I’m hoping to find some in a store to get the “feel” before I order one online.
Looking forward to our new mattress! Thanks again for the wealth of information on your site!
Hi StKaAllen,
Congratulations on your new mattress 
The foundations that have cardboard on top are usually made with more widely spaced slats inside and are usually lower quality as well. I agree that the cardboard compromises the ventilation of the mattress but with these types of foundations the slats are usually too far apart anyway for use without anything on top of them and the cardboard is usually just an inexpensive way to provide more even support for the mattress.
You can read a little more about the different types of mattress protectors and some of the tradeoffs involved in each type in post #89 here.
If you are looking for a mattress encasement which completely encloses the mattress (which I normally wouldn’t suggest unless there are specific issues involved that would indicate that this would be a better choice) then this thread and this post may also be helpful.
Phoenix
This is the Karen of StKaAllen
We have worked with Karen L. with Southern Bedding of Columbia, SC. While she was not completely knowledgeable on the specifics on the latex she offered, she was more than willing to be completely open and share all information we requested upon multiple calls and visits. She contacted Kevin, a rep from Latexco in GA and let us speak to him about the specifics of the pieces offered. He even was available for Steve to call and ask more questions while I emailed him over the Memorial Day weekend with a speedy Sunday iphone response. We have been very pleased with the transparency of both individuals we worked with.
On the foundation, Karen walked us through their mattress warehouse to the factory, where we inspected the raw product of the queen foundation they offer. While it was solidly built, it had slats that were 5" apart. We contemplated taking the frame home and altering it for our needs, but instead, she called the supplier and asked them to make it to our specs. So now, our foundation will have extra middle support as well as slats spaced 2.5 inches apart. They will cover the base with breathable fabric and should have it all ready for us by Monday.
We are so happy with our experience so far, and look forward to getting to sleep on our new mattress. We have ordered the Protect A Bed Elite mattress protector from Wayfair.com for only $45! It was on sale for 64.39, but they had an additional 25% off coupon code offer that was listed for the product. I called Wayfair, because I could find no valid coupon code online. It turned out to be a “glitch” and should have not been applied, but the salesperson happily applied that 25% discount!
The cost of the mattress alone was $999, the foundation was $135. Southern Bedding was offering a 10% off mattress set, so the price could not be beat! If the foundation does not meet our expectations, it will be a very small cost, afterall. Total for both mattress and foundation was $1008.
Will update after we’ve had a chance to try it out! Thank you again for all the information and time you took in responding to our questions. We really had no idea and could have been overwhelmed and confused. It was an info overload, but we feel that we could go into the mattress business with all the info in our brains now! 
Hi StKaAllen,
I’m certainly impressed with how everyone you were dealing everyone went out of their way to provide you with the information you needed and even altered their foundation to your specs as well.
I really think you made some very good quality/value choices.
Thanks too for taking the time to share your feedback!
Let me know if you start a mattress store
Phoenix