Is This a Good Buy?

[phoenix]

Hi rocket29,

Just to add to jankdc’s great advice about choosing what works (and feels) best for you …

Do you know why the Dunlop mattress topper from Spindle feels completely different from the PLB mattresses? We got the medium firmness I believe. It just doesn’t seem as “airy” as the PLB mattresses felt. I’m not sure if spindle has talalay mattresses though. I remember when I purchased the topper, Spindle Mattress said I could purchase a 7" mattress at a later date and just add the topper to make a 10" mattress. I didn’t see 7" queens on their site now though.

There would be several reasons for this. One would be that the mattress under a topper (or the materials under the top layers of a mattress) will have an effect on how it feels, one would be that the softness and thickness of a layer will affect how it feels, and finally, Dunlop and Talalay are both high quality materials but they are different versions of latex and have a different feel as well (see post #7 here).

Spindle still carries their 7" Blue Shoal mattress here. They use 100% natural continuous pour Dunlop in their mattresses but don’t currently offer Talalay latex.

Do you think it is suspect that the mattress store is wanting to sell off the floor models?

No … this is something that retail stores do all the time either because they want to replace them or because they are changing the mattress lines they carry. As long as a store is open about the fact that it is a used floor model then outside of the pros and cons of purchasing a floor model and how someone feels about buying a mattress that others have used … it wouldn’t be an issue.

[quote]I would also keep in mind that you can always add some additional softness and pressure relief to a mattress that is too firm by adding a topper but there are no great ways to “fix” a mattress that is too soft.

This is one of my main concerns now. I won’t be able to go to the store again with my partner until this Wednesday. I think the Nature would ultimately be better because additional softness can be added if it is too firm. Ultimately I am completely confused.[/quote]

Both mattresses use the same material and Talalay latex is a high quality material so durability wouldn’t be an issue with either one but I would make sure that you do some careful and objective testing (using the testing guidelines) with both of you on the mattress before buying any mattress since this is the most effective way to decide which one is the best match for you in terms of PPP.

I forgot to mention that the floor models of the Pure Latex Bliss come with the soft base and the firm base. I was told that you can still put the mattress on a platform surface, but the floor models have the split queen foundations and one is soft and one is firm. The reason I mention this is because the 8" Pamper from PLB did not seem like enough support. You provided the link to SleepEZ and I am almost positive the 8" mattress would not work.

I wasn’t suggesting that you consider either mattress that I linked and both manufacturers have many other options … I only linked them to give an example that outside of PPP … the “value” of a mattress depends on how it compares to other similar mattresses that use similar materials and not on the amount of the discount compared to a regular selling price.

The associate at the store said that defects are usually seen within the first year. Do you think this is true and the mattress would likely show a warranty issue by now?

Yes … most manufacturing defect show up early in the life of a mattress (the first year or two would be the most common). I don’t know how old the floor models are and floor models aren’t usually used for the same amount of time as a mattress that you sleep on regularly at home so a defect may take longer to show up in a floor model than a mattress that you sleep on at home.

I couldn’t find much on your thoughts of Talalay GL used in the PLB mattresses. I like the “Active Fusion” in the PLB mattresses that I tried. It has a completely different feel than my Dunlop topper that I have, which I think may be too firm to have as a whole mattress.

Talalay GL fast response is just blended Talalay latex with a phase change gel added to it which can have a “slight” effect on the sleeping temperature of the mattress (see post #5 here) It used to be called Celsion latex.

One last thing, I saw others talking about adding a softer layer under their mattress to get that PLB feel that they have in the show room. Do you think this would be possible with our Dunlop topper added underneath, if the Nature ended up being too firm.

It would certainly be possible but your sleeping experience would be the best judge of whether it would improve the mattress or make it worse in terms of PPP.

Phoenix