Jamison Lady Lark

[phoenix]

Hi restnight,

Our old mattress finally needs replacing…loved this mattress - S&F that you could flip with pillow top on both sides. It is an innerspring and in research, it seems they don’t make them like they used to…not only S&F, but all innerspring mattresses.

That’s certainly true for the major brands but there are still dozens of smaller manufacturers around the country that are still making very high quality innerspring mattresses including two sided versions (see post #404 here and post #3 here). In the case of the mainstream industry though that most people are exposed to through their advertising … it’s certainly true that they “don’t make them like they used to”.

I have been researching 100% pure Talalay latex mattresses online and it is so confusing when you call different companies the terms they use range from natural, organic, green, etc. and they offer covers ranging from poly/cotton, bamboo, organic. It does seem that all the ones I have contacted get their latex from Latex International, which seems like a good thing.

There is more about the different types and blends of latex that you will see on the market in this article and in post #6 here. Latex International is one of two manufacturers of Talalay latex (the other is Radium) and they are both good quality materials. I also agree that the industry as a whole can be very confusing when it comes to the marketing claims they make. There is more about organic certifications in post #2 here and the post it links to. Natural materials generally refer to 100% natural latex (either Dunlop or Talalay) and natural fibers (such as wool or cotton) and there is also more about “how green is green” in post #4 here.

They have two Jamison mattresses with latex: Silverspot and Lady Lark. I would only be interested in the Lady Lark since it is all Talalay latex and these are the specifications the store gave me regarding the latex content: 2" 19 ILD - 2" 19 ILD - 2" 21 ILD - 3" 36 ILD - 3" 44 ILD.

You can see some of my thoughts about Jamison in post #2 here. The Lady Lark uses all blended Talalay latex which means that there are no weak links in the mattress in terms of durability so if it’s a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) and the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you then it would be well worth considering. The specs you were given may be incorrect though (The Lady Lark description here has 2" less latex in the mattress than the information you were given so it seems they “inserted” an extra 2" layer). A forum search on Jamison Lady Lark (you can just click this) will bring up more information and feedback about it as well.

100% pure latex is what I was hoping to purchase (not blended or synthetic), but I read one post here that LI uses fillers (which I don’t know much about).

All latex is 100% “pure” latex (latex means a rubber particle suspended in water and both synthetic and natural latex are equally latex) but LI does use fillers in their Talalay to increase the firmness.

After visiting the store and laying on the Lady Lark, it’s hard to know how it would sleep and I don’t know if I would need anything softer than 19 ILD in the mattress and I haven’t even opened the 2" N2 topper so not sure if I would need a different topper on top of the Lady Lark? I have read that the latex will soften up a little with use. My other option is to go back to shopping online, which will be a guessing game.

You can read more about the two ways to choose a mattress (locally or online) in mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here. Careful and objective testing using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post or your own personal experience is the only reliable way to know if a mattress is a good match for you. All foam materials will soften over time but in general latex is more durable and will soften less than other types of foam materials (memory foam or polyfoam). There is more about the factors that can affect the useful life of a mattress relative to each person in post #4 here.

Just in case you haven’t read it yet … the tutorial post is the best place to start and has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choices … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

I also love the feel of a pillowtop, but not the fact that they flatten out from body impressions (even though my S&F held up pretty well for 12 years of use). Any help would be greatly appreciated!

The reasons for body impressions in pillowtops is not so much because it’s a pillowtop but because most of the pillowtops in the mainstream industry use lower quality polyfoam which will tend to soften and impress prematurely. If a pillowtop uses good quality materials so there are no weak links in the mattress then they wouldn’t have a durability issue like so many of the pillowtops in the mainstream industry.

Phoenix