Hi Pamelmac,
You’re welcome.
The density of 1.8 lb for the polyfoam core is the minimum I like to recommend, unless you’re considering something is a price-conscious range and are willing to accept the potential durability tradeoffs of a lower-density foam. If you’re in the 200 pounds or so and above range, I’d recommend at least a 2 lb density polyfoam core. While all of the layers of a mattress work together and we don’t know the compression modulus of the foam, the ILD of 23 for the polyfoam core is a bit on the softer end of the spectrum, that is certain.
This simply means that part of the polyol used to make the polyfoam is sourced from soy-based ingredients. This is very common in polyfoam manufactured in the USA, and not necessarily a point of quality.
The synthetic latex (SBR) isn’t added for consistency (all Talalay is generally quite consistent and he may have been mistakenly comparing the Talalay process to the Dunlop process), but for the characteristics in feel and performance is brings to the finished Talalay foam (and often lower pricing). If you’re curious, there is more about the difference between synthetic and natural latex in post #2 here. I would consider all latex to be a higher-quality and durable material.
I’m not sure what he was referring to by “hand poured”, as the liquid latex is distributed into the molds by a mixing head and the component mixture is controlled by a computer. Here is a video showing Talalay latex being made. Here is a video of the continuous pour Dunlop latex made by Mountaintop that is used in a Spindle mattress.
As you may be aware, Spindle and Gardner Mattress are members of this site which means that I think very highly of them and that I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency. Worley also has been making mattresses for quite some time and they offer very good knowledge.
I’ll be interested in learning about your trips and what you discovered.
Phoenix