Latex Mattress in Miami

[phoenix]

hi Vic,

Thanks for the great "South Florida "feedback

Just to clarify a few things …

When I mentioned that De Mattress carries 100% natural Talalay, he was surprised and said that he knew that they purchase latex from the same source and it is all a blend.

Latex international makes both blended Talalay (70% synthetic/30% natural) and 100% natural Talalay latex. The blend is more commonly seen and is less costly but all Talalay is certainly not blended. You can read more about the difference between blended and natural Talalay in post #2 here.

They offer Dunlop and Talalay in various ILDs (19,24,32,40). John was a bit unsure about whether the materials were blend or 100% natural. He said he would have to check with their supplier in Europe (any idea?).

If their supplier is in Europe then it would be Radium (which along with Latex international is one of the two main worldwide manufacturers of Talalay latex) which also makes Talalay in a 70% / 30% blend and in 100% natural versions. I don’t know which of the two they are using but they should certainly be able to find out.

I am eliminating Zeno mattresses and De Mattresses for the lack of options and not favorable cover materials.

I understand about the cotton polyester cover if you are more interested in natural fibers but is there a reason you are eliminating the cotton/bamboo cover (which is a good quality material that is very comfortable and can perform very well)? If DeMattress is using 100% natural Talalay then this is also a more costly material than blended Talalay. I would go by how you feel on a mattress in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) before eliminating it because the comfort specs of the material is not as important as how it feels and performs for you and even with less options they may make a mattress that works very well for you. Of course if their mattresses or the options they have available don’t provide you with good PPP then I would pass them by as well but only after testing them.

-Talalay blend not as durable as Dunlop core would be

I’m not sure where you received this information but I certainly wouldn’t agree with it. You can read more about the different types of latex and their relative durability in post #2 here.

-I was set on 100% pure material (at least for the core)… and they offer blend with synthetic only. I am still not sold on synthetic - I don’t like the idea of sleeping on petrochemicals. I am green like that. :sick:

This is certainly a matter of preference and some people just prefer more natural materials based on principle alone but natural is not necessarily better than a blend in terms of feel, performance, or durability (depending again on the type of latex) and they are both tested for “safety” to the same standards.

As a side note, after talking to several providers I totally see your comment about ILD being very misleading. They all measure them so differently and the same ILD can mean soft for one provider and firm for another. Overwhelming.

The ILD of Talalay latex is fairly consistent between manufacturers so this would probably be an accurate comparison as far as it goes but ILD itself is only one of several factors (including the thickness of the layers) that determine how soft or firm a mattress feels. When you are comparing ILD between Talalay and Dunlop however then ILD comparisons can be more misleading because ILD is only measured at a specific compression (25%) and if you sink into a material more or less than this then any ILD comparison between them wouldn’t be accurate because Dunlop gets firmer faster than Talalay with deeper compression.

The key is to let your body tell you whether a mattress is suitable for you rather than going by the ILD numbers.

Of course the quality specs of each mattress (the type and blend of the latex) as well as the amount of latex in each mattress are also important for making meaningful quality and value comparisons between mattresses but ILD is not part of the information you really need.

Phoenix