Latex Mattresses

[phoenix]

Hi bobfrog12,

My difficulty in the whole mattress search experience is that nowhere was I able to find samples of latex which I could feel and guage the density of the different ild’s. Ideally it would be nice to find a mattress manufacturer with slabs of hard, medium and soft latex just to see how they feel. But I haven’t come across that.

I agree this would be nice but for the most part these types of mattresses where you can choose your own layers are mostly only available online (with a few exceptions) regardless of which materials they use.

There are some latex choices around you though where the layering … including the ILD … would be available to you so these could act as guidelines and help you gain experience about the feel and performance of different designs.

Then again I don’t know what regulatory sanctions there are for grading latex ild’s and how rigidly they are controlled, nor the difference in feel from Talalay to Dunlop.

ILD is just a comfort spec and some latex manufacturers don’t grade their latex in ILD at all … only density and then they attach a more generic “soft medium firm” rating to their layers. The best way to tell the difference between Talalay and Dunlop would be through personal esperience because they feel and respond differently but in terms of softness/firmness … Dunlop will feel firmer than Talalay in a similar ILD because it is a denser foam that gets firmer faster than Talalay as you sink into it more.

And this gets complicated further when mixing layers of regular high density poly foam with the latex.

Yes … although it always helps to remember that the closer to the top of a mattress a layer is the more it will affect the feel for most people. If you had a mattress for example where the top 6" were very close and both had relatively firm support layers they would feel much more similar than a mattress where the bottom 6": was a math but the comfort layers were much different.

The closest option I was able to find was at www.mattress.net as I indicated in my 4/07 reply. They will ship a core and top layer in the firmness of your choice and if not satisfied they will exchange pieces for another

These kinds of choices are more common with online manufacturers in various combinations of layering but they are an ideal way to reduce the risk of an online purchase for those who don’t have good value available locally. The return policies vary from manufacturer to manufacturer but are usually quite reasonable for the flexibility they provide.

I would be interested in Phoenix’s comments on the adjustable automatic bed frames. Felt great for lying on my back but what about in the middle of the night when you want to roll onto your side?

I think for the most part adjustable beds are a great option as a preference or luxury for things like watching TV, reading, or even a massage of sorts but are not a necessity. You can read more of my thoughts in post #3 here and they can play a role in various health conditions as well but they are not good for sleeping over the course of the night for people who sleep on their sides and in these cases should be used flat or at the most a very slight elevation.

Phoenix