Hi AustinOski,
[quote]1. Does anyone have any info on this company or mattress (ILDs)?
2. I’m 200 lbs, my wife is 130ish.Do we need a full 12" mattress? Or, another way to ask, it - Are we paying for extra thickness (say, vs a 10" all Latex) that we don’t need/won’t feel?[/quote]
With a local purchase knowing the ILD information for the various layers is mostly meaningless and will generally only add to confusion. With a local purchase, testing for “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) based on what your body tells you with careful testing is much more reliable than choosing a mattress based on complex combinations of specs that can take many years of experience to understand how they all interact together.
While for some people that have a great deal of experience in the industry or who design mattresses knowing the ILD information of the layers in a mattress can be helpful or even essential for business or design reasons, the ILD of a material is only one of many variables that determines how soft or firm the materials or a mattress “as a whole” that uses it will feel (see here) and ILD numbers are not comparable between different materials or in many cases between different versions of the same material anyway (see post #6 here).
For most people knowing or finding out unnecessary specs can be overwhelming and for those that do know a little bit about foam specs they can often tend to make choices based on specs alone or believe that they know more than they really do (for example making choices based on foam density or ILD alone when these are just two of many variables that can affect the feel and performance of a mattress). Too much information and too little information can both result in poor choices. In many cases mattress manufacturers don’t provide the ILD of their various foam layers because they are well aware of the risk of providing too much information to a customer and understand that for most people it would be more misleading than helpful. While knowing the quality specs of a mattress that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress is an important part of making an informed choice … knowing the “comfort specs” of a local mattress isn’t nearly as important as listening to what your body tells you with careful and objective testing.
There is also more about the effect of thickness in post #14 here. While you may not “need” 12 of latex … depending on the specific design of a mattress it could certainly be a preference if a thicker mattress is a better “match” for you in terms of PPP compared to a different mattress that is thinner and it’s also possible that a thinner mattress could be a better “match” for you than a thicker mattress as well but it will always depend on the specifics of the design and not just on the thickness of the mattress or any individual layers.
While I can’t speak to how any mattress will “feel” for someone else in terms of firmness, “comfort”, or PPP because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances … outside of PPP (which is all about how well you will sleep on a mattress) the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is it’s durability and in terms of durability a mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality and durability of the materials inside it (which is all about how long you will sleep well) regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label.
If the LATEX USA 12" Nature Cloud uses 12" of Talalay latex (and you could confirm that there are no other materials in the mattress by checking the law tag) then there are no lower quality materials in the mattress that would be an obvious “weak link” in the mattress or that would compromise the durability or useful life of the mattress. Latex USA is a brand name for EasyRest which I would consider to be a reliable and transparent manufacturer based on my conversations with them. They don’t list a mattress on their website that includes 12" of latex so it may be worthwhile calling them to confirm that the mattress you are looking at contains all latex.
There is more about “finished mattresses” that have glued layers vs component mattresses with unglued layers and zip covers in post #15 here and post #2 here. One certainly isn’t “better” than the other and there are pros and cons to every mattress design.
Yes … every layer and component in a mattress (including the cover and quilting materials) will affect the feel and performance of every other layer and component and the mattress “as a whole” so to duplicate a mattress you would need to be able to find a source for the same type and blend of latex layers, cover, layer thicknesses, layer firmnesses, and possibly the same manufacturer for the latex as well (because there can be some differences between different manufacturers in terms of their ILD’s even in the same type and blend of latex). Even gluing the layers together can make a difference in how a mattress feels that would be noticeable for some people compared to a mattress that has loose layers.
If you decide to try and build your own DIY mattress then the better sources for individual layers and components I’m aware of are listed in the component post here.
As you probably know all of these are members here which means that I think highly of all of them and that I believe that they all compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency.
Having said that … they all have different designs and when you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
Phoenix