Looking for Good Stores Around Atlanta & Couple Other Questions

[phoenix]

Hi MattressMatt,

Thanks for sharing your experiences and feedback … I appreciate it … and congratulations on your new mattress

I then tried out their 1 latex model, “Serenity Latex” - and immediately thought it was too soft. However after I bit I realized it was basically the opposite of the memory foam Serenity model. Where with the memory foam it felt firm at first, but then started to sink in; the latex model felt soft at first but had more support and kept me from sinking in nearly as far (leaving my lower back not arched nearly as much and therefore less strain). It was a tough call, because I wished the latex was slightly firmer but overall I had to go ahead choose the latex model because of the following reasons

I think you’ve described the difference between memory foam quite well. The memory foam starts off firm and then gets softer with heat and the time it’s compresses while latex feels softer at first but as you relax you notice more of how supportive it is. the memory foam is also more "in the mattress while latex is more “on the mattress”.

1) Latex model is more durable because is actually flippable and the inherent durability of latex over memory foam. They put the pin-holed talalay latex on both top and bottom of the mattress, with high density polyfoam core in the middle. I don’t think there are very many flippable latex models on the market, and this definitely assured me I could avoid the Homer Simpson like indentation I have on my current pillowtop mattress. The way the memory foam mattress sank in so far, I felt indentations there over time was much more likely. This just seemed way more durable than the memory foam and would change a lot less over the years than the memory foam might.

Even if it was one sided latex is more durable than memory foam (although the memory foam they use is also a high quality and durable material) but a two sided mattress is also more durable than the same type of mattress in a one sided version so you certainly have a very durable mattress.

2) This particular latex used seemed to be one of the best quality. The latex is actually made by Latex International and original mattress factory then uses it when constructing their mattress. It is made with the Talalay process which supposedly should help more with cooling and ventilation than the Dunlap process (difference being Talalay has a freezing step to keep more air trapped in the latex). They also poured the latex around pins, resulting in a pinholed mattress that would seem to also greatly increase ventilation therefore make the mattress. Phoenix what is your opinion of putting the pinholes in the talalay latex and making flippable latex mattresses? I thought a side effect of pinholes might of be increased the softness, but that’s just a guess. I had heard memory foams sometimes can get hot and I wasn’t quite sure how effective that aircool layer would really be. So I gave the latex the nod on the ventilation/coolness factor.

Blended Talalay is certainly a high quality material and Talalay tends to be more breathable than Dunlop because of the cell structure and lower density. Almost all latex (Talalay and Dunlop) uses pincores in the mold to cure the latex and it’s part of the manufacturing process (they use heated steam through the pincores to cure the latex). There is some Dunlop latex that is poured on a belt instead of a mold and is made in thinner layers that doesn’t need pincores for curing but this is not as common. Different sizes and patterns of the pincores are part of the way that latex can be made softer and firmer. Latex is also the most breathable of all the foam types.

You can also see my thoughts about two sided mattresses in post #3 here and the posts it links to but there is no doubt they are more durable than the equivalent one sided mattress as long as you flip and rotate them on a regular basis.

3) I bought at Original Mattress factory because I could tell their prices were extremely fair and the person working there Julie (Buckhead location), I couldn’t even really call her a saleswoman. She was just extremely informative and knew the products very well without any sense of a pushy salesman mentality. They have pictures all over the walls of their clean factories and how the beds are put together here in America. She knew the names of the people in the pictures actually. Their website has videos of them making the mattresses and are very upfront about the exact materials and specifications of the mattress they make (includling material type, foam layers and their density, etc). They had layered samples everywhere showing the construction of mattresses as well. You just knew exactly what you were buying.

I agree with you here and one of the reasons I include them in many of the lists around the forum is that they are fully transparent about the materials in their mattresses and tend to have good quality and value and for the most part knowledgeable staff.

I think you made a great choice … and thanks again for sharing the outcome of your research.

Phoenix