That is interesting that it āsoftenedā so noticeably after a few days. What is the height of the 19ILD blended? Of course, the 100% nat version was N1 or N2? Do you recall?
Yes you are 100% correct about your question/statement, the latex manufacturers usually test long term data and measure softening, and loss of height. The two most common mattress industry test are what is called the Cornell test and the Rollator test.
The Hexagonal Roller is a 240 lb hex shaped roller that moves back and forth across the width of the mattress (simulating typical sleep movement).
The Cornell test represents the human posterior and applies a 230 lb load to the mattress surface in a cyclic pounding format (simulating everything from sitting in bed reading a book to the occasional ātrampolineā use). Firmness and thickness measurements are obtained to assess the amount of change that is brought on by the testing. A report summarizing the results includes a Compliance Percentage rating which gauges the sampleās performance compared with industry norms. In addition, a SCORE value is generated quantifying the amount of change the sample experienced as compared to its initial state. This is especially helpful when comparing the results of other mattress designs tested in the same way.
But to your issue/question, a key point re. softening: With latex softening will happen quicker in lower density products, all other variables kept equal. I am willing to bet the 19ild blended Talalay is the lowest density latex you have ever tried, (unless you tried 14ild Talalay). A 19ild 100% natural Talalay will be higher density, which short term would most likely not soften as quick as a 19ild blended. Theoretically, canāt say I have ever seen that specific test. That said, your product could be on the low side of Talalay range.
Regarding TG and Radium (Vita Talalay), TMU does not ever give a preference, these are the only two legitimate Talalay manufacturers in the world, and both make excellent products. The small differences I am sure you have read about on this forum.
Regardingās Radiumās cradle to grave natural product, itās actually officially called a Cradle to Cradle certification, see the Vita Talalay cradle to cradle page, here is the C2C certification company page C2C website about certification, and here is Radiumās / Vitaās certificate link.
My Sleeping Organic mattress had a top layer of 14-19 ILD NR talalay. It softened gradually over a few weeks. The Sleep On Latex topper I used trying to make a too firm Zenhaven work was 2" 20 ILD dunlop. It too softened gradually over a few weeks. Seemed softer than 20 but that was probably because it wanāt in a mattress cover, just their thin, stretchy topper cover. Nice topper.
I received four 3" layers of this blended talalay drop shipped from TG. 3 of the layers had well adhered (would have to tear latex to remove them) stickers with 9 test results on them. For example the 24 listed 23.7, 24.5, etc. etc. All were within 1 point of the target on all 3. The layer in question, the 19 ILD, did not have any sticker, not even a QC one. It just had 19 written on one end with a sharpie. Didnāt pass testing? Probably has nothing to do with it but I suppose Iāll never know.
Very interesting that blended is less dense than NR. Probably going with dunlop, dunlop, NR talalay for my DIY since Iāve had good luck with that combo.
Regarding those stickers, they are legendary in the oem mattress world, so hard to tear offā¦but it is great data to check. Regarding the other piece, very often the aides are trimmed, and having the label side trimmed is really actually normal. But, easy to wonder, I get it.
Just quick point regarding the Blended / Natural densityā¦its lower density statistically speaking with āsame ILDā (19ild NR vs 19ild Blend), obviously as density is a weight measurement, but just being clear for many of our other readers not as versed in latex.
I like the combo with the NR talalay on top. Let us know how it works.
I hope Iām posting this question in the right place. We have decided on a latex mattress and Iāve been doing my homework reading this site and calling companies to ask questions.
Iāve read that Talalay feels āspringierā, so I was thinking of going with all Talalay.
About us:
I am 5ā2" 235 lbs, side sleeper. I prefer a softer, more cushy mattress.
Hubby is 6ā 325 lbs, back sleeper. He prefers a med-firm mattress.
Iāve received recommendations from two companies based on our weights and sleep styles:
#1 from FoamSweetFoam (both sides, no side customization available that I know of)
Talalay med
Talalay firm
Dunlop xfirm
Dunlop xxfirm
#2 from Sleep EZ
Top: Blended Talalay - Medium | Firm
2nd: 100% Natural Dunlop - Medium | Firm
3rd: 100% Natural Dunlop - Firm | Extra Firm
Bottom: 100% Natural Dunlop - Extra Firm | Extra Firm
Then I found Flexus Comfort. They seem to offer the choice to have all layers in Talalay, so I configured this (have not talked with them yet, planning to call tomorrow):
Soft | Medium100% Natural Talalay
Medium| Firm100% Natural Talalay
Firm | Firm100% Natural Talalay
X-Firm| X-Firm100% Natural Talalay
Dunlop is an option from Flexus as well, but I wonder if all Talalay would work for us?
I would appreciate any guidance on what layers to choose. I like Flexus Comfort best of all three I think, since the cost for natural talalay is better. Sleep EZ had about a $500 difference when I switched from blended to natural for the top layer. I think Foamsweetfoam is out, since I will probably want to customize each side.
I didnāt realize there is a density difference between NR and blended talalay. Just knew about dunlop vs talalay.
Discovered why my 19 blended softened after only 2 nights. Received my ticking and was surprised at how much that tightened the mattress up, even though itās just stretchy knit cotton, no wool. Rotated the layer and have slept on it for 4 or 5 nights. The side Iām on now has changed little, the other side still feels slightly softer. So I guess I learned a way to speed the break-in of latex - take the cover off!
Thank you so much for your questions, and well done with all the research and contacting the companies and asking questions. Of course, as you have probably read on here, only you and your husband will be the only ones to be able to decide what is best for you both. It is really a combination of all the factors in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesnāt turn out as well as you hope).
All of the mattresses listed are of high quality and high-quality materials. Regarding an all talalay mattress, I think it is a very good alternative and no reason why you should not consider it. It is very common for many manufacturers to offer Dunlop Latex as the ācoreā and Talalay latex as comfort layers. I say this in very general terms as many people have been very happy on āall talalayā latex mattressesā¦usually cost is the major reason people buy and many companies āofferā Dunlop and Talalay mixed.
Regarding the Talalay mix of 12 inches of latex, I would use Xfirm for both bottom layers, still no problem using top two layers of Firm/Med or Med/Soft for āsofterā side.
The other two recommendations are solid, the only thing I would caution, is that for higher BMI customers, you may be receiving āfirmerā recommendations, but you know that you like something a bit softer.
You have a good group of solid choices from three of our trusted members, so you are on the right track. Please let us know if you have any other questions.
Thanks for that update, and it does make sense that ābreaking inā would be quicker without cover. And it is always amazing for people doing DIY latex mattressesā¦totally different feel with a cover. Regardless of the weight of cover, the feel will always firm up when covering the latex layers. Good stuff thanks for the update.
Another trusted member who can make any split configuration you want is Sleeping Organic.
I found their advice regarding layers to be very good. They were really easy to work with, shipped quickly, and in general were a good company to business with.
Thanks for the note on Sleeping Organic, always nice to have a consumer put a good word in for recommendations to another consumer. I totally agree with you also.
I have a blended Talalay latex topper in 3 inch 19 ild over a 28ild blended talalay latex topper over Leggett and Pratt pocket coils. After about a month it felt like it flattened out and did not relieve pressure points or properly support my back anymore. I got it from Arizona premium mattress. I am 5ā11 and weigh 170. I have been switching the configurations around because it is not comfortable anymore and causing me back pain. The 28ild topper Is not as flattened out as the soft one is, which may just be normal softening. Is that normal for the 19ild topper? I didnāt think I weighed too much for the soft topper. I have read that the synthetic is not as elastic as natural latex, but this seems unusual. Is it possible it could be defective? Has anyone else had this experience? Is this happening because it is blended latex and not natural? I really liked the initial feel of the soft latex. I also checked the foundation of the bed to make sure it was level, the slats are 2 inch apart. I even laid on just the pocket coils and there is no issues with those, it is definitely the latex.
I am not sure I can really add a lot to this conversation.
As I read both of these situations, I think we are talking about different things. The 19ILD talalay blended topper is one of the best selling toppers in all the latex business, so I think it is entirely appropriate for many people and there is not an āoverall problem with 19 ild blended latexā.
For you mnn4532, you have posted this issue several times, and I am sorry it is not working out for you. Statistically speaking, I usually do not think its a āquality of foamā issue, like softening too much. But it is not to say that it could be an issue with that particular core of foam, making it break down too fast, just no way to tell. I think that this combination is not the right fit for you and your particular needs. I am not saying I have the right answer, only you can determine what you need to go on top of the leggett coils.
Lotus. of course ārapid softeningā does make me concerned, but still it is really hard to tell, wasnāt this the topper w/o a tag? Which doesnāt mean its 2nd quality, only curious if it was averaging closer to 17 than 19ā¦just a thought.
Sorry if I canāt bring any closure for you, but it does seem you will need to try a higher density topper to get you the right mix of support and pressure relief.
Good to hear that 19 ILD blended is so common and rare to have a problem with.
Yes, itās the same w/o tag 19 ILD blended. Perhaps Iām just surprised at the change in feel. Itās more like the air goes out of whichever side I sleep on for a few days even with (an admittedly lite) cover, hence the feeling of losing support. Itās probably just normal settling.
It IS on top of 24, then 28 talalay. Perhaps it just doesnāt have enough support from underneath. I know some sellers use all talalay, but most of the recommendations Iāve gotten strongly suggest dunlop for the base layers. Sleeping Organic REALLY wanted me to use dunlop for the bottom two.
Perhaps I just need to exchange the 24 for a 36, 28, 19 setup? Sleep EZ suggested 38, 31, 20 with at least the base as dunlop. When I suggested 31, 31, 20 to them they strongly suggested both 31s as dunlop.
If I have to I could go with Arizonaās thin but much stronger cotton/wool cover as well though I really like the feel of the thin, stretchy knit cotton Iām on.
Thatās Interesting, my toppers also do not have tags on the them, just 19 and 28 written in marker. I guess I will have to just try something else, thanks for your reply.
As Sensei pointed out in another thread, the tags are often not present because the layers are split, so likely unrelated.
Iām going to give it a little more time. If the 19 I have continues to feel like the air is going out of it rapidly, I may switch to Sleep EZās Radium talalay. Just hate to spend the money and effort to return these layers when I really donāt know thereās anything wrong with them. Could be just normal settling but I donāt want to find out itās not months down the road.
Edit: Ok apparently 19 ILD Talalay is the next step down in softness from 20 ILD Dunlop, so Iāll give that a try first before 14 ILD Talalay.
Hello, I would like to know if 14 ILD Blended Talalay topper will be as soft as memory foam? The feel will obviously be different, but just want to know if it will sink as much.
I bought a puregreen medium firmness mattress from amazon that has 6" 34 ILD dunlop with 2" 20 ILD dunlop on top. Iām a side sleeper with wide shoulders and I woke up with sore shoulders every morning. I tried adding another 2" of 20 ILD dunlop, but that didnāt really help. Recently, I tried 2" memory on top, and it was perfect in terms of pressure relief. No more sore shoulder! The only problem is it sleeps warm, and now I wake up sweating. Iām thinking of giving 2" of 14 ILD Blended Talalay from mayersbedding a try. Will this be closer to the memory foam topper and softer than the 20 ILD dunlop? Many thanks!
I am going to answer a couple of things then give you some background links that may explain things better.
The short answer is yes the 14ild will most likley feel softer, but its more complicated than that. Also 19ILD Talalay will not reallly feel similar to the 20ILD Dunlop latex, more info on both of these points below and in associated links. I think 19ILD talalay is good choice to try for your particular situation.
Latex and memory foam are very different materials and canāt really be meaningfully compared to each other. You can read more about this at this post #2 here.
Latex is highly resilient, has a more āon the mattressā feel to it, and responds to pressure. What you feel on latex stays the same over time. You can read more about the pros and cons of latex in this article and more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here.
Also, what was the density / ild / brand of the memory foam you tried?
Another point, even though latex is ācoolerā than memory foam, generally speakingā¦putting a plush talalay topper on mattress can sometimes āfeelā hot becasue the latex envelops your body, thus covering more surface areaā¦leading some people to love the feel but still be a bit too hot. Just FYI so you know going into it.
Thanks again, and please donāt hesitate to ask any other questions you may have.
2" thick, 3 pound density, by Sure2Sleep on Amazon.
mayersbedding recommended me 3" 19 ILD blended talalay topper for a 175 lb male so thatās what I ordered. Hope it works!
Hereās one interesting thing I found today when I decided to take some pictures of my back when side sleeping. My spine/legs/neck formed the straight line, commonly found in mattress ads (cough purple), with both the 2" 20 ILD dunlop topper AND the 2" memory foam. Despite this, the dunlop causes more pressure on my shoulders. If I stacked the 2" Dunlop on top of the 2" memory foam, my hips sagged into the mattress, breaking the straight line. I can see how playing with mattresses can be an interesting hobby!
Thanks for the update, 2" 3lb memory foam. I like the 3" 19ild Talalay recommendation. Now you will have a 3lb memory foam topper, Talalay and dunlopā¦a basic representation of most āmattress toppersāā¦really interesting about the pic of alignment of body.
