Misery on Latex

[phoenix]

Hi PrincessAndThePea,

There are a few retailers near me that carry LatexBliss products. I will call and ask what they have when they open today. Were you suggesting I check out LatexBliss in order to judge what the two soft layers feel like when put together so that I can pick the right exchange layer at FSF and/or to possibly buy a topper? I was hoping to stick with natural foam but I will definitely go see what they have.

Yes … the suggestion would be to give you a reference point that would approximate the feel and response of having 6" of soft latex in the top layers and also to test the softest latex available (the 2" and 3" toppers).

Blended Talalay is actualy a little softer and more pressure relieving than 100% natural Talalay in the same ILD (because 100% natural latex has a higher compression modulus which means that it gets firmer faster than blended Talalay as you sink into it more deeply) and it is also tested to the same standards as 100% natural Talalay (Oeko-Tex Standard 100 class 1 - “safe for babies”). You can read a little more about the differences between them in post #2 here.

As for the Oyasuni mattresses, even though dunlop of equal ILD is firmer than Talalay, do we know what Sleeptek’s ILDs are for their soft and medium layers?

Generally no. Dunlop is usually made to density specifications rather than ILD specifications although some manufacturers or distributors will test their Dunlop for ILD as well. You can read more about latex ILD’s in post #4 here. With Dunlop I would focus more on your own perceptions rather than the ILD specs which aren’t really accurate or at least specific for Dunlop and in many cases Dunlop ILD’s are only approximations anyway (and sometimes are very inaccurate if they were “translated” from other types of firmness testing)

The salesperson at The Clean Bedroom kept repeating that the stretch in the mattress case and the individually wrapped layers made the mattress feel softer than what I have. Is that really possible?

The mattress ticking and quilting and ticking can certainly have an effect on the feel of the mattress and the compression of the foam layers immediately below it. Individual layers (with or without a separate cover) can also “act” a little softer than glued layers and since a covered layer will “slide” over the layers above and below it a little more easily than latex on latex (which is quite sticky) in “theory” it may “act” a little softer but I doubt if this would have an effect that could be noticed by anyone when compared to unglued and uncoverd layers of the same type and ILD of latex. You can read a little more about the reasons for and effect of covering individual layers in post #2 here.

I was under the impression that Talalay allowed one to sink more into the layers, but if it is springy as described elsewhere, won’t that increase the pressure the body feels?

You are correct and even though pressure relief and “feel” is more subjective … Talalay in the same ILD will generally feel more pressure relieving and has a deeper cradle than the same ILD in Dunlop (because you sill sink into it more) and Dunlop will feel more “supportive” because it will “allow” less sinking in. The “springiness” or resilience of a material wouldn’t affect it’s pressure relieving qualities which are more about “point elasticity” (how well it takes on the shape of your body profile), ILD, and compression modulus. Springiness or resilience is more about “feel” and both Talalay and Dunlop have a high resilience. Dunlop is often higher resilience than Talalay but the “ride” or “up and down” movement of Talalay is deeper so it can usually be felt more as “springiness”.

Phoenix