Hi LJGMDAD,
[quote]The SleepEZ Talalay sleeps to have tighter tolerances, or the info online about the Natural Mattress Store is incorrect.
- By the numbers, the recommended SleepEZ mattress is going to have a firmer feel. Their soft Talalay is in the 22-24 ILD range. So I’m a bit concerned that their mattress might either be too firm or too soft given the wider gap between in ILD between soft and medium. But, the possibility of saving $1000 is very appealing.[/quote]
Unfortunately here is no “standard” definition or consensus of opinion for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that is firm for one can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. This is all relative and is as much an art as a science. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress (see post #15 here).
In addition to this … ILD ratings are only one of several factors that can affect how soft or firm an individual layer or a mattress “as a whole” feels (see post #4 here) and and ILD ratings are also not exact and will vary between different types and blends of latex as well so a Dunlop layer that is the same ILD and thickness as a Talalay layer will probably feel firmer than the Talalay to most people because it has a higher compression modulus (the rate that a material become firmer as you compress it more deeply). Dunlop also has a wider ILD variance from the top to the bottom of a layer than Talalay which is why it often has a larger range (see post #6 here). There is also more about the differences between Talalay and Dunlop in post #7 here.
In other words … there is no “correct” when it comes to firmness ratings. For example you can see on the Natural Mattress Store page here that they rate all their mattresses on a scale from 0 - 10 and some mattresses that show as being equivalent have different firmness ratings. The Awareness “medium” is rated the same as the Clarity “firm” and is rated as being softer than the Tranquility “soft”.
In the end … this can be very subjective and how firm a mattress feels to you or how well it matches your specific needs and preferences will be much more important than how a manufacturer “rates” their mattress or someone else’s perceptions or personal firmness rating and the only way to know for certain how firm or soft a mattress feels for you will be based on your own personal testing or experience.
The most likely reason is that Talalay is more consistent in terms of it’s firmness. How a soft Dunlop 22-24 top layer will compare to a medium Talalay 30 - 32 top layer would depend on several factors including the firmness of the other layers below it (which you would also feel) and on the specifics of the cover (which can have a significant effect on the firmness and feel of the mattress) but even though Talalay tends to feel softer than Dunlop in the same ILD … if their numbers are accurate than for most people and excluding any other variables the 30 - 32 Talalay top layer would probably feel firmer than the 22-24 Dunlop.
Phoenix