Hi a2b,
This is really a question that can only be answered by each person on an individual basis. It would be like asking if a custom fitted suit or custom made shoes were worth it and the answer would depend on how each person measured “value”. For some some the answer would be yes and for others the answer would be no. Both are good value in different ways and I would choose either over any mainstream mattress but they are also very different choices. Most people would do fine with a less customized (but still very configurable) mattress but for those who want finer levels of customization or are more difficult to “fit” … then having the ability to buy a mattress and then exchange layers or zones until it was right (at no cost) may well be worth the price difference.
I don’t think I have ever made a distinction between the two versions of blended Talalay. There are two different Talalay latex manufacturers. Radium uses a 40/60 blend (natural to synthetic) and Latex International uses a 30/70 blend (again natural to synthetic) and they are both quite equivalent to each other. For manufacturers who offer both … I would choose the one that they recommend (they will know about any differences in quality between the two based on their current shipments). Both are good quality and value materials. Custom Sleep Design uses Latex international (30/70) while SleepEz has both available.
This article along with post #6 here and post #6 here talk about the different versions of latex, the differences between them, and their “relative” value based on what is most important to different people.
Phoenix