PLB Nature / PLB Nutrition - sort of!

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

So here are the specs for Pure Latex Bliss:

Nutrition- AF all latex
11" Natural Talalay
3" ActiveFusion Fast Natural Talalay 27 ILD
2" Natural Talalay Pressure Relief 19 ILD
6" Natural Talalay Latex Support Core 36 ILD

Nature- AF all latex
10" Natural Talalay
2" ActiveFusion Fast Natural Talalay 21 ILD
2" Natural Talalay Pressure Relief 28 ILD
6" Natural Talalay Latex Support Core 36 ILD

We liked the Nature, but it comes with a very thin, stretch cover. We also liked the Nutrition but it didnā€™t seem terribly different than the Nature (in my opinion), though the sales person advertised it as in between the Nature (medium) and Beautiful (soft).

The adjustable ultra plush from mattresses.net has a quilted cotton(or bamboo) cover with wool too. I know this feels different than a thin knit cover.

I was trying to replicate the Nature as closely as I could - but identical layers were not available from mattresses.net, so I did the best I thoughtā€¦

Here is what I ordered (blended, all latex):
3" Talalay 28 ILD
2" Talalay 22ILD
6" Talalay 36 ILD

all in a bamboo & wool cover.

My thinking was - if I ordered something similar to Nutrition (softer than Nature), but with a quilted cover containing wool (not as plush feeling as a thin knit cover), then it might mimic Nature?

I was hoping to chat more with mattresses.net and that theyā€™d be helpful with helping me decide, but I didnā€™t really find them giving me any advice. I told him my plan and he thought it sounded lovely. He was very nice and just agreed with me, but didnā€™t offer any talk.

Anyway, just thought Iā€™d run it by you all to see what you think!

Thanks!!!

2

Hi lesibly,

Congratulations on your order.

As to will it feel the same or similarā€¦ Only your testing will tell. Basically, theyā€™re different layers and a different cover, so itā€™s impossible to guess what you will feel. That said, you didnā€™t feel much difference between the nature and nutrition. Of everything, the wool cover may be the biggest difference of all since PLB uses a stretch knit usually.

Iā€™m curious your thoughts when you get it!

3

Thank you for your reply dn. I kinda thought everything you saidā€¦ I figure the cool part about ordering from mattresses.net (in addition to the price) vs just ordering the PLB Nature was that I can switch layers around later if I donā€™t like it. Iā€™ve got lots to play with having 3 different layers! Also, hubby did like it slightly firmer than I so we could just switch one side tooā€¦ something we couldnā€™t do with PLB.

4

Oh, and Iā€™ll definitely report back after I get it! Gotta do my part to contribute to this fabulous forum after Iā€™ve learned so much myself!

5

Hi lesibly

I think youā€™ll enjoy the layers ā€¦ Theyā€™re all really good quality. Lol, I know all about flipping layersā€¦it can be ā€˜funā€™, or at least I seem to enjoy it. Iā€™m making a second mattress now because I have so many layers I was flipping between that I could basically build a new bed :wink:

Iā€™m interested how youā€™ll like the firmer over softer. I have found that works for me on several occasions, and my 2 favorite configs used that design. I can only speculate what the theory is that causes me to like it, but I do. Of course, you can rearrange that too since you have that flexibility.

Good luck with it. Hopefully you report back when you get it!

6

Hi lesibly,

I think dn has covered most of the comments I would make but I will definitely add ā€¦ congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

The difference between a dominating layer (firmer over softer) and a progressive layering (softer over firmer) can be interesting and different people will respond to it in different ways.

While the Nutrition (Plushness level 8 ) is ā€œratedā€ as being softer than the Nature (Plushness rating 7) there are many people who are more sensitive to the firmness of the top layers than they are to the firmness of the deeper layers that would say it was actually firmer than the Nature. This can be very subjective. There are a few more comments about the difference between them in post #2 here and thereā€™s a little more about dominating layers in post #2 here.

I would guess that your layering will certainly be ā€œin the ball parkā€ in terms of approximating the Nutrition (the only major difference is the wool cover which may firm up the latex below it a little bit).

If you switch the top two layers around it may have some similarity to the Nature but there would be an extra inch of softer latex which can make a significant difference even though it has a wool cover which would firm it up a bit so it will be interesting to hear your feedback about how they compare in this configuration. It would probably be somewhere ā€œin betweenā€ the Nature and the Beautiful but of course each person may ā€œrateā€ them differently.

I think you made a great choice and it will be interesting to hear your feedback when you receive it and test the different configurations.

Phoenix

7

Thank you Phoenix. I will most certainly report backā€¦ in a few weeks when I get it!

8

I laid on these two mattresses yesterday and thought I had decided I liked the firmness of the Nutrition better, but after looking at the specs and reading this thread Iā€™m wondering if the Nature might be better for my back even though I felt it was softer. If my hips sink in the tiniest bit I get low back pain. Iā€™m wondering if the firmer comfort layer underneath the softer top layer would help to support my hips better than having a firmer layer on top of a softer layer. My husband thought my back looked straight on both. Itā€™s so hard to tell. Iā€™ve read through everything and Iā€™m having a really hard time deciding on whatā€™s best. We are both on the heavier side. All I know is that I need to do something soon because my back is killing me with the hole Iā€™m sleeping in right now!

9

Hi lotus65,

Your careful and objective testing will tell you much more about how well a mattress matches your specific needs and preferences than any ā€œtheoryā€ or the ā€œcomfort specsā€ of a mattress (such as ILD) which arenā€™t nearly as important compared to what your body tells you when you test a mattress.

I would make sure you use the testing guidelines and spend enough time on each mattress to make the choice based on your testing rather than specs or theory because in ā€œqualityā€ terms they both donā€™t have any weak links and they both use the same materials.

Phoenix

10

Thank you Phoenix. I hear what youā€™re saying, but for me the discomfort doesnā€™t settle in until Iā€™ve been asleep for a while ā€“ Iā€™m not exactly sure when to tell you the truth. Iā€™m petrified to spend another few thousand dollars on a mattress only to have it end up hurting me, but at the same time I need to do something because the one I have is definitely not working. On top of that, the PLB dealer near me doesnā€™t do comfort exchanges.

11

Hi lotus65,

I certainly understand and there are many who feel the same way. While your own personal testing and experience is always a more accurate way to ā€œpredictā€ your real life sleeping experience than any ā€œtheory at a distanceā€, there will always be cases where your testing doesnā€™t seem to match how you feel when you sleep on the mattress for a while and if you are one of these and donā€™t have any real confidence in your testing or are unsure about how well a mattress will work for you then an exchange or return policy or any options you have available to fine tune the mattress after a purchase (along with the costs involved and having good options available for an exchange) would be your ā€œbackup planā€ and in this case it would probably be one of the more important parts of your personal value equation.

Phoenix

12

Hello! I thought Iā€™d FINALLY report back on my new mattress!

Gosh it has been so long since I did all my reading and research and had all those ILDs and other terms in my head, so Iā€™ve forgotten a lot already.

The whole experience of ordering from mattresses.net was very smooth and I have no complaintsā€¦ but a couple of minor notes:

  1. Putting together the foundation was not as easy as I thought it would be. The wood it is made of is very rough - youā€™ll get scratched and splinters if youā€™re not careful! Also, the holes were not perfect which made it difficult to assemble easily and quickly. A final note on the foundation was that the cover literally covered the frame on all but the bottom. The cover appeared to be a complete cover with the top cut off. So when on the foundation, the edges just flop aroundā€¦ Iā€™ve been meaning to staple it to the wood but have just not gotten around to it.

  2. The raw foam is really neat. Like no other foam Iā€™ve ever experienced. It is heavenly soft to touch and smells delightful (sort of like vanilla). Hereā€™s my major complaint, and while this is not important, I kind of wish I knew about it - it gives off MAJOR static electricity! Take it out of the box, POP it shocks you! Unwrap the plastic, POP it shocks you! Pick it up and move it, POP! Heck just go near it and you can feel the charge. Touch it , POP! I was seriously afraid to assemble the thing!

OK, on to the important stuff:

  1. We like it, but donā€™t LOVE it. Donā€™t get me wrong, I do like it a lot.

  2. I donā€™t really feel like I needed any break in period. My back did seem every so slightly sore on some days in the last 3 months, but I am guessing that is because I stayed in bed for too long!

  3. We slept on it for a couple of weeks by itself and then since then have had a 1.5 inch wool topper (Holy Lamb) on it.

  4. Initially (without the topper), it felt springy to me. Not a bad springy, but springier than I would have liked. But honestly, that is what I expected with what I ordered (having the firmer 3" over the softer 2"). I do recall it being a smidge firmer than what I would have liked (more on par with what my husband would want), but again, it was what I expected.

  5. Did it feel like the Nutrition? Oh, I have no idea! It took FOREVER to get here (about a month and a half) so I just donā€™t remember! But I was happy with what I thought I remembered.

  6. Then, we added the wool topper - at first this was very nice. Not as heavenly as I felt in the storeā€¦ you have to remember in the store I layed directly on the wool and its soft squishy, uncompressed new-ness. On my bed, the wool was smushed under a waterproof mattress protector (Luna) and sheets too. So quite simply not the same. If I could sleep directly on the wool without soiling it, I would!

  7. Over the last couple of months, the wool has compressed slightly, so there are definitely impressions from the weight of our bodies (but its still nice and fluffy on the edges). I am trying to decide if this has impacted my comfort. It is just not as soft in the middle - but I DO still really enjoy going to bed and lying down on my lovely mattress.

  8. To test if the ā€œdippingā€ in the wool topper has affected our comfort, Iā€™ve taken it off tonight and will go back to sleeping directly on the latex mattress.

  9. While rolling around on the naked mattress waiting for my sheets and mattress protector to dry, Iā€™ve noticed it does seem a little softer where our bodies were. It doesnā€™t really bother me (I donā€™t think - again in terms of comfort and support, I will find out tonight), but it does concern me that the latex will soften more over time and lose support. I hope not! I thought the reason you donā€™t have to rotate your latex mattress is because it doesnā€™t soften!

OK, that is all I can think of. Overall, a happy camper!

13

Hi lesibly,

Thanks for taking the time to share such detailed feedback ā€¦ I appreciate it :slight_smile:

Iā€™ve seen a few sporadic reports about static with latex but itā€™s something I havenā€™t experienced or that most people seem to mention so it makes me curious about what may be causing it because itā€™s not the norm.

All foam materials will go through an initial break in period where they lose any initial ā€œfalse firmnessā€ but with latex itā€™s less than other types of foam and after it breaks in any ongoing softening over time is also less and more gradual than other types of foam as well.

Phoenix

14

I have felt static on latex layers for sure. It is usually caused while unpackaging layers out of plastic bags. Also I find some companies that wrap their latex in cotton gauze typically do not have this problem. Itā€™s a small thing but I do know exactly what you mean about getting some shock therapy from your new mattress lol.

15

Hi lesibly and Daniel,

I was curious about this so I called a few manufacturers that have built latex mattresses for many years to see what their experience was with static electricity.

The general consensus was that it can certainly happen on occasion but the conditions would probably need to be ā€œjust rightā€ with very low humidity levels and probably a carpeted floor for it to be an issue that someone would notice and they had never had a customer complain because of static. That may also explain why I donā€™t remember every being ā€œshockedā€ with any of the latex Iā€™ve handled because I live in the Pacific Northwest although it may have happened on some occasions and I just didnā€™t make the connection. It has certainly never happened to me to the degree you are describing. One of the people I talked to said that if he hears a ā€œcracklingā€ noise when he is handling a latex layer (and it only happens on a carpeted showroom not his factory) then he knows that there is probably a shock coming.

As Daniel mentioned a cover would probably prevent the static ā€œshocksā€ and itā€™s not something that someone would experience when they sleep on the mattress even if it happens when they handle the layers.

Phoenix