PLEASE HELP -- MATTRESS TOPPER FOR COLLEGE DORM BED

Hi Phoenix,

Fantastic site! Thank you so much.

I have two kids headed off to college this year, and both have been told by the respective colleges that their sleep will be much improved if they add mattress toppers to their mattresses. (Mattresses are decent, but are covered in plastic for sanitary reasons.)

Anyway, my daughter likes ultra soft beds, so I’m looking at a Talalay topper for her. My son likes slightly firmer, so I was going to go with Dunlop, but I heard that they’re just not as uniformly comfortable as Talalay - better to get a “medium” Talalay for him.

I have to order these online, and I would like to get an “all natural” (i.e. not blended) 3" Talalay mattress topper with a 100% organic cover. What’s my best option here? I can’t afford the $600+ “organic” Talalay toppers like SavvyRest (wish I could), but I still want something that is Oeko-tex certified. So the next best I’ve found so far are $300+ toppers at:

– flexuscomfort.com
– mattresses.net
– ebay.com (Radium latex??)
– sleeplikeabear.com
– sleepez.com
– plushbeds.com
– ultimatesleep.com

I was really unimpressed with customer service at plushbeds, but I admit their prices are good. And I have no idea what radium latex is on the Ebay site. Ultimate sleep also has great prices, but I couldn’t find a lot of reviews about them.

Any recommendations on who makes the highest quality 3" twinXL all-natural Talalay topper with organic cotton cover? I’m overwhelmed and hope you have a quick answer based on your vast experience!

Many, many thanks,
Bob Martin

Hi BobMartin,

There is more about the differences between Talalay latex and Dunlop latex in post #7 here but I would treat the choice as strictly a preference choice rather than a better/worse choice. My daughter for example after testing both Talalay and Dunlop prefers the feel of Dunlop comfort layers (unlike her father) and each person can have very different preferences.

All the latex you are likely to encounter (either Dunlop or Talalay and made with either natural or synthetic latex or a blend of both) are certified for harmful substances and VOC’s by either Oeko-Tex or Eco-Institut and by most people’s criteria all of them would be a very “safe” material. There is more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here.

There is also more about organic and “safety” certifications in post #2 here and in post #2 here.

Radium is one of two companies that manufactures Talalay latex (the other is Talalay Global which used to be called Latex International).

You can see some comments about Ultimate Sleep in this topic and I would be very cautious here because I don’t believe they are selling Talalay latex.

There are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for me to make any specific suggestions for either mattresses or toppers and each person can have very different criteria for a topper purchase based on the risk they are comfortable with and all the parts of their personal value equation that are most important to them (not to mention that the firmness of a specific mattress can also affect the thickness and firmness of a topper that works best for any particular person) … but there is more information about choosing a topper in post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to that can help you choose the type, thickness, and firmness for a topper that has the least possible risk and the best chance for success. It also includes a link to a list of some of the better online sources for toppers I’m aware of as well (including latex).

Phoenix

Pure Latex Bliss also offers a 3" 100% NR talalay topper with a GOTS certified cotton cover. We’ve done quite a few of these for college students and they do indeed help out with what passes for a mattress at most college dorms.

Fatntastic, thank you so much. I will make a decision asap and support your website!

Thank you, Jeff. I’ll check them out! - Bob

Also, FYI, Ultimate Sleep indeed claims to sell Talalay latex toppers - at an almost unbelievable price:

https://www.ultimatesleep.com/talalay-latex-toppers

$148 for a twinXL. Is that even possible??

Hi BobMartin,

You can see some comments about Ultimate Sleep in this topic and I would be very cautious and skeptical here because it’s clear to me that they aren’t selling Talalay latex in spite of what they claim on their website.

Phoenix

You were absolutely right. Thanks for sending me to that thread.

I ended up going with sleepez.com - with a bit of reluctance. (They said I could choose either Radium or Talalay International. How do I actually know what I get if they sell both and there’s no label, which is what they told me?)

Also, out of curiosity, can you please explain to me that if I ordered a 100% natural Talalay mattress manufactured by Radium for $360 (twin) from sleepez.com - how does SavvyRest justify a $699 mattress of the same size, made by the same manufacturer, of the same latex? Is the only difference the 100% organic latex cover?

Hi Bob<Martin,

They are one of very few manufacturers that provide the choice between them but most people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference so you would need to trust that what you ordered is what they provided. This is one of the reasons that it’s always a good idea to make sure you are dealing with a reliable and reputable supplier such as SleepEZ so that you can have confidence that what you order is the same as what they send to you.

I don’t know of any twin mattresses on the SleepEz site that use 100% natural Talalay that are only $399 in twin (or any Savvy Rest mattresses that are $699) so I’m assuming you mean a topper?

If this is the case and they both contain the same thickness, type, and blend of latex than the only difference between them would be any differences in the cover.

There really isn’t a specific answer to why one manufacturer sells very similar products for higher prices since consumers don’t have access to the business financials that determines the cost of their products. One of the differences may be that SleepEZ is factory direct while Savvy Rest sells through retailers but there could be many other reasons as well and you can see some comments about the difference in prices in post #6 here.

Phoenix