Looking at prana sleep latex mattress. Website ‘’ Our exclusive and proprietary- formula latex foam rubber- the highest grade mattress foam available- has more than triple the natural rubber as ordinary talalay latex, and offers the prefect balance of terra-firma support and pressure- relieving comfort’’ Does this sound right? Thanks Tim.
Hello Tim,
While this may be technically accurate … it is very misleading. Blended talalay latex (from latex international) is about 70% SBR (synthetic rubber) and 30% NR (natural rubber). They also make talalay latex using all natural rubber instead of a blend (no SBR) which would have the same amount of rubber in it however the “natural rubber” content would be over 3 times higher. Many types of Dunlop latex are also made from all natural rubber.
So what they are saying is that the prana sleep uses the natural rubber talalay latex from latex international rather than the blended rubber version of talalay latex. Both versions are almost identical in their feel and performance (most people would notice little if any difference). Natural rubber is more elastic than synthetic rubber however in the lower ILD’s (the softer types of talalay latex) … the blended talalay may be more durable. The all natural talalay is a more expensive material than the blended talalay.
In any case … both the all natural versions and blended versions of talalay latex are available throughout the industry (although the blended version is far more common). If you were to make an apples to apples comparison between the pranasleep and other all natural talalay latex mattresses of similar quality available from other independent manufacturers … you would find the pranasleep (city mattress) is a great deal more expensive than other directly comparable competitors such as some of the manufacturing members of this site. I have no idea how they (pranasleep) justify their prices. While their mattresses are clearly high quality … they are just as clearly overpriced IMO.
Hope this helps
Phoenix