Product Identification Help

[phoenix]

Hi EZ4HZ,

I’ve found I like softer mattresses and I’m going for a medium soft feel. I thought the Dunlop straight to the 14-19ILD might be too big of a difference so that’s why the 2" transition layer is there, do you think the 2" of 21-25ILD is necesary to prevent a “dramatic” ILD change from too high to too low? I want to save money so I’m considering taking that transition layer out or reducing it to 1". Again I haven’t ordered it yet. Or maybe it’s the 3" of 14-19ILD that is not needed and I should just put a 3" 21-25 ILD on top of the 6" core-- that would save money as well.

Unfortunately I can’t feel what you feel on a mattress and different people can have very different perceptions of firmness and softness so 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 and weight, 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). I would also need a few reference points of latex mattresses with known specs that you have tested and how they felt for you to be able to guess at how your combination of layers may feel in comparison.

How firm your mattress feels will also depend on whether the ILD of your layers were in the upper end of the ranges you listed or the lower end of the ranges. LI makes blended latex in 14, 19, 24, 28, 32, 36, and 40-44 ILD ratings (with some relatively small +/- variances) so if your top two layers were 14 ILD and 21 ILD (LI doesn’t have a 21 ILD rating so it would either be 19 or 24 if it’s blended latex) then based on averages it would be in the range of extra soft range for most people (and not what most people would call medium soft) and if they were 19 ILD and 25 ILD (again this would probably be 19 and 24) they would be closer to a soft range (still not medium soft) but of course all of this will depend on your own perceptions and definitions of softness and firmness and the only way to know how soft it will feel for you is based on your own personal experience.

25 - 30 ILD is also quite soft for a support core.

I would take a “bottom up” approach (see post #2 here) and start with the support core and the 2" layer of 21 - 25 ILD to see where in is in the firmness range for you (it may even feel like what you consider to be “medium soft” by itself) and then I would use your actual sleeping experience on these two layers to decide on whether you need any additional layers and if you do on the firmness and thickness of the top layer based on your actual experience.

Phoenix