Hi Connorsmj,
[quote]I’ve been following MU for some time, and I’m very appreciative of all the information/guidance - but I’m finding myself to the point of “paralysis by analysis.” So… and I understand it’s a personal decision… if you were trying to internally rationalize BB’s “Natural” vs “Total,” (and the $500 delta for a King size), how would you go about that task?
Conversely, if you were trying to rationalize the “Natural” over the “Total,” what would your arguments be?[/quote]
The criteria for comparison would be different for different people so I can only speak of my own process and preferences but I personally wouldn’t try to “rationalize” one over the other (based on predisposition towards one over the other or a belief that one is “better” than the other) as much as look dispassionately at the differences between them and how important those differences are to me.
The first thing I would look at would be which type of latex I tended to prefer in both the comfort layers and the support layers. Dunlop and Talalay have a different “feel” and response and some people prefer one over the other in either comfort layers, support layers, or both.
As an example … I personally tend to prefer the “feel” of Talalay (in both comfort and support layers) but just because it’s my personal preference doesn’t make it any better than Dunlop. My daughter for example prefers the “feel” of an all Dunlop latex mattress in both the comfort and support layers vs Talalay. Others may prefer the “feel” of Talalay in the comfort layers in combination with the more “solid feel” and greater support factor of Dunlop (in an equivalent ILD) in the support layers. I would tend to lean towards blended Talalay even in a support core because of its springier or livelier feel vs Dunlop but others will strongly prefer the more “solid” and supportive feel of Dunlop in a support layer. The Total latex mattress gives you a choice of either 100% natural Dunlop or blended Talalay support cores so you would have the option of either while the Talalay support core option in the Essence is for 100% natural Talalay (not the blend) which would add significantly to the cost. A Dunlop support core with a Talalay comfort layer is a very popular choice for many people.
In terms of “which type” of Talalay … that would also be personal preference based both on feel and on cost. Latex International has said that their 100% natural Talalay is less durable than the blend (although this would most likely only be a significant factor in lower ILD’s). While both of them are great quality materials … for those where 100% natural is more important for personal reasons or beliefs or because they prefer the relatively smaller difference in “feel” between the two then they would likely choose the 100% natural over the blend in spite of its higher cost. I would personally lean towards the blend … at least in comfort layers … because having 100% natural materials isn’t as important to me.
Other differences would depend on how you felt about the polyfoam in the quilting of the Total latex mattress vs the all wool quilting in the Essence that also doesn’t need any additional fire retardant components. Again … I personally have no issues with thinner polyfoam quilting layers in a mattress and there are many people who prefer the “feel” of polyfoam quilting layers which is less resilient than sleeping directly on latex but some would prefer to eliminate “synthetic” materials completely in a mattress based again on personal reasons or beliefs regardless of how they may feel or perform. You can read a little more about different quilting materials in post #12 here and the posts it links to.
Finally of course … I would need to ask myself if there are enough extra benefits to the Essence either in terms of expected performance or my own personal preferences and beliefs about all natural materials to justify the extra cost.
Phoenix