Hi Steve,
Well that’s some promising feedback 
I was impressed with them as well in my lengthy conversation on the phone. Jason is best friends with Nathan who is the owner of the Woolgathers carding mill which makes the EcoWool. They have been involved together for a long time and he knows a lot about wool (although he told me that Nathan is the best expert of all). they make their own all latex mattresses, their own wool toppers, and their innerspring mattress is made by WJ Southard with the material they send them).
I’m not sure of the Topper ILD but when we were talking he said it was on the firmer side which would likely mean N3 or N4 (@ 27 or @32 give or take a few for the variability or natural talalay). He also uses natural talalay in the mattress core of the Tamarack and this might be N5 (@ 38). Not sure though.
His 2" topper starts off at 4" and is compressed to 2" and the 4" one starts off with 6" of wool compressed to 4". I didn’t find out the wool density. We talked at length about the wool and how he makes the toppers and I would have no worries about durability or longevity. He said that you could reasonably expect 10 years or more from them and many have been in use for longer. He chooses the specific wool blend he uses for it’s qualities (he’s been experimenting with different breeds for a long time and it was interesting to hear him talk about the specific properties of wool from each breed) and also cross layers the wool so while there will be some impression, this is not a bad thing in wool and the impressions … even over a long time … will be minimal and will also even out over time as well as you sleep in different areas of the mattress. Wool also retains it’s resiliency if its made right and cared for for a very long time.
I’ve talked with quite a few wool manufacturers and mills in the last few weeks and the general consensus is that medium wool is much better for a topper than fine wool (which is more for fabrics) and will compress less and is useable for longer. The type of wool and the tufting and inner construction will also make a difference in the consistency of the wool over time. There is some initial compression and firming in the areas with more weight (which in the case of wool is not a “negative” like impressions with foam and doesn’t leave you trapped in a “sinkhole”) but then it remains consistent and resilient and further compression is very slow. Thicker wool toppers are also different from the feel and performance of wool used in fire barriers or thinner mattress pads which have much less cushioning ability. They are a legitimate and durable “comfort layer” in a mattress in other words. If you have any concerns though … Jason will talk with you in as much detail as you want about how the wool “ages”.
The interesting part about thicker wool toppers (and by thicker I mean both the 2" and the 4" as opposed to pads or densified fire barriers) is that they distribute weight differently from latex and the pressure relief is more localized around the pressure points rather than “full body” like with latex) which means that it can provide localized pressure relief where it’s needed without affecting support and doesn’t shift as much weight to the more recessed areas of the body which I suspect from some of the patterns I’m seeing is why you like certain types of mattresses. This would be somewhat similar to how soft quilting layers can modify the resilience of latex and not distribute as much weight to the recessed areas.
I personally wouldn’t be worried as much about the durability of the innersprings (even though it’s only 460 in queen) but more about how you feel about the “bounciness” of the springs which would be either a good or bad “preference” and it seems that how you feel about the bounciness would rule them out at least in this gauge.
By the way, I just reread your last post and noticed you said this bed had 2 toppers? I think that would have been too soft, I didn’t try anything but the latex topper on this bed (although maybe you meant the latex topper has some wool in it?).
The extra topper I meant was the option of adding a wool topper (probably the 2") on top of the latex although it’s not part of the “system” itself. I would have been curious how this was but as you said it may have been too soft.
This is also quite promising and may also indicate that a thicker layer of wool on top of the “right” latex layers may work well for you. The “bounciness” is of course a preference but even though it probably wouldn’t be a durability issue … I would tend towards lower gauge springs in your case … and/or a higher coil count.
I would talk with either Jason or (Nathan at the woolgatherers) and talk with either about wool over time. I talked with Sarah (Nathan’s wife) at Shepherds dream and she was really knowledgeable but Nathan is the “expert”. I am starting to suspect that just a wool topper (not even the latex/wool) may work for you in combination with the right latex layering. I’m thinking that you already have lots of latex and that the “missing link” may just be some wool on top of some combination of what you have although the wool latex topper may just happen to be the perfect combination of latex firmness/thickness/and amount of wool for you so your experience with it would carry a lot of weight.
You could also talk with St Peters Woolen Mill or Frankenmuth or Zeilinger Wool Company or Surroundewe if you want some other thoughts or confirmation about how wool performs and wears over time or their ideas about how they make their toppers. All of them were very helpful when I talked with them on the phone and I’ve added some comments about some of them (more are yet to come that I haven’t added yet) in post #3 here.
Phoenix