St Louis Latex Beds

[phoenix]

Hi AcGolfer,

Wool is a great temperature regulator (partly because it controls humidity so well and stores moisture away from the body). You can read a little more about the sleeping microclimate including the effects of wool in post #29 here.

As you mentioned though … wool is a fiber and will compress to some degree which can slightly reduce the amount you sink into the latex and if the latex is softer can slightly reduce the softness of the surface layers (depending on the amount of wool and the stretchiness of the cover it’s quilted to).

Soft quilting foam is also used because it’s very breathable (relative to other types of polyfoam) and also changes the surface feel of the mattress. You can read more about quilting layers in this article and in post #2 here and in along with post #2 here.

One of my concerns I only realize after I got this far is the mattress cover. Bamboo seems better than Cotton, but to what degree? Chuck seem to play it down but I was wondering your thought?

There are a couple of posts on the forum which link to much more information about bamboo and how it compares to cotton so I’ll amalgamate them here to save some clicking

Also: we’re thinking of having the bed made with wool quilting and are trying to decide between cotton and bamboo ticking. Is one more durable than the other?

Bamboo is more moisture absorbent, breathable, and “smoother” (has a nicer hand feel) but it’s an artificial cellulosic fiber and not as natural or environmentally friendly as cotton if that’s important. I have seen mixed comments about bamboo’s durability all the way from sites like this which has some fairly technical information saying it’s stronger to sites like this saying that it will break down much sooner than cotton. My thought is that in normal use both would be durable enough and can make high quality choices and that the choice between them is probably more about the superior breathability, moisture absorption, and feel of bamboo vs the fact that it’s more environmentally harmful and less natural. Cotton is certainly proven fabric and has good durability so it’s unlikely that either choice (especially considering that most bamboo is a blend) would be a “weak” one.

That is why I was looking at the Green Earth series - seemed like the bamboo may be good for keeping cooler. Appreciate your help and all the info here on the site!!

They have a good comparison between cotton and bamboo on their site here although I would question some of the individual parts. For example … cotton can be a very “wicking” material (which is why it is used in certain layers of clothing for example) but it doesn’t absorb as much moisture as well as bamboo. Bamboo is also a cellulosic material (like rayon, Tencel, Micromodal and many others) which has a natural source but by the time it is made into a fiber is no longer natural and doesn’t use “natural” methods of production like cotton. A couple of good articles about bamboo fibers are here and here and here. While they do use “pure” bamboo (which may have less wet strength than cotton or bamboo blends) in their ticking … there are many other manufacturers that use bamboo or bamboo blends in their mattress ticking and this is widely available (along with other cellulosic fibers) so this alone would not be a reason I would be focused on the BodyRest line.

I can also say from personal experience that I buy bamboo blend socks because I really like how they perform and feel but they have not been as durable as cotton in my experience.

Hope this helps.

Phoenix