Does anyone know the ILD’s for OMI’s soft, medium, and firm 100% talalay? I am purchasing a 100% talalay 10,000 from Foam Sweet Foam and I would like a comparable feel to an OMI Lago 100% talalay in 3" sculpted soft top and 6" firm core. OMI will not reveal their ILD’s to me. F.S.F advised me to go with from top to bottom 3" soft 22 ILD, 3" med. 27 ILD, 3" firm 32 ILD (give or take a few ILD’s). I am 5’5" 124 lbs. side sleeper and my husband is 5’7" 150 lbs. side, back, and stomach sleeper. I am afraid of going too soft as my husband is a stomach sleeper much of the time. We both have back issues and are used to a firm mattress also. Does anyone have this F.S.F 10,000 combination or any advice for choosing the correct ILD’s?
Unfortunately … if a manufacturer doesn’t provide you with the ILD of their materials then there is usually no way to find out except through your own subjective experience. They really have no reason to provide this information because it’s not a factor in the quality of the material and with a local purchase what your body feels is much more important and relevant than knowing the ILD of the materials (which in most cases would have little meaning or relevance to the large majority of consumers or would be information that they believed was more important than it was).
ILD alone is also only one factor in how a mattress feels or performs and ILD is also not directly comparable between materials. You can read more about trying to “match” one mattress to another in post #9 here and more about some of the other specs that are just as important as ILD in post #2 here. The convoluting in the OMI and the quilting materials and layers will also make a significant difference in how the mattress feels compared to another mattress that uses the same ILD latex.
Having said all that … there is some information in post #8 here about the ILD’s of the Lago (hopefully accurate) that came from a retailer I know but I would keep in mind that ILD is only one factor out of many that are important. I would probably use your experience on the OMI as a rough guideline that points to whether you prefer softer or firmer comfort layers in general and as part of your discussions with FSF rather than use it as a specific “model” to “duplicate”.
There is also more about how to make comfort choices in mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here but outside of personal testing or experience on a mattress … a more detailed conversation with a knowledgeable manufacturer is by far the best way to make your choice because they will know more about the specifics of their mattresses and the options they provide and be in a better position to help “match” you to a design based on the averages of their many customers that are similar to you than anyone else.
Thanks Phoenix, the post that you referred me to helped. I think I will go a little firmer with the middle and bottom layer. F.S.F. said that they can look and possibly find talalay latex with fairly close ILD’s of my choice (give or take 1). I will see if they can do 22, 30, 38, or close to that. I’m not sure if this is possible, since the manufacturers seem to have standard ILD’s, but they said that each piece is marked separately. I’m waiting on my bed frame from Bed Frames of Maine, then I will order my mattress. I will write a review after a few weeks.
