I have been researching to no end for over a week and have narrowed this down to these two. I am over 215lbs and originally thought I would benefit more with the Natural and its 2lb HD foam core. My thoughts are this core would provide better support. Am I thinking correctly or would the Freedom provide similar support??
Hi ak151,
This is really an apples to oranges comparison but I can certainly make a few comments that may be helpful in your decision.
The Freedom mattress has three separate layers of synthetic latex that each have a different firmness level and has a polyfoam quilted cover with different firmness levels on each side so there are 12 different possible combinations that you can choose to fine tune the comfort/pressure relief and/or the support/alignment after a purchase.
The Ultimate Dreams Natural uses a 2 lb polyfoam support core with a 3" 100% natural Dunlop comfort layer and a cover that uses wool and polyfoam in the quilting. You can choose the firmness level of the comfort layer when you purchase it but if you wish to change the comfort/pressure relief of the mattress after your purchase the only option you would have would be adding a topper if the mattress was too firm. There isn’t a particularly effective option to “firm up” a mattress that is too soft so the risk of making a “less than ideal” choice would be higher.
Both of these mattresses use high quality and durable materials that would be suitable for higher weight ranges but 100% natural Dunlop in a comfort layer will have a slightly different “feel” than synthetic Dunlop and will tend to feel firmer as you sink into it more deeply than either synthetic Dunlop or Talalay latex that has the same ILD.
In terms of the support layers … I would give the edge to synthetic Dunlop over polyfoam in terms of durability but the support layers aren’t generally the weakest link in a mattress anyway so this would make little practical difference. You can read a little more about an all latex mattress vs a latex/polyfoam hybrid in post #2 here but the comparison may be a little closer with synthetic Dunlop latex which is a little less dense and “supportive” and is also less costly than 100% natural Dunlop in the deeper suport layers.
The Ultimate Dreams Natural also has wool in the quilting which would probably give it the edge in terms of temperature regulation although it’s not likely that either one would sleep warm for most people.
In terms of PPP (which includes support/alignment), the only way to know whether a mattress is a good match for you and keeps you in good alignment in all your sleeping positions is based on your own personal testing or experience. If you can’t test a mattress for PPP in person then a more detailed conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced manufacturer or retailer is the best way to decide which of their options is more likely to be the best “match” for you (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here). I would keep in mind that support isn’t the same thing as alignment and that different parts of the body need different levels of support (see post #2 here and post #4 here which talk about primary and secondary support and their relationship to alignment and pressure relief).
You are certainly looking at some very good options that are a choice between “good and good” and since neither one has any weak links in the design relative to your body type … if after your conversation with Dreamfoam there isn’t a clear winner between them then your final choice (see post #2 here) will depend on “best judgement” and on all the objective, subjective, and intangible parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Phoenix