I have been shopping for a latex mattress and always ask the weight of the mattress. At Foam Sweet Foam, which gets excellent marks at another mattress review website, I was told their 9" king weighed 180#. At Plush Beds, they said 135#. Did I get that wrong? If not, does weight matter?
I slept on a Jamison Comfort Choice 100% latex for a year or two (sold the house furnished), and absolutely loved the softness of it. Do you know the ILDs by chance? I realize it “broke in” too fast, and would not have held up, but those nights of deep sleep were excellent! And my husband loved it too - practically a miracle. Was I feeling another kind of foam layer? If so, is there a more durable similar feeling layer available? I am pretty sure I don’t like memory foam, but I am all about soft.
With a latex mattress weight doesn’t matter because Talalay and Dunlop have different densities and each different firmness level of both also has a different density. This is very different from polyfoam or memory foam where the density of the material is independent of its softness/firmness level and is part of how you can tell their quality. With latex what you would need to look for is the type of latex (Dunlop or Talalay) and the blend of the latex (natural vs synthetic). Weight will also vary by the thickness of the latex layers and to a lesser degree by any differences in any other components as well such as the cover and quilting (although this will be a lower percentage of the overall weight).
You can read more about the different types of latex in post #6 here.
Jamison has made some changes to their lineup and don’t list the Comfort choice any more but as far as I know (and could find out online) the soft side had 2" of 19 ILD and 1" of 24 ILD in the comfort layer and I believe the 6" support core was 40 ILD. You can see it here but you could call them to confirm this.
Latex also keeps it’s firmness longer than other materials so it may have lasted longer than you thought although this would depend on many factors including your weight and the amount of softening that would still keep you inside your range for pressure relief and alignment.
this would depend on your sleeping positions, weight, and how much you were “going through” the softer 3" in the comfor layer but you would also be feeling the firmness of the latex support layer below this to some degree yes. Latex is the most durable of the foam materials but there are many factors to durability that are relative to each person (see post #2 here).
Regarding the question about a soft layer, I meant a different foam on top of the latex, like some manufacturers use wool.
If I understand your tutorials correctly, softer latex, usually Talalay, in lower ILDs, tends to get depressions more easily. I wonder if that is why all or most of the manufacturers push medium density - like a warranty issue. And on that vein, is 19 actually too soft for the mattress to last 10 years or more?
They don’t list the details of the Comfort Choice any more but as far as I know all the TLC mattresses use (and used) a stretch knit cover over the latex with no quilting … wool or otherwise.
This is true of all materials not just latex although latex would be more durable in any ILD. Softness is a durability factor in all foams. In the case of latex it would be more of an issue with softening than actual impressions. You may also be referring to comments I’ve made that in the lower ILD’s … blended Talalay will be more durable than natural Talalay although both are great materials relative to other types of foam.
I think part of it is durability relative to higher ILD’s and part of it is that it’s also less “risky” in terms of potential support/alignment issues. There are many who use low 20’s as their “average” suggestion and Pure Latex Bliss (which is owned by Latex International) uses 21 ILD in the top layers of most of their mattresses (it used to be 19 ILD until they changed from to Talalay GL where 21 ILD is the closest available to 19).
This would depend on all the factors that are talked about in the previous link about durability. The foam itself wouldn’t be “worn out” in that time but it will soften to some degree (depending on the person and the use) and whether this softening would be too much for a particular person would depend on the overall design of the mattress and on whether it was still in the “range” that provided them with the pressure relief and support they needed. If they were barely in the range when they first bought the mattress (right on the edge of being too soft for them) then it would only take little more softening to cross their line and be too soft for them even though the materials themselves would still be fine and for someone else where the same mattress was closer to the middle of their range when they bought it, it would still be fine.
For someone who was a heavier weight I would tend to avoid thick layers of 19 ILD and choose thinner layers over firmer layers or just firmer layers altogether but this is a personal preference as well and would depend on the overall mattress design and the needs and preferences of each person.
In the end everything boils down to the questions …
Is this mattress the most suitable in terms of PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences) for me?
Are the materials inside it the most durable possible in my price range for this design (so it will keep its comfort and support longer)?
All of the members listed in post #21 here except the last two make mattresses that have blended Talalay as either standard or an option for the top layer.