We are interested in foam beds bit need to know the differences, positives and negatives iofthe 2 foams, Dunlop and Talalay
Me also and the answer seem to be not simple or often biased!
They are two very different latex foams (even though they look very similar) which react quite differently. It’s important not to think of one as better than the other because both can be very helpful in creating a great mattress design when used correctly. The easiest way to understand the difference is to look at a graph of force vs distance (area pushing on the foam is constant).
What’s especially interesting is that even though two of the ILDs (firmness rating) are very close, (22ILD vs 20ILD) you can see the travel at different pressures/forces is quite different. The graph shows that with lower pressures/forces the dunlop actually feels softer (travels more) than the talalay (ex child’s mattress) while at higher pressures the talalay allows more travel (ex mattress for bodybuilder). Similarly when using them for support layers dunlop will be less conforming (it will feel firmer faster) so it’s good to create support where higher BMI’s and body types are more uniform. Talalay excels where body types are more curvy or bony since it allows more travel than dunlop. Dunlop also tends to be cheaper so those that are more budget oriented might be inclined to use that in their builds whenever it makes sense to do so. There’s obviously alot of different mattress combinations that can be created using all sorts of foam types but hopefully this gives you a little idea of why you might use one or the other latex foam in your own design or when selecting a mattress design that might work better for you.