Hey,
Let’s say that you have a 100 x 100 x 100 feet talalay latex mattress. The IFD/ILD can only be the same through the entire mattress. What would then be the ideal IFD/ILD for the healthiest mattress? Giving you the perfect support and pressure relief?
Would like to hear what you have to say. 
Thanks.
It depends.
On?
Hi E.J.M.,
As LJGMDAD mentioned “it depends” is the only meaningful answer to your question. What it depends on would include many variables such as your body type, your sleeping positions, your preferences, your sensitivities, and others. In addition to this for most people a mattress that works best would usually have multiple layers that are different ILD’s not just a single layer.
I would always keep in mind that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion about which mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own personal testing or sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here). In other words a mattress that is “perfect” for one person may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on so there is no such thing as “ideal” in general terms … there is only “ideal for you”.
In your other topic you mentioned that you wanted to build your own bed and if you are attracted to the idea of designing and building your own mattress out of separate components and a separate cover then the first place I would start is by reading option 3 in post #15 here and the posts it links to (and option #1 and #2 as well) so that you have more realistic expectations and are comfortable with the learning curve, uncertainty, trial and error, or in some cases the higher costs that may be involved in the DIY process. While it can certainly be a rewarding project … the best approach to a DIY mattress is a “spirit of adventure” where what you learn and the satisfaction that comes from the process itself is more important than any cost savings you may realize (which may or may not happen).
If you decide to take on the challenge then I would either use the specs (if they are available) of a mattress that you have tested and confirmed is a good match for you in terms of PPP as a reference point (the same type and density of foam in the same thickness and firmness levels and a very similar cover which can also make a significant difference to the feel and performance of a mattress) or use a “bottom up” approach (see post #2 here).
Phoenix
The thing is, that I want a 100 percent talalay latex mattress. But, there is no such thing where I live. So I can’t go test any mattresses as suggested…
I pretty much have to order from another country.
Would that be crazy? :whistle:
Thanks.
Hi E.J.M,
I don’t know what country you are in but it would depend on the specifics that were involved in ordering from another country, how it would compare to what is available in your own country, and the return/exchange options you would have after a purchase if what you ordered didn’t turn out as well as you hoped for.
You are probably the only one that can answer whether any additional risk would be worth it to you.
Phoenix
I live in Sweden.
By the way, if you just had to take a guess, what would you say is the ideal IFD/IDL in this situation? 
I asked this to a company I was thinking about buying from. They said 36…
Also, I am 5 feet 11 inches. Around 165 pounds. Male.
… So, if you had to take a guess?
Thanks.
Hi E.J.M.,
I have absolutely no idea. I would need much more information both about you and the specifics of mattresses that you have slept well on in the past to use as a reference point to even be able to make a wild guess.
36 ILD would probably be a suitable support core as a deeper layer in a mattress for most people but it would probably be firmer than most people would prefer to sleep on directly as a comfort layer.
Phoenix
Hm… I see…
Do you know any places I can buy whole talalay mattresses or just layers, online, that also ships to Sweden without me having to find some kind of parcel forwarding service?
The only one I have found so far is a seller on eBay located in the United States. But I would like some more options.
Thanks.
Hi E.J.M,
Unfortunately this is something that I’ve never researched or looked into so I really don’t know and outside of a freight forwarding service you would need to email the suppliers on the components list and ask them to find out if they are able to ship to Sweden.
I would be surprised if there weren’t options available in Sweden to buy individual latex layers but I don’t know anything about the Swedish market so it would take some searching (and an understanding of Swedish) to find them…
Phoenix
Hm…
Well, I have found some latex products in Sweden, but they have all been synthetic.
Another question:
Let’s say that you have a 100" Twin XL mattress. Now, if you add 5 extra inches, that won’t make any difference when sleeping on it.
However, if you have a 1" mattress and add 1" extra inch, there will be a difference. At what point will there be no difference when adding height?
(I think you know what I mean by “difference”. Just not sure how to explain it. )
Thanks.
Hi E.J.M.
Radium manufactures Talalay latex in Holland which is widely available in Europe and both their blended Talalay (which is 70% synthetic latex and 30% natural latex) and their 100% natural latex are very high quality materials. There is more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here.
If you are referring to a twin XL mattress that is 100" thick (although I have no idea where you would find something that thick) then adding an additional 5" on the bottom would be unlikely to make any difference for most people but adding an additional 5" on top that has a different firmness level would probably be noticeable for most people depending on how much firmer or softer it was than the 100" below it. If it was the same firmness then they probably wouldn’t notice much if any difference.
This would be very subjective and there wouldn’t be a consistent answer between different people because it would depend on the specifics of all the layers, the weight and body type of the person and on where they were in the “princess and the pea” to the “I can sleep on anything” range of sensitivity.
In a “typical” mattress that was say 6" or thicker then adding a firmer layer on the bottom would make less difference than adding a softer layer on the bottom which would would make “some” difference for “some” people because it would compress more and affect how much they were sinking down into the mattress.
Adding an additional inch on top that was either firmer or softer would make a bigger difference that most people would feel.
If the additional layer was the same firmness as the mattress then the additional thickness would be softer but whether someone was able to feel a difference that small would depend entirely on the person and some people would feel the additional thickness and for others it may not be noticeable at all. There is more about the effect of thickness in post #14 here but these are such subjective questions and there are so many “it depends” in the answers that it’s not possible to predict a specific answer that would apply to a specific person and it’s only possible to identify the “direction” of the change.
Phoenix
Cool.
Another question:
What do you usually call the different layers?
I mean, I have heard like “base layer”, and “comfort layer”. Any other layers out there, if you know what I mean?
Thanks.
Hi E.J.M,
[quote]What do you usually call the different layers?
I mean, I have heard like “base layer”, and “comfort layer”. Any other layers out there, if you know what I mean?[/quote]
There is no specific name or definition of all the layers but the layers on top of a mattress that provide most of the pressure relief are generally called “comfort layers” and the deeper layers that are mostly responsible for the primary support of a mattress are generally called the “support core” or the “support layers” or the “base layers” and the layers in between (if there are any) that have a more dual role are generally called “transition layers”.
There is also more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between “support” and “pressure relief” and “feel”.
Phoenix