Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
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I got my foam today. Haven't tried laying on it yet. Took some photos which I will post tomorrow probably in this thread. Not entirely thrilled with the firmness and quality of the latex. One of the pieces has a fair amount of imperfections and the other piece has a glued seam all along the vertical length of the twin, about 2 and 1/4" in from the edge. It's a very hard seam from the glue and I think if I were to lay on it I would feel it, even under, say, a wool topper. If it were a King size I could understand the need for a glued seam, but a twin? Seems a bit sketchy to me. Also, this following problem is not at all SleepEZ's fault, unless what they are selling as a 32ILD is nowhere near that, but I already had a piece of 3/4"-1" latex that I estimated to be about a 24ILD. So I ordered a medium Talalay 1" thinking it would be better for support. But the one I got from SleepEZ seems to be just as soft as the one I have already; so either I estimated wrong (most likely) or they sent me something on the very low end of "Medium" (listed at their site as 32). So I would not have bought that piece had I known it was going to be pretty much exactly like the piece (actually I have 2 like this) that I already have. This is the piece with the seam as well. The Dunlop piece seems a LITTLE more firm than that and is 1.5" so it may work for me. Also it is exactly 1 and 3/4 inches thick not 1½, so that is good in my case, I think. However, I do think they should be more exact on their site about the thickness. Could be that someone really wants exactly 1½ inch, not 1 and 3/4 inch... I mean, why not describe it on the site as it is? I'll try sleeping on the Dunlop 1 and 3/4" natural "Medium" ILD tonight and see how it feels and report back with a "first night's impression" tomorrow probably. Also I'll post the photos of the imperfections and get you guys' and girls' opinions on whether or not it is within the realm of acceptable or not considering these are not discounted prices. And just fyi, this is the first latex I ever bought that did not come compressed. It was just rolled and covered in plastic in a big box. Maybe they only compress the bigger pieces...? This message was modified Jan 27, 2010 by jimsocal
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Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
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Okay, first my report on my first night's sleep: The first night I used only the 1 and 3/4" Natural Dunlop in this configuration 1) springs (Englander 12.5 gauge) 2) 1/4" cheap memory foam to protect the foam above from the springs (this came with my original Sealy mattress) 3) super firm 1/2" HR foam 4) Dunlop 5) wool topper Note that the above is how I had the mattress when it worked for me, 6 months or so ago, except of course for the Dunlop layer which replaced HR foam. WAY too firm! Also I felt that old latex feeling I had when I bought a Flobeds: "It's pushing back!"  I tossed and turned most of the night and by morning I was sore. I went over to finish my last hour or so of sleep on my wife's bed which was much better! This was worse than with the HR foam! Just too firm, period. I'll make some sort of change tonight and see if I can make this work... Suggestions as to what to add on top of it are welcome. Maybe my soft Talalay on top, maybe even a very thin layer of memory foam on top of that (even though I had decided not to use memory foam any more; but in the case of this very firm-feeling Dunlop (Medium, they say but man it feels FIRM to me!) it needs SOMETHING SOFT on top. Okay, so I'll report back after I try something new tonight... Now, on to the subject of these 2 latex layers with photos: First the natural Talalay seam. This seam is 2" from the edge. While I suppose it will not affect the sleeping, I still feel kind of ripped off to get a piece that is so far from perfect. It's not even a good seam, because: a) it seems they used too much glue or whatever because the glued seam is very hard; that is you can very much feel it. Granted it is nearly impossible to sleep that close to the edge but still... this seems more like a "second" to me, not a new piece. Note that the holes are not even spaced the same on the piece they glued on, and that the big piece is smooth while the strip they glued on is a rough texture. What's odd is that on the other side both pieces look almost exactly the same as each other, except the holes are a tiny big bigger on the big piece. (?!) In other words, one side is completely different than the other side in terms of smoothness and hole spacing. (Huh?)  <img src="http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/5803/talalayseam1vga.jpg" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /> Now, moving on to the natural Dunlop. The following pictures show most - not all - of the imperfections: <img src="http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/8536/dunlopimp3vga.jpg" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /> <img src="http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/9004/dunlopimperfectionsvga.jpg" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /> <img src="http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/4357/imperfection1vga.jpg" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /> <img src="http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/5411/dunlopimperfections2vga.jpg" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /> I would be curious to hear from Budgy who sells Latex as to whether or not he would sell this latex or accept it, and from others who have bought latex whether or not they would send it back based on these imperfections. While I got them at a "good price" it was by no means a sale price. While the price at SleepEZ is very good, they gouged me on the shipping. The actual cost of shipping these was $19 but I paid $49. But of course, the initial base price did still make it the best price for 2 layers. For one layer Rockymountainmattress would have been better. But also Rockymountain does not have the 1 and 1/2" (1 and 3/4 inch in actuality) layers. Frankly I would not buy from SleepEZ again based on their having sent me what I consider to be too-imperfect latex layers. I might even try to send them back. I am curious as to what you all think. If you all think different maybe I will adjust my opinion. I have never bought latex except the one piece I got from a warehouse near my home, which was just an oddity they had laying around so I got it cheap. I have never bought latex other than that except when I bought a Flobeds. The Flobeds pieces I had did not have imperfections like these and there were many pieces since we bought a King. This message was modified Jan 28, 2010 by jimsocal
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Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
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Jim, The 3 inch "medium" latex topper I recently bought from FoamSweetFoam did NOT look like your photos. It was snowy white, no imerfections at all and a seam (queen size) that was almost un-noticeable. This was my only experience purchasing "exposed" latex. I don't think I'd be happy if I were you either. Just my opinion. |
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
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The 2" strip they glued on does not even look like the same type of latex. That is bizarre. I think your experience confirms that dunlop feels "firmer" than tallay for the same ILD. You can make a case for a return, but if they end up sleeping okay who cares what they look like. Not sure if that is what dunlop should look like. So, you havent' tried the talalay to see how it feels? Maybe put the talalay over the dunlop and your softer piece (or memory foam) over that. I had a feeling that you would need more than 2" of foam. |
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
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well.. that dunlop piece does seem quite riddled with imperfections, but they all seem to be relatively small. I think its normal to get a little bit here or there, but that is a fair bit. The seam on the talalay piece does seem poorly done. I have almost completely gotten out of bonded latex pieces altogether. All of the queen and king size pieces I deal with now are no longer split down the middle, they are solid cores. There are some mattresses that are available to me that would use this, but in the past when I carried them they atleast used latex of the same basic structure or pattern of holes. |
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
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I would not even consider keeping those layers. I'd be really angry....Id make a phone call to Sleepez and return. I am still in the process of finding a company to purchase a topper...Sleepez on was on my list...but I dont think so now. They told me I could return if I paid for shipping...so returning is an option....right? I asked them to send samples last week.....and I have received nothing yet. |
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
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You don't use much layers do you? I think not even 2"? I am not sure. I would put something firmer over the coils if it were me. IMHO. My o-stock layers had about those imperfections, so does FBM. Some layers looked better than others. Not sure but I don't believe those would affect the feeling of the latex. So are you saying the 32ILD is softer like 24ILD? Are the both Dunlop? Is one side denser than the other side? Which one is the natural talalay (if did get one). "Could be that someone really wants exactly 1½ inch, not 1 and 3/4 inch... I mean, why not describe it on the site as it is?" I agree! I personally don't like seams, that is why I ordered twin size, because some comments said they had seams on the queen or king size. It was hit and miss for those sizes. Latex International toppers sold at Sleeplikeabear said they charge you more for "No seams" on the queen or kingsize. LI makes both, different areas of the country has the molds so I don't really get the reason for this. |
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
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Smoother texture comes from contact with the face of the mold. Let's say their mold is 6" thick. If you slice a 6" slab in to (3) 2" toppers you will get (2) toppers with one smooth face and one rough face, and (1) topper with two rough faces. The seam was careless and unnecessary for a twin size topper, in my opinion. The other imperfections seem fairly common, unless you buy latex made by Latex International. In my opinion it is worth paying for Latex International latex. However if you want dunlop, then I'm not sure what manufacturer is best. I have purchased 8 pieces of latex in my life. |
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
| im pretty sure that Talalay piece was made by latex international, the thing is that they are not going to do any of the bonding, that depends on who you buy it from in the end. |
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
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Jim, You had every right to expect a better quality product. You should complain to Sean (?) at Sleepez. If you explain to him about your posts on this site and the number of people who might have been considering Sleepez, but will now probably spend their money elsewhere, I'm sure the businessman in him will realize that he should make you "happy" so that you will tell everyone what a great guy he is. As to your sleeping problem, I hope the additional talalay layer will soften up your bed enough to really solve your problem. Philip |
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
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Jim. I agree with Philip! Those look like blemished pieces to me, or seconds, depending on the terminology you care to use to describe latex that is not first-class. This is something that I would expect from one of the foam by mail or one of those companies to send to you. You really need to tell Sean at SleepEZ about your reporting at "what's the best mattress.com" and that if you're not satisfied with his response to your complaint that it most assuredly is going to get posted here. The money that they will lose from your post will be far greater than anything they might lose by taking it back and giving you a credit. I believe I would check with foam sweet foam, they seem to be a first-class operation and sell individual pieces, at least that is my understanding. I know how much you want to try out Dunlop latex as opposed to Talalay. And I don't blame you, I believe I would want to do the same thing. But my experience with Talalay has been quite enjoyable. I would not be afraid to purchase all Talalay pieces if that's what I had to do to get a first-class piece of latex. |