Mattress Forum

Are you happy with the feel of the Sealy inpirational?  It probably should start out slightly firmer than you might like, because it will soften a bit.

I priced a 7" king piece of 3lb. HR foam (pretty good quality) from a place I bought sofa cushions, and it was over $700.  3" of latex would push the total to around $1100, plus you are getting a cover on it and delivery.  So, spending $1200 is not way out of line (real cost more when you factor in the loss on the previous mattress - but that is a sunk cost now).

Do you know the density of the HR foam?  That would be nice to know. 

HR foam can last reasonably long.  Think of sofa cushions.  I get about 5-10 years use of of mine.  I have not used HR foam in a mattress, but I think as a firm base it will last longer than the low density comfort foams they use (which probably went bad in your current Sealy).  

Yes

Yes, for sure don't buy the more expensive one!!!!   The cheaper Embody is marginal, but if you really like the feel it might be okay.  You can always add more latex for less than $1100 more.

By the way, do you know what "smart" latex is?  What makes it smart.  I get nervous when I hear marketing terms like that.

If it is all systhentic latex, I would then avoid that mattress completely.  I am not crazy about the Ikea one for that reason and 6" not enough.

The HR foam in the Sealy will probably not last as long as latex or steel coils.  So, you have to ask would you rather pay a bit more for a customziable all latex that will last longer.  So, going with the Embody is more risky.

I really do question the value in upgrading at all. Why spend 1200 to upgrade to the insightful when that same 1200 can buy you a superior mattress to the insightful ... AND you could do a comfort exchange for another or similar mattress to the one you already have and you would end up with TWO brand new mattresses and one boxspring.

You could keep the second mattress or sell it whatever worked for you.

Am I missing something?

Phoenix

I would probably rather take a chance on the 10" all latex at Costco for $1350.  100% returnable if you don't like.  Then you could keep, sell or donate the other.  Sam's club might have something similiar.   The other good option is customizable latex (say sleepez).  That will cost more, but you can adjust to your comfort level and return if no combo. works for you.

The best thing is to figure out what you would want out of all the choice out there and figure out the best way to get it.

Just to put this in perspective even this mattress is superior to the insightful. It has Talalay on the top (same 3" but a better quality latex) and it has a superior HR foam base (the insightful has HD foam). Sams club would also be zero risk since in both cases they can be returned. They will even come pick them up if you decide to return it.

And even these two don't represent the best mattresses you could get for your slightly more than $1200.

Here's another one that I would consider superior in every way to the insightful. This one may involve a little more risk though since they are not as much of a known quantity as Sams Club or Costco but it is under your $1200 budget in King. They do say though that they have a 60 day money back guarantee and will pay the shipping back if you return it. They are a direct outlet for Brooklyn Bedding.

And there are many more options from known and trusted vendors in the threads in this forum.

If I had to choose between the Costco or Sams club, I would choose the Costco because it is all latex, can be flipped to a softer or firmer side, and even though it is Dunlop, that would fit with your preference for a slightly firmer mattress. The 3rd choice would depend on how you felt about them (I would probably call and talk to them if I was considering buying from them)

Phoenix

Sapsa and Latex Foam Products were partners in 1996 in a joint venture called Latex International. LI produced Talatech from Latex Foam Products and Dunlop or what they call "Continuous Process" from Sapsa. http://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing/furniture-manufacturing-mattress-mfg/7278767-1.html

In 2001 Sealy purchased Sapsa and became the biggest latex producer in the world.

Also in 2001 a fire burned down the LI factory which was rebuilt within a year. This disrupted the growth of latex products in North America.

Springfree II introduced in 2006 with the same core http://ir.sealy.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=151044&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=885286&highlight=

The smart latex trademark was registered in 2008 http://www.trademarkia.com/smart-latex-77450063.html and this was also when the PurEmbrace line using smart latex was introduced. This grew from the "Pressure Relief Inlay system" that was introduced in the Posturepedic lineup earlier. It seems that the core used different densities or "inlays" of latex which is a combination of layering and zoning which made it "smart". This was probably also an outgrowth of Sapsa's multifoaming technology http://www.sapsalatex.com/UK/Savoir-faire/index-suite.php The core was still made with the Sapsa Dunlop process and I saw one reference that implied that it was now the natural Dunlop but it doesn't say so directly. Probably means it had some natural latex in it http://www.lvrj.com/furniture_and_design /27948599.html

There are several references to different versions of smart latex including sense-align and intuisoft and smart-dual which are probably different layers and/or zones and it also appears that it could be different "varieties" of latex. You can see this in some of the current descriptions at the Sapsa website.

Some Sapsa history: http://www.sapsalatex.com/UK/Societe/

Here http://www.sapsalatex.com/UK/Gamme-produits/smart-dual.php They refer to "memory foam latex" whatever that is and one of the images on the bottom even has a hand print (wait for it).

and here again http://www.sapsalatex.com/UK/Gamme-produits/toppers.php they refer to a smart topper as "memory foam latex"

And their definition of smart latex is here http://www.sapsalatex.com/UK/Savoir-faire/index-suite.php calling it "memory latex"

It also looks like the 85 natural/15 synthetic used in the ikea could come from Sapsa http://www.sapsalatex.com/UK/About-latex/types.php It also appears that they no longer produce any all synthetic latex.

and even K-mart is getting in on the visco-latex act http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_021B023386110001P Wonder where this comes from.

It would also be a reasonable assumption given the connection between Sapsa and Latex International that any Talalay latex in Sealy products is Talatech.

So what is "smart latex"? My best guess is that it is some combination of layering, zoning, and production that Sealy would like us to believe makes latex perform more like memory foam.

It's clearly "smarter" than I am.

Maybe I should eat some.

Phoenix

Mike