Mattress Forum

Interesting. That letter is dated from 2007; it might be worthwhile to contact LI and find out if their terminology has changed since then (it's hard to tell from their website). My understanding is that Talatech is the trademarked name of their blended-latex product, in which case the phrase "Talatech natural latex" is a contradiction in terms and (obviously) a possible source of much confusion. If they're using "Talatech" to refer to both their blended and all-natural products, that's even more confusing.*

I don't doubt that tjstogner's new mattress is 100% natural latex (should be, for the price); I just think that name "Talatech," used the way it is there, is a bit problematic.

tjstogner -- I hope you love your mattress and sleep great on it.

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* And that might be the case -- see the LI-products comparison page on SLAB's website. "It is great that we offer more options but we also know that we have also made it much harder for someone to decide which topper is fit for them. To make it even more confusing ... the truth is that all these foams are Talatech® foams. The Talatech® that we originally knew is now a Classic Talatech® after the advent of Celsion™ and 100% Natural."  The Classic Talatech is described as "The original Talalay latex foam formula," which is "Blended Talalay latex foam made of botanical rubber and Styrene Butadine Rubber (SBR)."

(Shades of "Coke" and "Classic Coke" there -- not the best marketing strategy by LI, IMO; and I wouldn't use the "tech" suffix in the name of any all-natural product -- but hey, they don't ask me about these things.)

The best way to differentiate between the LI product lines is probably to go by the ILD designations, rather than by the names. ILDs of 14, 19, 24, 28, 32, 36 = blended. ILDs of N2, N3, N4, N5 = 100% natural. ILDs of 15, 21, 27 = Celsion (the blended stuff + phase-change material).

Thus endeth the Morning Geek-Out.

LI uses the term 'Talatech' for both products. They use Talatech Natural when referring to their 100% latex non blended version. If refering to their 30/70 blended product, they just call it Talatech.
 

I just noticed on that webpage the manufacturer's warranty on their Talatech Natural v.s. the Classic Talatech. They give a 20 year on their blended product, yet only a 10 year on their natural.

This leads me to believe budgy's theory even more about the LI making more money off their blended product vs. the all natural. They try to sway consumers and bedding manufacturers to buy their more profitable product by offering a much longer warranty which will almost certainly never be honored.
 

Well, I'm not sure it's fair to speculate on whether they'll honor warranties that long -- 20 years is a long way out, and companies can change a lot in that time.

If I had to guess, I'd say they might, just because of my own recent experience with LI Customer Service. The responsiveness and service from both SLAB and LI were outstanding. Just FYI.

I'm specualting that they won't receive products back with enough deterioration to meet the warranty requirements, not that they wouldn't honor it if there were.

I showed this to My one of the reps and he said that this is true for some of their products, but it is a small amount. The Talalay process is just a process and not a specific type of Latex. He informed me that 90% of their Talalay products sold is a blended and synthetic latex. The wording in this marketing add from this company is a little misleading and Talatech Natual Latex Formula is not the only Latex used with the Talalay process. He did say many compaines use this to make people think all Talalay Latex is 100% natural latex and not blended.

This is what is says on Latex Internationals Website:

http://latexfoam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=69

Latex is rubber, NOT plastic. There are 2 types of latex; NR or natural rubber latex and SBR (styrene butadiene rubber) or man-made latex. All latex is either a blend of the two or 100% natural latex. Natural latex is harvested from the rubber tree much like maple syrup is harvested.

All mattress components and pillows from Latex International are 100% latex. For the majority of our products, we use a proprietary blend of natural and man-made latex to provide the optimal balance of comfort and durability. Natural rubber latex is used to provide that great contouring feel. Man made latex (SBR) provides durability and helps in creating a product that is very resilient to body sets as it can be compressed over and over and will continue to provide showroom feel.

Two things with the warranty.

1st THe warranty has nothing to do with the life of the porduct. It only protects you against Defects in material and manufacturing. Anything that is considered normal wear and tear is not covered under waranty.

2nd. The 20 year waranty is 10yrs non prorated and 10yrs prorated.

They will honor the waranty just fine, but if the mattress is 15 yrs old it is going to be hard to prove that is was defect and not normal wear and tear.

The Natural Blended it 100% Natural Latex blended with Synthetic, which is still a great product. It done this way just to bring cost down a bit.