Mattress Forum

http://www.thecleanbedroom.com/Showrooms.htm Retailer. Have a wide range of latex mattresses including layered make your own versions that would be a good testing ground.

http://www.allyouneedforsleep.com/index.htm Retailer. Carry Restopedic mattresses which are great value and would also be good testing grounds

http://www.manta.com/c/mmjfn7g/restopedic-inc Manufacturer. These are the actual manufacturer of Restopedic and sell factory direct. Don't have a website but they do have great value. Was impressed when I talked with them.

http://www.norwalkmattress.com/ Manufacturer. Also manufactures a range of latex mattresses

http://www.columbiamattressuph.com/findcmu.html Manufacturer. Their website says they have latex but I don't know any details about whether they make all latex or not.

http://www.comfortss.com/location.html Manufacturer. Makes a range of latex mattresses.

http://www.mybobs.com/locations/ Retailer/manufacturer? Focuses on memory foam but including them for the sake of completeness in case someone else looking for memory foam sees this list.

http://www.customsleepdesign.com/ Manufacturer. Makes custom layered and zoned latex mattresses using an approach that I believe is very accurate. Was also impressed when I talked with him and he is a former VP of latex international.

All of the latex manufacturers in this list may very well sell you a topper at a very good price should you need one. They would certainly provide excellent testing grounds. Conneticut doesn't have as many manufacturers as other states but they are among the best.

If there are stores like Sleepy's near you, then the Pure Latex Bliss line of mattresses would also be excellent testing grounds. They are a "subsidiary" of Latex International and while they are more than the manufacturers listed here, their mattresses and toppers do give you a chance to test out different comfort layers and thicknesses.

Phoenix

PS: based on the overstock description it is probably chinese memory foam. They say "rated at" 4 lb which usually means absolutely nothing and usually means it actually isn't 4lb. Without knowing who manufactures the memory foam there is no way to tell how it will "act" in actual use or what it really is. The 2 year warranty also indicates that it is probably "lesser" memory foam as well.

According to the link cowboy gave the video on the rejuvenite that the seller has says that they are manufactured by international latex in their connecticut factory under the rejuvenite name.

Phoenix

  I am still leaning toward the soft  I think at 19 ild with the rejuvenite since I am a side sleeper

This site claims the ild in the 20's is better ?  http://www.plushbeds.com/latexmattress.html

I think I'll have to go try the latex bliss again.

Here is a general idea of some of their mattress constructions with and without a 2" topper http://www.mattresssave.com/index.php?mattress/shop/brand/6

The 28 ILD and the 19 ILD would probably feel quite noticeably different on a firm mattress but testing it on something "soft" may distort the results of what you are feeling. I would test them on as firm a mattress as I could (like yours) and make sure you know how thick the version you are testing is as 2" and 3" could also make a difference.

My answer to anyone who makes those kind of "definitive statements" about soft and firm is always ... for who? It's too personal IMO to make blanket judgements about ILD or what is "best". There really isn't any difference in feel between 20 - 22 and 19 ILD anyway and they seem to think that "21" is OK lol.

Phoenix

Place today had a nutritional and a sorrento and I think a nature model. I thought the 3 inch topper on the nutritional was comfortable.

  I didn't think of moving the topper to a firm bed there. I will  have to go back and try that.

Is the latex bliss topper about a 14 or 19 ild?

Phoenix

PS: you can see from the latex bliss constructions (softer over soft, thin firmer layers over soft, and different thicknesses of layers) how sophisticated their understanding of latex and layering is. This is not surprising since their "parent" company makes it. I believe it's an attempt to "show the industry" how to use latex "more correctly" and while they are more expensive than "doing it yourself" or other options (they don't want to "cut the throat" of smaller or even larger manufacturers who already understand what they do and buy their latex), it is why I believe they are "among the best" of the "national brands". With their different toppers and the different thicknesses and ILD's of their different models, they are much closer to a "make your own" approach than most (if you take only their 4 basic models and the 2 toppers, there are 12 different variations of construction). I also believe it is partly an effort to show the industry the value of using very soft latex instead of the cheap soft poly that most mattresses (including most extra firm ones) have in the very top of their construction. It's a very smart strategy IMO. They win if other major manufacturers don't copy them (they sell more Latex Bliss) and also if they do copy them (they sell more latex).

The info on Latex Bliss mattresses is very interesting, so I went out to look at their site (unfortunately it doesn't look like they are for sale in Washington?). Anyway, the thing I wanted to ask about is their "stabilization" layer. Each of their beds seem to have 1" of poly foam at the bottom, for stabilization. Do you know why they do this and what it really does? Thanks...

Steve

You can spend a lot of money very quickly once you get experimenting.

BTW there were some great deals on MF over Xmas at stores like Kohls and Bon Ton, and I think Kohls still has one running through the new years weekend.  We picked up a made-in-US    2" MF topper for $70 that normally sells for $220.

There is a lot of good information about the Pure Latex Bliss on youtube and at their blissipedia site ... but unfortunately it doesn't have any info about why they use the "stabilization layer". I believe it is to help counteract the "swaying" or "jiggly" feeling some people feel with thicker Talalay mattresses as it is less dense than Dunlop and can have more of a tendency to move a little more from "side to side" especially with a body laying on top of it. A very firm and stiff layer underneath the mattress could help counteract this and this would make sense to me. I would think it would have to be glued to the core to be most effective. A secondary benefit could be to protect the Talalay although I don't think this would have been as important in their thinking.

The only place I know of that sells them in WA is http://www.higginsonsflooringandsleepshop.com/contactus.html which is quite a ways away.

Hellbed,

Unfortunately, most of the soft latex being sold is around 20 ILD or more and this would feel much firmer than memory foam which is usually around 12-15. Of course memory foam also melts but it's usually the depth of cradling and pressure distribution that contributes to a "feeling of softness" rather than the pushback. I think a 14 ILD latex could feel similar in terms of softness except it wouldn't have the tendency of memory foam to allow certain parts to "sink too far". It will be interesting to see what happens as more 14 ILD toppers with stretchy covers "hit the market" to see how they compare with memory foam. Some of the testing that has been done in the "pressure relief" patents indicate it is slightly better even than memory foam in certain combinations (pressure relief inlays). Firmer memory foam also can feel quite hard, at least until it melts. Poly ... especially HR poly aslo has pushback (and in some cases even more than latex) and yet can feel very soft as well in the "super soft" ILD's (around 10 in some cases) or in the convoluted which "acts" softer than the ILD of the material that it was fabricated from.

Phoenix