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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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. |
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
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HI Jim, I was considering ordering from sleepez myself and have actually spoken with shawn a couple of times. Looking at the latex you received, I would be very disappointed. In fact I would be on the phone looking for a refund. Suffice it to say that I am "removing" sleepez from my list. I would definately call and let them know of the quality (of lack thereof) you received. I read in a few threads that foam sweet foam has a good product and fair pricing, and they are within driving distance from me so my wife and I may see them this weekend. If we do make a purchase, I will post a follow-up to let you know of my experience. I was also considering savvyrest, and may still try their offerings, but their pricing seems a bit high (I assume if it is because they have a network of dealers). |
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
| I'm not seeing the pictures . . . where are they? |
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
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KimberlyH wrote: I'm not seeing the pictures . . . where are they? Kim, Click on the "all" option at the bottom of the page to view all messages. They are in Jims 1st reply... |
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
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Yes Kim I was just about to post the same thing. I can understand why this site does not want to constantly show all the posts, it takes up bandwidth and scrolling time for the forum users. But nevertheless there needs to be something done to make it more obvious that all of the posts are not available without hitting the "All" button at the end of the thread. This happens time and again to many people who wish to view all of the information in a thread. There is no telling how many people have left this site without the information they were seeking because it was not available to view without hitting the, "All" button at the bottom of the thread. This is an excellent site and one of the best on the Internet for mattress shoppers. It has been most helpful to me, and I appreciate it very much. However! Possibly one of the moderators will see this complaint and respond to it by mentioning it to the owners who hopefully will fix this problem. |
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
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Jim, My LI Talalay layers do not look anything like that. They are uniform and white and show only the most marginal of imperfections. I would not accept this, and I'd send it back for a refund, even if you have to take a loss. IMO, whether or not it sleeps fine, just knowing they sent you a substandard product will gnaw away at you and you won't be happy. This really reinforces the "you get what you pay for" adage. I'd rather pay a little more and KNOW I'm getting a quality piece of LI latex - of course, some of you are also interested in Dunlop, and I have no idea where to get good Dunlop, though I did think this site looked promising: http://www.latexco.com/home/ |
Re: Got my foam layers from SleepEZ
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Okay! Here's the deal.... Sorry I did not post yesterday, I saw that I had 11 replies in the afternoon but was busy and could not post until today. First of all thanks to all for your opinions. It really helps to have other people to bounce ideas off of here and get feedback from others. So it seems - based on most opinions here - that I would not be out of line by asking for a refund on either or both of these pieces. Although Budgy has pointed out that not all Dunlop is firmer or "deader" than an equal piece of Talalay, nevertheless this piece is exactly like the piece I tried many years ago: compared to the medium Talalay piece it is - how do I say this? - less "springy" and more "rubbery". It is denser. It is harder. Whereas the natural Talalay piece is very "spring-y" and kind of "sponge-y" (a natural type sponge), the Dunlop piece is more like a rubber door mat or one of those rubber cushions people put under their cash register station to stand on ... That's an exaggeration, but it points to the general idea of what I am trying to say... Does any of this make sense to anyone or am I not explaining it well. Again, as Budgy has pointed out, this is not a hard and fast rule, apparently, that Dunlop is always deader or denser. (Am I saying that right, Budgy? I don't mean to put words in your mouth, especially incorrect ones, but I am paraphrasing what I think I understood you to say; please correct me if I am wrong and I will edit it.) But in this case - with this piece of natural Dunlop from SleepEZ, the Dunlop is how I have always thought of it: less sponge-y, less spring-y and denser, a more "dead" type of rubber. I thought that would actually be good as a bottom layer against the springs but I now believe I was wrong in that belief. Perhaps a few ILD's softer it might have been okay - not sure. NOW: To my 2nd night's sleep: I took off the Dunlop layer. I was afraid of it!  It liked to kill me the previous night! (not saying Dunlop is bad, just that this piece in this ILD did not work at all, for me)So I kept the rest the same except I replaced the natural Dunlop layer, so now my mattress is layered like this: 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) new natural 1" thick Talalay layer from SleepEZ (the one with the poorly glued seam) 5) my old Talalay 3/4" thick layer that is probably a 28ILD - now that I compare it to this one which is supposed to be 32ILD. (these 2 lines in italics replaced the Dunlop) 5) wool topper I am hesitant to be too optimistic, and am knocking on wood as I write this, but last night I slept GREAT with this configuration! I will of course report back here tomorrow to see if I slept great again. For one thing I can't really say for sure because I got woken up by someone at our front door after about 6 or 6½ hours sleep and could not get back to sleep. And often it is those last 2 hours of sleep when I start to feel the pain from a mattress. So hopefully tonight I can get a full 8 hours or more of sleep so I can really test it. But I do have to say that it felt great when I got into bed last night, it felt like just the right amount of support combined with softness, and when I woke up I had zero - I mean ZERO - pain for the first time in a month or two; more like when I first got the Englander and replaced the foam with mostly HR foam. Which brings me to this point: Some of you have opined that 2" or so of foam is not enough over springs. I disagree because I have tried it with more foam on top. I tried adding another inch of - alternately - medium or firm HR foam. Every time, when I have put 3" or more of foam on top of my springs it has not worked for me at all. (I weigh 170-185 nowadays.) So my main point is that when my mattress was feeling great before, when I first got it and for about 2 months or 3 months thereafter, I was only using 2 and 1/2- 2 and 3/4" of foam on top. When you have good springs and quality foam, you just don't need that much foam. IMHO. The Englander in fact came with only 3" of foam or so on it. (I bought the FIRM of course.) While in fact one can put more foam on when it is high quality foam, I think that when you do you are basically negating much of the purpose and benefits of the springs. This is my theory, anyway. If anyone disagrees from having tried it and prefers more foam on top of springs, you should respond here so others know that it can work for some people. But for me, no, more foam is not better. My theory is that one should start out with about 2" of high quality foam on top of the springs and then add more in 3/4-1" layers as necessary. IF last night's new configuration does work (and I think it's going to)(knocking on wood again!  ), then that will prove my point, at least for me and my needs. To me, once I get over 3" of foam it begins to feel more like an all-foam mattress and not like a spring mattress, and that is a feeling I personally do not like. For some of you who do like the feeling of all-foam then I would say " go with an all foam bed and don't mess with springs at all". But for those of us who feel the need for springs under us - and believe me I thought springs were NOT necessary and resisted the idea for like 3-4 years until my wife finally convinced me to buy springs - I think "less is more". I know a couple other people here have foam on top of springs but I don't remember how much foam you are using on top...(?)I am still investigating how all this feels of course and I reserve the right to change my mind in a day or two or a month ... but from all my experience with HR foam, memory foam, latex, springs, no-springs, etc. all of the above kind of fits within my view and philosophy of mattresses. As to returning the foam, I will try to note more tonight whether or not the Talalay seam bothers me or not. If it does not then I will live with it just to save myself from having to package it and return it and from having to deal with SleepEZ about a return I know they will not want to make. But if I DO feel it then I will tell them I want to return it. So far, last night, I did not feel it. If I were sleeping right on it I might feel it but with another 3/4" layer on top of it and my wool topper and sheets, I did not notice it and doubt that I will. But the Dunlop piece really does look like a "second" to me. Had I bought it from Overstock.com for 2/3 the price and $5 shipping it would be different. But paying full price and $49 shipping I think it is not really something I want to pay for. I'd feel a bit ripped off. So I will probably end up having to deal with SleepEZ on that return anyway. I do feel very happy though that the Talalay layer seems to be the "answer" to my mattress problem! If I get another good night's sleep for a full 8 hours tonight, I will be thrilled! This message was modified Jan 29, 2010 by jimsocal
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