Mattress Forum

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

I don't quite understand.  You are going to buy a new one through the comfort exchange and then sell it right away?  If so, then you might want to get a cheaper one, so your downside is limited, and it might be easier to sell something at a lower price.  Seems easier and less risky to sell the one you have, but obviously that is not new condition.   I guess you would have to figure out what each could be sold for.

Sleepez is good if you think you want to be able to customize fairly specifically to your needs.  Also, if you want one half different than the other.  It might have a better cover as well, with some wool fill.   You can also choose talalay (blended or 100% natural) or dunlop or a combo of the 2.  

Downside of course is that it costs more, and I think you would have to pay the cost of return shipping.  You would have to pack up and ship it back, where Costco would come and pick it up.

I think either is better quality than a foam based Embody, but that does not mean that you would like them more.

Here are the pluses and minuses of 4 mattresses that are in the range of your budget as I see them.

Sleepez: $1295. 8" of good quality 3 zoned natural Dunlop latex. Has a comfort guarantee if you don't like it but you pay shipping. Initial shipping for the mattress is free. Unclear if you would be returning the whole bed or just the top layer for a comfort exchange on their special which would affect shipping charges (I would call and ask or perhaps someone here knows but I would guess it is a layer). Very trustworthy merchant.

Arizona mattress: $1295. 8" (well 7.6 actually) of all Talalay latex blend which many people prefer particularly in the top layer. The cover is nicer (has 1.5" of wool not just cotton). Comfort exchanges can be done with the top layer which means the shipping cost is less than if you had to ship the whole bed. There is an initial shipping charge for the bed but not a lot since it ships UPS so factor that into the cost. You get a bonus (I believe it's currently 2 latex pillows) when you buy. Very trustworthy merchant.

Costco: $1395. 10" of natural Dunlop latex. Somewhat flippable (the inner layers have to be removed and flipped so you are sleeping on the correct side of the cover). This means it has 2 firmness choices built in, one on each side so while the level of "customization" is limited to 2, it does not involve shipping anything. Basic cover. If you don't like either of the 2 comfort choices, it costs nothing to ship back. Very trustworthy merchant.

Latexmattressshop: $1124.10 with their 10% coupon. 8" of natural Dunlop 7 zoned latex. Nicest cover of the lot with bamboo, wool, and quiltable latex. You can select 1 of 3 comfort levels when you order but you cannot do a layer exchange after you have it. Free shipping if you decide to return it. Initial shipping is also free. Seemingly trustworthy merchant but not as well known here as the others. Can upgrade to the next model with 10" of latex and latex/wool/bamboo cover for $1385.10 with their 10% coupon (just to compare with the Costco).

In my view, all of these represent very good choices but have slight differences in the quality of mattress, prices, adjustability, and difficulty and expense of return. You may have to pay tax on the Costco but the others would be tax free unless you lived in their state (strangely enough all 3 of them are in Arizona). All of them would be better than the insightful upgrade in my opinion. All of them (exept the Costco) would also be happy to talk with you to advise you on the comfort level that would be best for you in their experience. What level of risk/value you feel is better for you or even whether to go this route at all is of course part of your own personal decision.

Phoenix

The idea was to exchange the bed he has with a similar quality and price mattress, perhaps a little firmer or softer (I would go firmer because they tend to cost a little less perhaps leaving a little more in your budget and also because I would feel a little better about selling it). He would now have a brand new mattress. Now he could use the money he would have spent on the insightful upgrade to get a superior all latex mattress as in the choices in the last post. He would now have 2 brand new mattresses. He could now sell the one he exchanged for as an unused mattress or keep it if that was his choice.

Phoenix

I assume Mike can use the $585 credit to buy anything?  Or does it have to be equal or greater value?  If he buys a $585 mattress (costing zero out of pocket), then anything it sells for would be pure "profit".   If he puts up $1200 to buy the Embody, then he would have to sell it for $1200 or greater to make a profit.  There would be risk of not getting the $1200 back.

So, the question is what should he buy to get the greatest "profit" (really money back to reduce the loss).  This assumes he is not going to use it at all to maximize the resale value.  I think new and never used would have a significant premium over anything used.  I would keep it is the plastic wrapping and never touch it.

I guess one would have to know the market for such things.  I assume it would probably be at least 30% below what one could buy it in the store for?

Have you tried to have the store just give you some money back and let you sell the one you have?  I did that once.

p.s. I haven't seen those discount Sleepez ones before.  I thought sleepez would be more than Costco, however it is 8" vs. Costco's 10".

The next best option would be to go in the direction we have been going and sell the new but similar mattress with the boxspring and then buy a foundation (a decent slatted one with no springs) for your new latex mattress. I'm not sure what model of posturepedic you have but the lowest priced of the posturepedics in a king here is the Bryant park which is $839 for the set in a King. I'm guessing that you have a better model than this unless you paid a lot more than you needed to ($839 is not the lowest price online) but if it was this one then 60% of that would be around $500. I don't really know if that would sell on Craigslist but it seems to me that for a mattress that had never been used and was still in plastic it wouldn't be a bad deal. If your model is higher, then of course the price would be more.

The worst case is that you would have a better (less polyfoam in the firm) mattress that by itself or with a topper could make a decent guest mattress ... and you would have a really nice mattress to sleep on for yourself.

Phoenix

I've been mattress shopping for about the past month...I have tried several latex mattress including the Natural Choice Hotel Collection by Macy's, & a few other mattress store brands that weren't as familiar to me & I can't remember.

I tried the Embody line, and by far out of all mattresses I've tried, the Embody Shelter was the most comfortable. Of course I would love to save some money over the nearly $2900 for the Cali King Embody Shelter, but again, all the mattresses I've tried did not compare to in terms of comfort, spring, and support. How can I know I will be happy with something I order online, when it seems so many other latex mattresses did not match up to what admittadly seems like a pretty meager setup from a spec standpoint on the Shelter (only 6.5" latex).

Thanks for your input.

The problem is what exactly are you getting for $2900?  What kind of latex?  What ILD rating?  What kind of foam is underneath?  How long will that foam last? Can you return it?  You can get 6" of high quality foam and 6" of latex for about half of that, so what is the extra premium for? 

Without knowing that, I would not buy it.  That does not mean it is not comfortable and that you would not like it.

Exactly.

Laying on beds with the same specs, I would say the Sealy was more comfortable....Why is that? That's the question I have, & is it as simple as the ingredients/components. Does it have something to do with the build?

Otherwise it's a no brainer to order one of these internet only companies..just afraid that I would come to the same conclusions as I did with the beds that looked better from the standpoint of foam specs, but were just not as comfortable.

*shrug*