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I am looking to purchase a latex mattress and am debating between Flobeds and Plush Beds. I have read so much information that my eyes have begun to cross. I did not want to buy on-line but after looking at my local stores, I do not feel comfortable with what they have to offer. Can anyone tell me what they think or know about either of these companies...or if there is some other latex bed you would recommend. I am so overwhelmed by it all. Any help at all will be greatly apprciated. Thank you! |
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Hello, Everyone - Please be alerted to the single biggest scam regarding latex matts: false claims of "100% Talalay" or "All Natural" or "Solid Latex" and so on. One of the ways you can research a company that claims to use 100% Talalay Latex is to go to the only source for natural latex foam in the United States: Latex International. As of 2010, LI is the only manufacturer in the US that processes true natural latex rubber foam, period. Here's their main page: http://www.latexfoam.com/ Here's a page from their site which offers some of the name brands, including a few online retailers: http://www.latexfoam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62&Itemid=74 Please note that this is not a comprehensive listing of makers/vendors, so if you find a vendor that you're interested in, you may wish to contact LI and verify that the product/s you're researching do, in fact, incorporate Talalay latex. Beware of latex products manufactured anywhere other than in the U.S. or Ireland (KayMed). Sorry to sound snobby about it, but if it's not made in the US or the UK, the quality control is pathetic, coarse fillers are often used, density and compression values vary throughout a given section of foam, etc. It's a case of you-get-what-you-pay-for when it comes to real latex foams. Wish 10 inches of Talalay were cheaper... (Sigh) Thanks for letting me participate here - good forum! - Denise in Alachua, FL |
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I think that most people are probably pretty aware of this from reading the forum threads but it is always timely to repeat it :) There is much more to the story than your "warning" would imply however. Talalay is not the only high quality natural latex being used in mattresses. Some very high quality mattresses are also made using Dunlop and there are several manufacturers of Dunlop besides LI which produce excellent 100% natural latex. There is also some question over the superiority of natural latex from LI over either their own blended Talalay or Radium's Talalay latex in terms of it's qualities. Dunlopillo also supplies the natural Talalay latex used in some mattresses sold in North America although this is much rarer. Using LI's website to determine the quality of a mattress or the accuracy of a "natural latex" claim is only a small part of research that would be required and by itself would mean little since so many very good 100% natural latex mattresses don't use them. Your generalization about quality control outside of US/UK manufacturing is also not accurate. While it is certainly valid to question some of the sources of latex, there are manufacturers outside of these 2 countries that have quality control as least as good as anything manufactured there. Phoenix This message was modified Nov 12, 2010 by Phoenix
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Phoenix wrote: I think that most people are probably pretty aware of this from reading the forum threads but it is always timely to repeat it :) There is much more to the story than your "warning" would imply however. Talalay is not the only high quality natural latex being used in mattresses. Some very high quality mattresses are also made using Dunlop and there are several manufacturers of Dunlop besides LI which produce excellent 100% natural latex. There is also some question over the superiority of natural latex from LI over either their own blended Talalay or Radium's Talalay latex in terms of it's qualities. Dunlopillo also supplies the natural Talalay latex used in some mattresses sold in North America although this is much rarer. Using LI's website to determine the quality of a mattress or the accuracy of a "natural latex" claim is only a small part of research that would be required and by itself would mean little since so many very good 100% natural latex mattresses don't use them. Your generalization about quality control outside of US/UK manufacturing is also not accurate. While it is certainly valid to question some of the sources of latex, there are manufacturers outside of these 2 countries that have quality control as least as good as anything manufactured there. Phoenix I understood Dunlopillo closed their doors about a year ago. Unless someone else bought them out. Latex Green is one Dunlop manufacturer that is good, made in Sri Lanka if I am not mistaken. I have some latex from them seems good to me. I think the poster meant made in China perhaps. But I agree about the Talalay from LI being excellent quality, I have those toppers too. I am not aware of another Talalay manufacturer other than them. Sleepeze website listes the manufacturers they use. I think it may be outdated last time I looked at it. |
I'm a total newbie - didn't know that other posts mirrored mine. Sorry for the redundancy.  And agreed re: Dunlop method of foam manufacturing. I'm a fan of Talalay because I love the feel and believe its compression resistance and recovery attributes to be greater. That being said, however... My folks have an ancient Dunlop-made king-sized matt, bought in Miami in the late 1960s (!!!) - and it's still being used. As far as I can tell, there isn't the slightest sign of wear to the matt itself other than slight yellowing (though the cover has been replaced twice). That's a looonnng time for a mattress to keep its original bounce and flatness - and my dad is a huge, muscular guy who wears things out really fast. (He goes through a recliner every couple of years, LOL.) It's a testament to good ol' Dunlop latex that this mattress is hanging in there. I (like so many others) have been heavily BS'd by dozens of salespeople. They flat-out lie, glorify their products beyond possibility, and contradict each other endlessly. Storefront bedding retail is such a rude racket. So when I found a way to (at very least) narrow down the origin of the primary component (latex), I got happy about it. That there is only one US source for latex foam is a bummer, because there's not much room for price competition. But hey, if the bed lasts 20+ years, it's worth the initial sticker shock, right? Wishing you all a great night's sleep - D |
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"I understood Dunlopillo closed their doors about a year ago." They were placed in administration but have continued to supply latex and sell mattresses. Foamex and many others have also declared backruptcy but continued on unil they emerged. Even the "S" brands have not been immune. Seems to be a fairly common tactic in the mattress industry. http://www.dunlopilloworld.com/en/home.htm Radium which is based in Holland also produces most of the Talalay used in Europe although they manufacture a blended talalay http://www.radiumfoam.nl/en/home.ecp They are pretty much in the same position in Europe as LI is in North America. There are also apparently chinese manufacturers of Talalay that up till recently only produced pillows but are now producing cores. I have seen Chinese Talalay cores on some of the import sites. Phoenix This message was modified Nov 13, 2010 by Phoenix
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| When I was making the decision between Flobeds and SleepEZ, I went with Flobeds because they offered the option of a zoned layer. This probably wouldn't matter unless you are a side sleeper, but it made a big difference to me because I have neck problems and mattresses that are nice and supportive for my lower back and hips tend to put to much pressure on my shoulders and sensitive neck. |