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We bought a firm Stearns & Foster and my husband LOVES it -- he no longer wakes with back pain. I, on the other hand, toss and turn all night becuase the bed is just too hard for me. We recently slept at a hotel with a deep feather-bed on it -- I slept like a baby whereas my hubby moved to the floor during the night becuase his back was so unhappy! I purchased a one of those poly-foam mattress covers which does help a little but I think I need more. I'm thinking of purchasing a twin-sized latex topper for my half of our king-sized bed. (I don't want a feather-bed because one of my young kids is allergic). So here are my questions: Is this is a workable solution (a twin topper on my half of a king bed)? What IDL should I get (I'm thinking 2" of 14-16)? I weigh between 115 and 120 lbs (varies by season!). Dunlop, Talay, 100% natural latext -- I'm confused, which is best (I hate anything that smells -- gives me headaches!). Any particular brand recommendations? Thanks so much!! |
| I recently received two 1" Talatech 14 ILD toppers from sleeplikeabear - very nice and cushy (I weigh 105 lb +/- a few). However, the latex odor off these was very strong and there is still residual odor 1 month later so I think that might bother you. Also, I have only seen 14 ILD in Talatech, not in natural or Dunlop. |
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porchdog wrote: Toppers that are in the teens for ILD's usually offer little support. I recommend a #22 because it's both soft yet supportive. |
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Thanks for your replies. You're right, support is not an issue for me as our mattress is very supportive -- what I need is some softness. I spoke to a woman at Costco yesterday (they are selling 100% natural latex mattresses now) and she gave me some great info (I think). So, what I think I need to look for is a 100% natural Talalay topper. I'm thinking 2" of 16 -18 IDL should work for me. Any suggestions on reliable sources? The prices seem to vary widely at the various websites I've been looking at. How can I tell if it's really 100% natural or truly Talalay latex that I'm getting? |
| I just purchased the convoluted topper from Flobeds for my Costco latex and it's perfect. On their website it appears as if you can't order it separately, but you can. |
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Your best bet is to contact some of the latex vendors that offer samples. Several of them will send you a block or both soft talalay and medium dunlop. With these in hand you will be able to identify what you get much more easily by comparing with the samples. Rule of thumb talalay seems more resilient and springy and has more consistantly sized bubbles when you are looking at a cut surface. Dunlop will have more irregular bubbles, with more big ones and a greater variety of sizes. Identification should only a be a problem with the bargain suppliers like Overstock and maybe all the Foambymail aliases. I haven't heard any reports of the boutique operations like flobeds or rockymountain sending the wrong stuff. A couple of other points worth mentioning. If the listing says its from Shri Lanka, its almost certainly going to be dunlop NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY. Almost all Shri Lanka latex comes from Latex Green which makes only dunlop according to their website. If the listing says 100% natural, it is most likely dunlop or they are lying and it is not really 100% natural - a number of sources say that hardly any talalay is really 100% since there are only two factories in the world which make it. Which is not necessarily a bad thing; according to Latex International blended talalay performs identically, and is more durable than 100%. Oh Talalay is supposedly made in only 40" wide so if you get a queen or king which is supposed to be talalay and it doesn't have a seam up the middle is probably isn't.
kavikat wrote: How can I tell if it's really 100% natural or truly Talalay latex that I'm getting? |
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hellbed wrote: Oh Talalay is supposedly made in only 40" wide so if you get a queen or king which is supposed to be talalay and it doesn't have a seam up the middle is probably isn't. |
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I just spoke to someone at Flobeds -- he said that an uncovered twin-sized 2" talalay latex topper would cost $250 BUT the cover would cost twice as much as the topper since it was wool (and with it cover it became a "mattress" that would have to pass some fire-resistance test). He said that I could get the same topper elsewhere cheaper. He gave the distinct impression that he didn't want to sell me the topper without the cover, but that he didn't want to sell it to me with the cover because it would be too expensive (not that I mentioned anything about cost to him). How's that for customer service?! SleepEZ only sells a 3" toppers, which is too thick, IMO, for using on just half a King-sized bed. FoambyMail has a 2" Talalay latex topper 39"x75" (20 IDL) for $110.99. 1" for $58.99. SleepLikeABear has 100% natural 2" Talalay latex topper 38"x75" (20 IDL) for $252. 1" for $146. Is the FoamByMail price too good to be true (ie is it really Talalay)? Is there a difference between 100% natural Talalay and just plain old Talalay? Also, SleepLIkeABear has Talatech toppers too. I know these are partially synthetic and apparently wear better than 100% natural. Which is better? Does one smell less than the other? Opinions please! This message was modified Jul 19, 2010 by kavikat
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kavikat wrote: http://www.sleepez.com/mattresscomponents.htm |
| The Talatech toppers I got from sleeplikeabear were very smelly and still are (although less so) a month later. |
| Interesting that he didn't want to sell the topper without a cover, and that you could get the same topper elsewhere for cheaper. I exchanged several emails with Dave/Dewey trying to determine if I wanted the latex topper and they never told me that. Wonder why you got a different response. Possibly because I told them that if I still wasn't happy, I was going to send my costco latex back and get the flobed like I originally wanted. However, it's been working out great, so no returns yet. My topper did not come with a cover. |