What is more important ILD or Density of foam?
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I have found that this form has an excellent source of information in its archives. In fact, quite frequently, some of the more interesting posts are found in the archives. For instance I found this piece listed in 2007. JimSoCal you should find this quite interesting. http://www.whatsthebest-mattress.com/forum/polyurethane-foam-association/31-0-1.html This message was modified Dec 2, 2009 by eagle2
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Re: What is more important ILD or Density of foam?
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Eagle2, I never replied because I just have not had the time and/or felt like reading technical info about foam. I should have said , "Thanks for the links. I'll read them at a later date. But don't have time right now." For me it's very much about just trying stuff and seeing if it works. I totally agree with you that knowledge is important, and I think a certain amount of basic info is essential. On the other hand, I'm not sure everyone needs to get a PhD in foam in order to figure out what they like. To do that, to me, the best method is to try certain ILD's and densities out and see how they feel. I mean, I have a "feel" for how HR is different from Omalon and how Omalon is different than M-Grade and how polyurethane is just a very low density crappy version of those. And I know that Dunlop feels denser than Talalay to me, and I know that memory foam can be denser or less dense and to me the more dense almost always feels better in memory foam, in fact I'd like it denser than any I've tried. So I guess I'm saying that in my humble opinion, knowing a lot about foam isn't AS important as experience. Also, a lot of times, it's an economic factor. If you can't afford latex, try M-Grade or HR high-density polyurethane. Anyway, all that is neither here nor there. Eventually I'll get around to reading the articles you posted! Thanks. (And I think I did take a quick look at them, but not enough to be able to post about them.) This message was modified Dec 3, 2009 by jimsocal
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Re: What is more important ILD or Density of foam?
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Jim I just know the information I posted has helped me to better understand what is actually going on with my purchase of a latex mattress. For instance the new firm blended piece of latex I just received from FlowBeds feels no firmer to me than my medium piece of natural latex. Come to find out it has a lower density than the natural. This is all completely explained in the PDF's that I posted. I agree with you that there is nothing like trying something out to really know what's going on. You can have all the knowledge in the world and it is not going to help you unless the people you're purchasing from have the same knowledge and are honest about their products so that you can make an informed decision. But armed with this knowledge you're in a much better position to understand what is going on when you do get their product. One of the things that they talk about rather extensively in the information I posted, was how less dense foam can break down. I was not aware of the fact that manufacturers are able to produce foam that has a high density and therefore support qualities yet is soft to the feel. And conversely can produce low-density foam that is quite firm feeling but has poor support qualitys thus having the potential to "bottom out" and experience premature fatigue IE, body impressions and rutting. Since I have searched and searched for this kind of information on the Internet, and had been unable to find it, I thought that this discovery might prove helpful to some of the board members. This message was modified Dec 4, 2009 by eagle2
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Re: What is more important ILD or Density of foam?
| Eagle, it would be interesting if you could compare the XF blended to the F 100% natural. |
Re: What is more important ILD or Density of foam?
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sandman wrote: Eagle, it would be interesting if you could compare the XF blended to the F 100% natural. Sandman: I can't do that because I don't have a piece of extra firm blended. I have a firm piece of blended that I have been comparing to a medium piece of natural. They are fairly comparable. The difference being that natural has a higher density rate than does blended on an ILD versus ILD basis. I will be posting some additional information about this in my thread, "just bought a FlowBeds" This message was modified Dec 4, 2009 by eagle2
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