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Was about to pull the trigger and order a zip cover, split layers king dunlop set from Savvy Rest, but then put SleepEZ back on my list (I had cut SleepEZ from my list early on as their websites -I found 2- confused me. Talking with them is the best thing -once you have knowledge, so SleepEZ is back on my list) I've spoken, at length to both above-named dealers. Sean, at SleepEZ (owner's son) answered almost everything, but referred some questions to his dunlop distributor, JR at Sleep Comp, who has been in this business forever, & supplies almost all dealers with both Talalay and Dunlop, blended, unblended & natural & he represents many latex manufacturers. He is also the only person who agrees that my husband's back needs a dunlop XF/F/M. (JR has back issues & that's what he sleeps on) He also told me that there will be inconsistencies with natural dunlop - said it's like buying an apple - not every apple is perfect. I'm ok with that and know that my dunlop won't look as pretty as blended Talalay... Michael Penny , Savvy's owner & his son Gopal, and sales rep, Gretchen, have all been informative and very nice. So both companies have good customer service - at least at point of pre-sale. I'm sure I'm driving both nuts, but at approx $3K, I want to cover every base to avoid problems/misunderstandings. (I have trust issues implanted firmly in my brain from previous experiences at Sleepy's & car dealerships....so now everyone suffers) I'm stuck as to whether there is a quality difference between the 2 mfr plants that produce the dunlop latex for these 2 companies. And I don't think I'll find the answer anytime soon either, so it might come down to tossing a dart... This latest concern about quality came after yet another dealer (unnamed) told me that "their" 100% organic dunlop is better than Savvy's & is mfr'd by Latex Green in Sri Lanka. (They said it's more pure yada...yada...and they knocked Savvy's Coco Latex ( from Kerala, India) dunlop, saying it's inferior to Latex Green) I called this unnamed dealer because their comparable zip mattress is $1200 more than Savvy Rest, & I wanted to know why. I will pay more if quality is better. However, somehow this person (owner) must have thought price was an issue (it wasn't) and proceeded to offer a better deal than Savvy...however, it would not be Latex Green dunlop, but "lesser quality rubber from Thailand, but better quality than Savvy's Coco Latex"....hmmmm, now I'm scared to buy from Savvy....maybe, but wasn't that the point? What they aren't counting on is that I'm not stupid..or a sucker. When I asked this dealer if they've heard of SleepEZ, they hadn't, but looked at the SleepEZ site & quickly determined that SleepEZ also buys Latex Green dunlop. Now they offered to reduce their comparable mattress from $4200, to match SleepEZ's price. What???. This owner also said I "still had the option to go even cheaper if I went with their lesser quality latex mattress from Thailand" as per above....so this dealer never made my list the other nite when I found them online... What I learned is that one pays a premium for same product, from same latex plant...with maybe a better cotton/wool cover(with cheap nylon zipper!) but that's it! I hadn't called them to barter price; I just wanted to justify their price in case there was a better quality dunlop out there. Once I found out that their latex was same as SleepEZ latex from Latex Green, I had my answer. So beware of high-priced, self-professed 100% organic latex dealers! Covers: Savvy has 100% organic cotton/wool. SleepEZ's has both organic and not. (Sean assured me that both covers are 100% chemical-free - no boric acid or anything. Just cotton & wool.) He also told me the only difference is the sheep - organic is fed/grown organically. But organic will smell more! Either save $200 and go non-organic cotton/wool, or for those who want/need organic, I think you can trust Sean - even without the certification - he's just not pushing or selling "organic", but it's offered if you want it. We drove an hour to test a Savvy dunlop bed & really liked the feel. The cover is nice and tight which I prefer over damask to keep those layers nice and snug inside. Also liked the large, brass zipper that totally unzips off. Can't test a SleepEZ but a reviewer said their metal zipper is small and a bit flimsy, which makes me wonder about quality of their cover which only zips off 3 sides. Problematic for cleaning, but I use a good mattress pad so maybe moot... Savvy has no return policy, so if latex proves to be wrong choice we're stuck for over $3K. Savvy also has just 3 firmness levels: S, M, F & no choice of ILD (but said they can hand select for firmness) SleepEZ allows returns/exchanges, and offers ILD from 16 to 45. That's extra soft to extra firm and anywhere in-between. I wish I could find out which plant produces the better quality dunlop. Is there really a difference? Going with the firmer support of dunlop is scary enough. However, if one plant produces only rock-hard dunlop, I'd like to know that because exchanges won't help. I don't expect perfection, but I do want consistency in quality & a difference in feeling of firmness levels. That's my dilemma & if anyone can give the answer, you get a big gold star! UPDATE: Ordered a Savvy Rest king split dunlop today and will check back in a few weeks to update..(also edited down the above, too-long post) This message was modified Oct 10, 2009 by catlover
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Hi Eden, I would be very interested to here about your latex foam. I am thinking of starting up a luxury all natural mattress company in Australia but it is at the very early stages still. From what I have seen, Arpico is a great product but it would be great to know about your latex. You know, here like in the US, the finish and design is not so important as the quality of the foam. It is the best I have seen but if you have better, it would be great to try, that is if you supply to Australia. Sorry for the confusion about origins. As you know, Dunlopillo originates from Dunlop, a UK company. I thought that both the Dunlop process and the Talalay process were invented by Dunlopillo / Dunlop in the UK but if you know it to be Germany, then fine. Regarding growing, for whatever reason, whilst latex originated from Brazil, it was not commercially grown there. The British decided to do this elsewhere and the first country where it was commercially grown was Sri Lanka. These same plantations are still in operation and again from what I understand, Arpico has its origins dating back to this time and owns several of them. |
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eden wrote: I know that there is a big American company that claims to be the big and only manufacturer of Talalay in the USA and that also offers 100% Natural latex. They import the 100% stuff from Asia, and its Dunlop! Do you have evidence to support this claim? |
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Hello TFolier, I'm not trying to flame Arpico. They are capable of producing nice foam. I bought from them for quite some time. Just after a while they let the quality and attention slip - just like some people, who are married for a while get sloppy in appearance and effort. Or they just have to give the good quality to new customers, to get them onboard. I don't know where the problems is with them. But you are right, they are big. Dunlopillo is a also real giant, with factories all over the world (but also making PU-foam, spring mattresses etc.). The timeline for Dunlopillo Germany you find on their website: http://www.dunlopillo.de/historie.php 1932 shows the first mattress from their plant in Hanau (near Frankfurt) and mentions this as first latex mattress world wide. A very informative summery of the rubber boom in Brazil you can find here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_boom The reason, the British established plantations all over South East Asis was plainly that Brazil was not a British colony. Having realized the the economic and military implications of rubber, they hurried to smuggle seedling out of Brazil. (Good look for all of us, as most of Brazils rubber trees fell victim to some bacterial disease later.) Very impressive are also the stories of the establishment of giant rubber plantations in Brazil by the Ford Motor company (Fordlandia and Belterra) and their subsequent failure. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordlandia and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belterra,_Brazil). Regarding your plan of establishing a brant for Australia: Australia is certainly an interesting market and we are able to deliver there easily. But the customer base it's quite tiny compared to the US. (And it's quite a bit out of the way of for you, isn't it?) We found that the participants in the market are very entrenched and that it is difficult to gain entry. But I wish you luck. We are able to supply samples. Please just send me a PM (d.langner@edenlatex.de) with the density/ hardness you require and your customer number for an international parcel company. I will get my staff to handle the rest. Cheers, Daniel |