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http://www.myessentia.com/research/latex-vs-memory-foam Reading the essentia website and came across this. there is more info on the link above, but here is the part that concerned me 1) Talalay Process this is not the first time I've read something about "natural latex" not being all that natural...but people who think they're buying 100% Natural Talalay are paying a premium price for what they think is a natural based product made w/no chemicals...Flobeds and SleepEz (and probably others) claim they sell "100% natural talalay"...what can we believe? Any comments or insights from the more knowledgeable folks on here? (preferably people not working for or affliated in any way with latex mattress sales...) thanks!
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Okay, no offense here only learning, Wish these retailers or makers could just be honest in advertising and give us the best product and just tell the truth. some more questions: 1. What I would like to know is which talalay latex molds better to the contours of the body? Blended or natural 2. and I have been told that you can get only softer and exact ILDS in blended latex and not in All natural talalay latex. Like if you want 14 ILD which is the softest ILD then you can get that only in blended latex. I have also been told that in natual talalay latex ILDS are in range not in a exact number like 19 or 40 etc. Is this all true? Thanks. |
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From what I've learned, regardless of the process, there is no "exact" ILD , it is measured on a specific thickness of latex - thus it is different softness depending on the thickness of the layer. Sleeplikeabear has offered 100% natural ILD in N1 softness, lower than the 20 ILD readily available on their site. As far as what conforms better, that may be subjective. You'd have to try it out. I know I have laid on the 14 ILD Pure Latex Bliss toppers which are a 40/60 blend, and I cant imagine anything softer or more conforming. |
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No ILD measurements are ever 100% accurate. But it is true that with a 100% natural product there can be a variance perhaps up to a couple ILD between batches...probably hard to notice until you are on the lower ILD part of the scale...this is especially true if the supplier is not located close to the source and they might buy their hevea milk from different regions in the world depending on price at the time, for example buying half their rubber from North Africa, and when the price/time is right they buy rubber from Thailand or China. This is one true benefit of a more synthetically based latex product, it is slightly more consistent. Part of the reason you will not find Natural rubber in the really low ILD's is because the tensile strength of the material is significantly higher as well as the elasticity. Because natural rubber is more elastic, this means that in theory given the ILD's are the same, natural rubber should conform to body shape more accurately...this is one area though where there is not a lot of data. Probably personal feel is still the best way to tell because the chances of ever comparing a blended latex and natural latex mattress made the same exact way (talalay vs talalay, and exact ILD's, mattress covers, etc) is basically impossible. |
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I too am in the market for a new mattress and I find lots of contradictory information out there. A vendor who is selling X is going to tell you that X is better than Y because they are not selling Y, they are selling X! I recommend searching for independent information from sources that are not trying to sell you their product. I'm sure some of the people on this list have lots of experience selling a wide variety of mattresses and I would trust them as much as I trust what I read at buymymattressitsthebestonemade.com. I've been lurking for a few months and budgy has provided some links to independent sources of information. Personally, I want an earth and people friendly mattress, so natural latex for me. YMMV |
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This is an interesting thread. We recently purchased a memory foam mattress and HATE it. They may be good for some people but I think most might not like the way memory foam sleeps. Felt like everytime you rolled over, you rolled up a hill and very hot. Tempurpedic does such aggressive marketing, I'm not sure people really like what they end up with or understand the trade offs. We shopped around and found a Verlo mattress that had a huge talalay latex foam section on top. The mattress, a Verlo grandeur elite, is an innerspring mattress, double sided with 3 inches on top and 3 inches on bottom. MUCH better sleeping mattress. Much cooler and we really liked that Verlo can adjust the mattress making it harder or softer over time. All in all, I'd look for a mattress like this one rather than a pure foam mattress of either type of foam. Also like that the latex foam seems to sleep cooler than the memory foam bed. We moved the memory foam bed to a guest room. |