Hi zoebelle,
The salesperson who commented about tires was from Sleepy's.
I'm not surprised.
The salesperson at Gardner told me of this website after I mentioned a website that said a good combination of a latex mattress is the core being dunlop and the top being talalay. This salesperson at Gardner did not agree.
There are many people who prefer a Dunlop latex core with a Talalay latex comfort layer. Others would make a different choice and have different preferences. This would be a preference issue and one isn't "better" than another ... they are just different. There is more about some of the differences between Talalay and Dunlop in
post #7 here
but the most reliable way to know which combinations of latex you tend to prefer is your own personal testing or experience.
Also salesperson at Furnature said that he doesn't recommend talalay at all because they don't share their formula and he's not sure what's in it. I think he said the company is in Pennsylvania that produces the talalay.
No latex foam manufacturer shares their complete compounding formula but most of them will disclose the blend of synthetic and natural rubber in their product. There are two companies that produce Talalay latex. One of them is
Latex International
and they are based in Connecticut. The other one is
Radium
and they are based in Holland. Both of them produce high quality Talalay latex. There is a latex foam manufacturer in Pennsylvania called
Mountaintop Foam
but they produce continuous pour Dunlop in a range of natural/synthetic blends (from all synthetic to all natural) ... not Talalay. The latex they produce is also a high quality material.
Most interesting of all ... Savvy Rest which is the manufacturer of the latex mattresses they sell provides the option to choose either Talalay or Dunlop layers (although Furnature may not carry both) and they are the source of the comparison video in the link I provided in the first part of this reply.
I like a firmer mattress, but being 66 yo and have some orthopedic issues - thought I should have a less firm top. Does that make sense?
There are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone that can't feel what you feel or see you on a mattress or that doesn't sell a specific line of mattresses to suggest a specific mattress for someone else based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or "theory at a distance" (see
mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here
). Your own careful and objective testing using the testing guidelines in the
tutorial post
or your actual sleeping experience is the most reliable way to know whether a mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences).
I am close to Acton so I will visit Spindle Mattress.
I think very highly of Neal and Spindle mattress and as you know they are one of the members here so a visit there would certainly be a good idea IMO.
Phoenix
