All About Talalay Latex Mattresses

As we all know, the mattress industry is quite intriguing. First of all, the manufacturers come up with out of this world product names that can be confusing at times. Names like Sealy Posturepedic Crown Jewel Brookmere Plush or Sealy Posturepedic Crown Jewel Fletcher Ultra Plush Pillowtop are definitely unique and undoubtedly sound eccentric. Their marketing perplexes us with dubious technologies such as “Fiberlux”, “pocketed coils”, and “microtek foundations”. Also, these companies load us with features like “silk damask ticking” that in reality are not that important. The experience of buying a mattress is comparable to purchasing a second hand car. And believe it or not, both almost equal in price as there are mattresses that are priced around $7,000. So what’s the best way to approach this?

You must be aware that the product (mattress) is fundamentally a merchandise. All mattresses are practically the same; they only differ in their marketing strategies. The secret is to just look for the cheapest one you like. Purchasing a mattress is that simple, really.

But as I’ve said earlier, this industry is quite interesting. Continue reading on as I elaborate further on the astonishing world of beds and mattresses.

The Best Brand

Simmons, Serta and Sealy or otherwise known as the Big S’s are the big dogs when it comes to innerspring mattresses. Aside from the big three, there are numerous brands that offer various models of mattresses. The choices are endless. So how do we choose?

Manufacturers change the products’  names for each store. This is true even for identical products. So what’s their purpose in doing this? The answer is to create confusion among customers. It can be difficult to select the affordable ones if you think that you have differing choices. People think that the mattresses within a certain brand are all unique but in reality, they’re all practically the same. And the same goes even among varying brands.

The coils are the most important part of innersprings. The other components such as foam, cotton, quilting and stitches are not significant factors. People should know that only one company, Leggett and Platt, supplies the coils to almost all the top mattress makers today. It’s like having different brands of cars (Honda, Toyota, Kia, BMW, etc.) and all of them are running on a Ford engine. But as we all know, mattress technology is way simpler than automobile science. That’s why if we come to think of it, all mattresses do not differ much at all.

Just test the mattress for comfort. Brand names do not have significance and should be disregarded. So if comfort is the key, the mattress’ firmness comes into play.

Level of Firmness

This is where the process becomes complex and often contradictory. The floor is harder than coils that’s why the latter is better. But people generally want their coils to be firm but not too much. So to give the coils a soft feel, they’re layered with foams. However, the foam must have a certain firmness. To achieve this, a durable box spring is placed underneath it to create balance. The ideal firmness is attained by these numerous and not so simple steps. Can’t they create the ideal firmness in just one step? The complexities and contradictions are epitomized by this unique mattress brand name: Simmons Beautyrest World Class Granite Plush. I’m not kidding, Granite Plush!

Here are the vital factors that determine firmness and softness levels:

Coil Counts and Wire Gauges

I used to think that the secret lies in coil counts and wire gauges. I asked some writers who are in the bedding field but they had no answers for they still have not acquired the much sought after secrets from the manufacturers. So I stuck to the general consensus: the number and thickness of coils are directly proportional to the level of support. But I realized that it’s a lot more complicated than that. There are mattresses that combine thinner wires and higher number of coils whereas others employ thick wires with fewer coils. It’s hard to compare each one because the combination of these elements varies greatly.

Known as the “guru of the bedding industry”, Larry Thomas of Furniture Today stated that people give emphasis on the number of coils too much. For him, it’s not a determining factor. Of course, a more expensive mattress has a higher quality than the affordable ones but to actually feel the difference is another thing. The cheap ones and the most expensive ones actually do not have much difference when I tested them personally. Again, ignore the specs and just test for the comfort.

Pillowtops

Mostly made from wool, cotton or foam; pillowtops are stitched on the mattress’ upper part. Although they make the mattress more expensive, they are surprisingly in demand. With these, I believe that manufacturers are cheating the consumers of hundreds of dollars. You can use cheap foam pads to imitate their effects. Also, pillowtops distort the springs’ effects. You should purchase a cotton or foam mattress if you prefer the “soft feel” of these materials.

Thickness

This latest craze is another bogus feature being pushed to us by these manufacturers. I once saw a mattress worth $5,000 and measures an astonishingly 2 feet thick. It’s so thick it looked like 4 or 5 mattresses on top of each other. According to experts, they’re just marketing ploys because thick beds appear to be more comfortable. Thickness also equals heaviness. You cannot even carry some of these mattresses up the stairs because they weigh more than 200 lbs. In reality, comfort can be attained with much less thickness and weight.

Nowadays, people can’t see their headboards anymore due to the extreme thickness of their beds. The manufacturers responded by integrating slimmer box springs.

Box Springs

To tell you the truth, they do not benefit you in any way. In short, they’re useless. They just add a significant amount to the cost. The difference between one box spring to three or four is not that obvious. Manufacturers often advertise the support and durability these box springs provide our bed but it’s impossible to prove if this is indeed the case.

In Europe, box springs are not that popular and you don’t hear them complain about their beds do you? My bed has no box spring and it’s perfectly fine with me. It’s all a matter of personal choice, actually. If you really like many layers, then go ahead. If a single layer is enough, then you don’t need to buy one. Personally, I just place my mattress on the floor. As a result, I don’t need to have nightstands and it saves me a lot of money. I just let gravity do its thing.

Foam, Air, Water and Latex

These elements are categorically types of mattresses. Gaining popularity right now is the Viscoelastic memory foam. Conforming to the form of your body is the Tempurpedic model. I tried it before and was impressed with it. However, the $1,500 tag price is way too much for me, even if it’s state of the art.

Although innersprings are still kings of the mattres market, Select Comfort air mattresses are becoming more and more in demand lately. When I tested it, the feeling of air made me a little uneasy. The air level could be adjusted though, with just a push of a button. You can try compressing it with your weight. Do not be surprised if it does not have as much give as foam. Testing this bed reminds me of my camping days. The entry price for a queen size air mattress is $550.

Although their popularity has already peaked in the 60s and 70s, waterbeds are still very much around. In fact, out of all the specialty bed sales in the market, 50% of them are from waterbeds. I haven’t tested it yet I couldn’t find one that’s available for testing. And I think I’m still a little hesitant on lying on a waterbed.

“Latex are the best mattresses”, stated an independent mattress maker who I talked to recently. He makes Latex mattresses by the way. His words convinced me to give Latex a try but I did not feel anything special. But you should try it because you might like it.

Futons

Futons have no box spring that’s why they’re price is much lower. But nowadays, futons have somehow lost their appeal. Some new futons even consist of innersprings while real innersprings add more and more foam just like futons.

Conclusion

There’s a huge possibility that you may not be able to tell the difference between a $200 and $900 mattress. Well, I sure can’t. As I’ve mentioned again and again, all mattresses are practically the same. According to Larry Thomas, if you purchase an ultra expensive mattress, you’re actually just paying for prestige. Affordable mattresses are available everywhere. Naturally, the more expensive ones offer more features but do not get excited over these. Always, the best thing to do is to test the mattresses yourself for you’re the only one who knows what you really like. The most ideal mattress is the one that will give you the best sleeping comfort. It all boils down to the quality of your sleep.