Narrowing my field significantly, but still have questions. 

It seems most everyone here is familiar with FloBeds - the layers of three inch latex you choose your firmness.  A couple from OMI are similar. 

Still others use a core ranging from three inches to seven with anywhere from a two to three inch layer of softeness on either side making it flippable.   I am not unfamiliar with flipping a mattress to increase longevity, but the question arises about the end result on that softer layer after being under the firm layer - or am I over analizing?  

3" surrounded on either side by 2" - - or three layers of 3" thick varied firmness - - this is getting tiresome.   Firmness is up to me, I get that, but really would like to maximise my dollar and life of the mattress.

Thus far I am conversing with a company who carries OMI, Natura, and Englander and all are supposedly good brands, but boy are they different.  Southard uses Dunlop as their core everyone else seems to be on the Talalay page (though Englander has not replied to my query).   

SallySmiles wrote:

If deciding on a latex mattress, flipping is not really necessary due to latex's outstanding durability. If you are going to flip, then you'd just want to flip each piece of latex (core), not the entire mattress. Flipping the entire mattress would significantly change the feel if using different firmnesses of latex cores. this is one more reason to go with a bed with a removeable cover, so you can have access to the individual cores.

I do know that a layered bed such as FloBed would not be flipped - the thing that confuses me is that many state they are flippable "two sided" mattresses. Just like an innerspring, but with latex core. Several models of OMI, several models of Englander, and so on.   Southard stopped making their pillowtop in one piece in order to allow for the core to be flipped - their core is a six inch layer of Dunlop, ony now the topper is just separate.     OMI specifically has two sided flippable latex mattress as well as the layered ones that don't get flipped.  Perhaps I've dug too deep, the information just gets more and more confusing -  flipping a latex mattress, well I kind of find that redundant, but apparently a lot are like that.

Think I'll just flip a coin.