Mattress Forum

All I can say is, spend a little more and buy real latex that you can return if you don't like it.

http://www.sleepez.com/latex-mattress-buyers-guide.htm

Tons of info on this subject. Goes into the two types of latex and the two processes used to make it. Very informative.

However the S companies, or at least one of them (Sealy?), to the best of my knowledge, use 100% synthetic latex with no natural latex, sometimes using a different manufacturing method entirely (something about a continuous roll process). 
 

So if you're thinking about buying one of those, be careful to continue your research.

In any event there is nothing wrong with a good quality blended core, myself and some others definitely prefer 100% natural for other reasons, it is a great product. 

Chemically natural rubber and synthetic latex are two very different compositions.  A blended latex core will be very durable just like an all natural core.  A 100% synthetic latex core would be quite brittle and much more likely to crumble over time. 

Yeah, that's the question I was wondering. Is it synthetic or blended? Do any of the S co's to your knowledge, use blended latex aside from Sealy? And is it comparable to LI Talatech? Or does Sealy make it themselves and "who knows?"? It is interesting that after years of telling people about latex on this site, the S Co's are starting to offer it, albeit synthetic or blended.

This Latex Mattress Comparison Chart may be of interest to you.

jimsocal wrote:

Don't know about Sealy, but according to their website, Serta uses "Talalay Latex" in their Vera Wang by Serta Specialty® Talalay Latex Foam Beds. But what kind of Talalay? If you click on the link and then scroll down (on their little inset scroll, not your browser's main scroll), the last sentence states, "For more information on our Talalay latex, visit www.latexfoam.com." Clicking on that link takes you to none other than (drum roll, please...) Latex International's website.

If you do a little more digging and put two and two together, it becomes apparent that Serta uses LI Talatech in not just their Vera Wang Specialty mattresses but their Pure Response latex mattresses as well. Can't confirm one way or the other about their Luxury Response mattresses, but as you'll see later, that probably doesn't matter.

Here are some links if you want to read more about these three Serta lines:

Serta Vera Wang (6 models) at Mattress Joint

Serta Luxury Response (3 models) & Serta Pure Response (4 models) at US-Mattress.com

To save you some time, let me summarize what I found:

Luxury Response line — Uses PU foam cores.

Pure Response line — Each of the models use a 6" Talalay Latex Core on a 2" Base (they don't say what the base is). Unfortunately, each model has PU foam over the latex, though the Splendour Latex Firm does have just one very small layer, so pretty good there.

Only in the Vera Wang line does it seem you can get a pretty much all-latex mattress. The bottom two of the six models use 6" foam cores, so they're out. One of the other four uses some memory foam. Another uses 1" of "comfort" (read PU) foam... again not too bad, kind of like the Pure Response Splendour Latex Firm mentioned above. Finally, two (the Beyond Exquisite and the Beyond Joy) apparently use latex only. I say apparently because I wonder about that 8" Talalay core. Is it really 8" of all Talalay, or is it really a 6"-Talalay-on-2"-base like the Pure Response line? It probably is all Talalay, since both MJ and AMOC (see next paragraph) describe it as such. Also... is there some convoluted foam in the quilting material (again see next paragraph)?

The only other site where I found Vera Wang Specialty mattresses was America's Mattress OC. The names of their models are different (of course), but the models seem similar. I noticed that all these models mention a "soft convoluted topper" sewn into the quilting material, so apparently there is a little bit of PU in these. This makes me think that the same might be true of the VWs from MJ.

Totally agree!!