Hi Srockrae,
I cannot find reliably sourced specifications but have gathered some info from retailer sites as follows:
Pure LatexBliss Renew
- Organic Cotton Cover
- Wool Fiber Barrier
- 3" All Natural, Ultra Plush Talalay Latex
- 3" All Natural, Medium Talalay Latex
- 6" All Natural, Extra Firm Talalay Latex support core
On another website I saw the following description:
"The core is 6" thick of 36 ILD all-natural Talalay latex core. For comfort, a 3" piece of 24 ILD premium all-natural medium talalay latex is placed upon the latex core. On top of this is placed another 3" layer of 14 ILD all-natural premium talalay latex, this layer being medium-plush. There is no polyurethane foam in this mattress - its 100% premium all-natural talalay latex."
The ILD specs you listed would be for blended Talalay and the Renew uses 100% natural Talalay made by Latex International so they wouldn't be quite correct. The 100% natural Talalay has different ILD ranges than the blended latex that are less exact and you can see the ILD range for the different
firmness levels of 100% natural here
. The Renew is listed as a
9 on the Pure Latex Bliss comfort scale
which is the same as the Beautiful (which uses blended Talalay which has more exact ILD's) so the layers would likely be similar. You can see the
ILD specs for the Beautiful here
. If I had to guess at the layers in the Renew I would guess they were N1 for the top layer, N2 for the next layer down, and N5 for the bottom 6" layer but I don't know this for certain. The different covers would also affect how they compare because the Beautiful has a stretch knit cover and the Renew has a wool quilted cover which for most people may increase the firmness a little because the wool quilting can reduce the ability of the latex to contour to your body shape and will also become a little firmer as the wool compresses.
The best effort to duplicate so far is
- Bamboo cover
- 3" ILD 19 Natural
- 3" ILD 19 Natural
- 6" Medium Core
I noticed a significant plushness difference between the Renew and the Beauty models which the salesperson attributed mainly to the wool fireproofing on the Renew versus a chemical based fireproofing on the Beauty.
There is more about the different ways that one mattress can "match" another one in
post #9 here
but once there are differences between the two designs then how they compare for different people would be more uncertain because changes in the design will have a different effect for different people. I would also be aware that Pure Latex Bliss calls it's blended Talalay "natural" and calls its 100% natural Talalay "all natural" because the ILD's you listed would be blended ILD's rather than 100% natural ILD's. Of course the blended is a little less costly than the 100% natural and is also a little more durable in the lower ILD's so you may choose to go with the blend if having all natural latex is less important to you.
1) Are there any more specifications in terms of the ILD for the Renew out there that may be more reliable?
Not that I know of although I believe that the specs I listed would likely be close.
2) Is my attempt to do my own build the closest I am going to get? Any suggestions or changes? If the 14 ILD on top is reliable, would the 19 be very noticeable?
The closest you could get would be to use the exact same layer thicknesses in the same ILD's with a very similar cover. Every change you make will have some effect that some people will feel more or differently than others. Most people would notice the firmer feel of the 19 ILD. The better sources for latex layers and and for mattress covers/ticking (including wool quilted covers) I'm aware of are listed in the
component post here
.
3) I currently have all natural Talalay for my build as the Renew was 100% natural also. I can save about $300 going blended but am wondering if any of the responsiveness or plush feel could be affected if I go with a blended 40% Natural / 60% Synthetic?
You can read more about the differences between 100% natural and blended Talalay in
post #2 here
but in very general terms ... blended Talalay in the same ILD will be a little more pressure relieving and a little more durable. 100% natural will denser and a little more "supportive" and of course would be of interest for those that for personal reasons prefer to have a more natural material in their mattress.
4) What is the level of noticeable difference do you think I am taking in doing my own build? (P.S. It saves me about 60%)
The only way to know this will be based on your own personal experience. The closer to the specs of your reference mattress you are the closer it will be but again different people will be more or less sensitive to any differences between them.
5) I have read about the risk of the wool being matted down over time but WOW we really liked the feel. It would be great if there was a more competitively priced 3" wool topper tout there. Any suggestions?
Wool will generally feel firmer than soft foam materials but there is more about wool toppers in
post #8 here
and the posts it links to and it also includes a link to a list of the better sources for wool toppers I'm aware of as well.
Some of the online
component latex mattress manufacturers listed here
here may also be worth talking to about which of their options would likely come closest to the Renew as well because many of them have good exchange/return policies that can reduce the risk of an online purchase.
Phoenix