After my latest test i am leaning much more towards memory foam. Since my issue seems to be that the comfort layer on my extra firm spring mattress has degraded I am thinking I may be a good candidate for a topper. I have seen recommendations that the 5lb memory foam is higher quality than the 4lb but I have also seen recommendations that gel foam is higher quality. I am mainly considering Brooklyn Bedding at this time which has 4lb gel foam and 5 lb regular foam.
Hi gcrain,
If the comfort layers of your mattress has degraded or softened then a topper wouldn’t be an ideal solution. A topper works best on a mattress that has an even sleeping surface with no soft spots or hills and valleys and just needs some extra softness. There is more about toppers in post #2 here and the posts it links to.
If your mattress has broken down or developed impressions or soft spots then post #4 here may have some helpful though “temporary” solutions (because the “best” fix in this case would be a new mattress).
This would depend on what you mean by “quality”. if you define quality in terms of durability (which is how it’s most commonly used on this site) then 5 lb memory foam or gel memory foam would be more durable than 4 lb memory foam or gel memory foam.
if you define “quality” in terms of the unique characteristics or properties of different types of memory foam that may be more attractive to you or have better performance in one way or another (see post #9 here for some examples), then 4 lb memory foam may be a preference for many people and worth the tradeoff of being less durable.
Phoenix