My wife and I are on our 5th and 6th mattress respectively (since we had so much trouble we decided to opt for two Twin XL’s as opposed to a king). I believe I had been going too soft on the early mattress so most recently I got a VI Spring Elite Twin XL in medium firmness. After two nights I am afraid I may have gone too far in the other direction The bed feels much firmer than the floor model, which was a queen. Should a VI spring soften up over time or will it actually become firmer? Also, do mattresses typically feel firmer in a Twin XL size compared to something larger like a Queen. I think it may also be the flat foundation I have it on as opposed to a box spring it was on in the store. Does this make that big of a difference?
Since I know I have a high quality mattress/ supportive mattress I am thinking about getting a mattress topper to soften it up. I was thinking about wool but then read some of your posts about it not being the best way to get a softer feeling mattress. Shredded latex sounds appealing but frankly I am a bit lost in all the options (and am running out of budget). I sleep very hot so ideally I would like something that is as breathable as the VI Spring Mattress is supposed to be.
Do you think any of these would be good options? If you have any other recommendations I would really appreciate your advice. Thanks so much for your help.
Did you choose not to get the VI-Spring box spring out of necessity as their box spring and mattresses are really made to work together. The box spring will add additional “give” to the overall feel and support. If that isn’t an option a topper may get you the feel more to your preference. VI-Spring makes 3 toppers and I chose the “heaven luxury” which is wool and cotton. It softens the feel and yet is not mushy. Regarding temperature it is not hot at all, if anything it seems to be temperture regulating and has added a great feel to the mattress keeping the support I wanted while making the bed enveloping with a more plush feeling. Hope that helps.
You have several options available to you but the first one I would suggest is to do nothing for the first few weeks. Your mattress won’t “break in” and soften in the same way as foam but it will loosen up a bit and in most cases adapt to your body to some degree and so it may become “more comfortable” and you will also go through an adjustment period with any new sleeping surface.
With the entry level Vi Spring Elite (which I would tend to avoid unless this specific mattress was the absolute “perfect match” for you which would only be the case for a smaller percentage of people) … a box spring that flexes underneath it (vs a foundation that doesn’t have springs that flex) will definitely make a difference in the feel and performance of the mattress. There are also other options available that may also help in a similar way to a box spring that can also provide some additional flex under your mattress such as a flexible slat system which may help as well. Some examples are in the foundation thread here under “tension adjustable flexible slat systems”.
In addition to this … you also have different options available for the spring tension of your mattress (which is based on BMI) and if you are “on the edge” of one of them then it may be worth contacting your dealer to ask about exchanging for a different (softer) spring tension in the same mattress.
Other than this … VI-Spring does have several toppers as beauport mentioned but they are close to the price of a new mattress by themselves and may not be the most cost effective option. The mattress pads you listed are made from synthetic fiber and would provide some pressure point relief under your pressure points but they won’t be as effective as the sleeping surface of your VI-Spring (which has natural fibers such as wool for ventilation and moisture wicking) in terms of temperature control. They are also made from synthetic polyester fibers and for many people that choose VI-Springs, sleeping on natural materials are also an important reason for their purchase. Fibers will also compress and become firmer over time compared to foam (like latex or memory foam) and foam will also provide more overall pressure relief than a fiber topper or mattress pad but can sleep warmer than fibers (natural or synthetic).
All of these options have tradeoffs and in the end your own experience will be the only way to know if a topper you choose will accomplish what you want it to but if temperature regulation is your primary goal I would tend to lean towards natural fibers such as wool. If pressure relief is your primary goal then I would lean towards a foam topper (either memory foam or latex or even a high quality polyfoam if cost is the primary issue). There is more about mattress pads such as the ones you are considering in post #10 here and there is more about toppers in post #2 here and the topper guidelines in post #8 here that it also links to.
The first step though that I would consider would be first doing nothing (if possible) for a few weeks and also contacting your VI-Spring dealer about a different firmness level (or any other options that they may have available).
If you do choose to go in the direction of a topper that you aren’t familiar with then the return policy may also be an important part of the “value” of a purchase that you don’t have personal experience with just in case it doesn’t work out the way you hope so you can experiment with little risk.
Thanks Phoenix and Beauport. I appreciate the additional thoughts. It seems to be getting a bit better so I am going to hold off a few weeks before making a move.
The bed feels much firmer than the floor model, which was a queen. Should a VI spring soften up over time or will it actually become firmer? Also, do mattresses typically feel firmer in a Twin XL size compared to something larger like a Queen. I think it may also be the flat foundation I have it on as opposed to a box spring it was on in the store. Does this make that big of a difference?