are box spring required for double sided innerspring mattress?

[phoenix]

Hi lilac2,

I understand… but your knowledgable “very firm” description of this coil to their “medium firm” description does not seem to make much sense to me. They even changed their description when I returned to discuss possible solutions and then they described it as very firm as well. When I went back to the store they did sell me a “pillow top” type of topper. It was a quilted soft foam, fiber, and fireproof material mattress cover. It was not supportive and too thick/soft and it through off my alignment and caused other issues. It was discarded.

As I mentioned in my last reply firmness ratings are always relative and will depend on the experience of the person sleeping on the mattress. Your own experience is the only reliable way to know how firm a mattress feels to you. One person’s firm can be another person’s medium and in some cases may be another person’s “soft”. This is all very subjective.

One more question if you don’t mind… would you have an opinion as to which 1 inch memory foam I should try first on top of this mattress for a 120 lb. sidesleeper to ease pressure without compromising alignment. Sensus 5lb., aerus 4lb., aerus 5 llb, foamorder5.3 ilb., or any other suggestions. I just need a little more pressure relief.

My suggestions for toppers are in post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to that I linked in my earlier reply. If you are looking for “a touch to a little” additional softness and pressure relief or to change the “feel” of the mattress then an inch would be a good choice. In most cases though a 2" topper would be a more “average” choice for those who are looking for a “little to a fair bit” of additional softness and pressure relief and a 4 lb topper would be a more common choice for those that are in lighter weight ranges than a 5 lb memory foam.

Any density of memory foam can have a wide range of different properties and firmness levels but in very general terms (that may not apply to specific memory foams) lower densities will tend to have a faster response with less of the “doughy” and “memory” effect and a faster response than higher density memory foams and will tend to feel a little softer … at least when you first lie on them before the memory foam warms up. There is more about the different properties of memory foam in post #9 here and in post #8 here.

Once again though … I would always keep in mind that your own personal experience will always be the only reliable way to know for certain whether any mattress/topper combination will be a good match for you so the return and exchange policy of the retailer or manufacturer you are dealing with can be one of the most important parts of a successful topper purchase so you have good options available to you after a purchase just in case the topper you purchase doesn’t work out as well as you hope for.

In most cases a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer/manufacturer will be the best source of information about how their memory foam compares to other types of memory foams that are generally available and that they are familiar with.

Phoenix