Hello everyone! Thank you for such an amazing website and friendly forum. I’ve been stalking around for a few weeks doing a lot of research on mattress toppers. I think I’m finally narrowing it down but I am too unsure what to buy just yet. I was hoping to get one final input before I decide.
I recently bought an ‘orthopedic’ mattress from Hawn Bedding here in Lee’s Summit. It seems to be a semi-firm traditional innerspring mattress. It feels great but I can really feel the pressure points and I wake up with my muscles feeling a bit stiff- I think because they need some cushioning. My bones and my back do very well with it. My fiancé really likes the bed too but has finally admitted similar issues.
I’ve been mostly looking at latex toppers and I have settled on trying a Talalay style topper. I am not opposed to the Dunlop style but I believe my mattress is supportive enough. I’m just struggling on the decision of the thickness and the firmness of the topper. I have been unable to try laying on Talalay latex but enjoyed the Dunlop latex beds at Hawn Bedding.
I’ve emailed a few of the shops suggested on these forums and the replies have been fairly simlar. When I emailed them, I was asking them for thickness and firmness suggestions but also remarked about wanting to not over do the thickness because I saw that it was suggested to go easy on the thickness on this site.
SleepLikeABear suggested I get a 2" 24ILD but seemed like they wanted suggest 3" by saying that I may find a need for it to be a bit thicker and could add another inch later if I decided. The folks at Arizona Premium Mattress Company suggested their 3" 28ILD topper. SleepEZ suggested that we get two different firmness levels because of our weight difference but that we could do the medium if we didn’t want to go through the trouble of mixing two in a cover. But they did not believe a 2" would be thick enough and also suggested a 3". Their soft is listed as a 19-20ILD and their medium is listed as a 30-32ILD.
To me, the firmness suggestions are all very similar in range. I’m leaning a lot towards the 28ILD offered with Arizona Premium. They are fairly affordable I believe! And everyone’s suggestions have been so similar in range that I’m fairly confident that firmness will do us well enough.
I am a still unsure about the thickness however. The folks in the forms and the guidelines throughout the internet really seem to stress about being careful going over 2".
I’m almost tempted to give up going the latex route because I am so overwhelmed by all the variables and what could go wrong. No shops that I’ve been able to find sell Talalay or Dunlop toppers nearby so I can’t get an idea… I could always just go to the store and get some stinky/hot memory foam, ha-ha! But people seem very fond of their latex that I’d love to give it a try as well.
Sorry for the wall of text. But I look forward to hearing your advice!
If the only issue with a mattress is that it is too firm and there are no soft spots or sagging in the mattress then a good quality topper can certainly be an effective way to add some additional softness, “comfort” and pressure relief to your sleeping system but the only way to know for certain whether a specific mattress/topper combination is a good “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP is based on your own careful testing or personal experience on the combination. If you can’t test the combination in person then there will always be always some risk and uncertainty involved in adding a topper because the specifics of the mattress itself along with your own body type, sleeping position, and preferences can affect which specific topper would be a suitable choice on any specific mattress.
There is more information about choosing a topper and a link to the better online sources I’m aware of in post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to which along with a conversation with a reliable and knowledgeable supplier (that can provide you with good information about how their toppers compare to each other or to other toppers they are familiar with that are available on the market) can help you use your sleeping experience as a reference point and guideline to help you choose the type, thickness, and firmness for a topper that has the least possible risk and the best chance for success. A good exchange/return policy can also reduce the risk of an online topper purchase so I would make sure you are comfortable with the options you have available after a purchase just in case the topper you choose doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for.
If a mattress/topper combination turns out to be a good “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP then having a separate topper also has the advantage of being able to replace just the topper without replacing the entire mattress if it softens or breaks down before the upper foam layers in the mattress (which is very likely because the upper layers of a sleeping system tend to soften or break down before the deeper layers) or if your needs or preferences change over time. A suitable topper can also help extend the useful life of the mattress underneath it because it will absorb much of the compression forces that can soften or break down the top layers of the mattress underneath it over time.
The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Kansas City area (which would include Lees Summit) are listed in post #2 here. There are several places that carry latex mattresses (and/or toppers) that may help give you some reference points for different types and blends of latex in different firmness ranges but I would also keep in mind that a topper (or the top few inches of a mattress) can feel different if the layers and components under the topper (or under the top few inches in the mattress) are different so your testing may not be exactly the same as sleeping on a topper on top of a different mattress.
Thank you do much for the Kansas City link! I had come across it before but lost it. There were quite a few that didn’t show up in my Google searches.
I really appreciate the time you took to reply and I’m sorry it was such a common question for you. I understand why you are so careful. There’s just so much and everyone is different. It may be a bit, but I’ll definitely keep you guys posted on what happens.
I was initially looking for some kind of topper myself but have been talked into getting rid of my old box of springs and wood. :side: I’ve just started looking around and the springless mattresses I’ve tried out in stores feel really great. No pressure points. I have a bad back and my current mattress feels like little fingers poking into my lower back all night unless I sleep like a crooked weirdo. :cheer: I was actually not expecting to like them so much and assumed they were junk to sell to college kids.
My main concern is durability. Do these foam mattresses last?
i switched your post into a new topic of its own because it was outside the scope of the topic you posted in.
It depends entirely on the specifics of the mattress and on the type and quality and durability of the foam layers inside it.
While there is no way to specifically quantify how long any mattress will last for a specific person or predict exactly when they will decide to replace it because it is no longer suitable or comfortable for them (because this is the only real measure of durability or the useful life of a mattress that really matters) and because there are too many unknowns and variables involved that are unique to each person … if a mattress is well inside a suitable comfort/support range and isn’t close to the edge of being too soft when it is new (see post #2 here) and you have confirmed that it meets the minimum quality/durability specs that are suggested in the guidelines here then it would be reasonable to expect a useful lifetime in the range of 7 - 10 years and with higher quality and more durable materials like latex or higher density memory foam or polyfoam (in the comfort layers especially) it would likely be in the higher end of the range or even longer and the chances that you would have additional “bonus time” would be higher as well.
There is also more detailed information about the variables that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress (and the materials inside it) in post #4 here and the posts it links to as well.
