I would be concerned as well and Iâm sorry to hear that you decided to purchase from and support a company that IMO isnât completely reliable or ethical.
There is no âbestâ pressure relieving density that you âshouldâ look for because density is more closely related to durability than to pressure relief. Every layer and component in a sleeping system (such as a mattress/topper combination) will also affect the feel and response of every other layer and component in the sleeping system and a topper that may work well for one person on a particular mattress may be completely unsuitable on top of a different mattress or for someone else to sleep on.
There is also no âidealâ in terms of quality/density as long as the materials are âdurable enoughâ for your body type and your budget range and the materials in your mattress donât include any lower quality/density materials that would be subject to premature foam softening and breakdown and would be a weak link in the mattress although of course more durable materials (higher density up to a point in the case of polyfoam or memory foam) will last longer than less durable materials. The primary cause of foam softening and virtual or visible impressions are the continuous and ongoing deflection and compression of the materials inside a sleeping system and since softer top layers will be subject to compression and deflection more than the deeper firmer layers they will tend to soften and break down before the others and in most cases the deeper layers will still be fine if the softer top layers need replacing.
ILD is also only one of several specs that makes a particular layer or topper feel softer or firmer than another (see post #4 here and post #2 here) and the ILD of different materials or in many cases between different versions of the same material arenât directly comparable to each other anyway (see post #6 here) so using ILD by itself as a reliable indication of how a layer in a mattress will âfeelâ for you can be misleading.
The IFD/ILD of memory foam in particular is also very misleading because ILD/IFD testing produces different results for memory foam than it does for other more resilient materials and the ILD/IFD of memory foam also changes with temperature, humidity, and the length of time the memory foam is continuously compressed. The firmness/softness of memory foam will also vary with the specifics of the chemical formulation for the memory foam that affect its temperature sensitivity and its response time not to mention the thickness of the memory foam layer and the type and thickness of the layers underneath it
Unless you have a great deal of knowledge and personal experience with different types of mattress materials and specs and different layering combinations and how they combine together and can translate them into your own âreal lifeâ experience that can be unique to you or a small percentage of people overall ⌠I would tend to avoid using individual specs such as layer thicknesses or ILD numbers or other complex combinations of specifications to try and predict how a mattress will feel or perform for you and focus more on your own actual testing and/or personal experience. When you try and choose a mattress or a topper based on complex combinations of specs that you donât fully understand then the most common outcome is information overload and âparalysis by analysisâ.
The only reliable way to know with any certainty whether any topper will work well for you on your mattress will be based on your own actual sleeping experience.
As I mentioned in my first reply to you in this topic ⌠there is more information about how to choose a topper in post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to about firmness and thickness which along with a conversation with a reliable supplier (which certainly wouldnât include FBM) 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. It also includes a link to a list of some of the better online sources for toppers Iâm aware of as well and a link to the suppliers that have good exchange/return policies as well.
would love to hear how it works out! you can at least feel at ease that using ebay if items are not as described you can get your money back and usually with little stress. hopefully your leap of faith brings you a more relaxed sleep!
after taking care of some very sick family members over the years i truly believe these kind of purchases can be worth it. fingers crossed that even if itâs not exactly described it is close enough and good enough!
While you are technically correct and Ebay does have a 30 day window that you can return a product if itâs not as described ⌠that may sometimes be difficult because the seller themselves doesnât have a return policy (so you would have no recourse if the topper doesnât turn out to be a suitable firmness or thickness even if the density was correct) and they may also put up an âargumentâ that the product is âas they describeâ in one way or another that could still make a return difficult. A return also wouldnât cover the cost of return shipping even if the product isnât as described. With these types of very high risk or âbuyer bewareâ purchases ⌠foresight and realistic expectations is always a much better practice than hindsight.
As you probably know from reading this topic ⌠I couldnât disagree with you more strongly.
Phoenix if your going to buy a topper and some mattress you have to take a leap of faith because they donât have stores to try them out yes some do offer trail periods but not many if any will cover shipping on the return and some you get store credit. So for 100 dollars its worth a try.
Supporting Co. that put fire tags on mattress or follow the law is a concerned i donât want to support a Co. that is irresponsible but i would think with regulations that they remedied the issue or face heavy fines or revoking of licence. They have 26 complaints on BBB for a large Co. thatâs not exuberant the people i have talked there have been very nice patient and as helpful as possible seemed to have a good knowledge of products. the 7.5lb density 2" had 30 all 5 star reviews from what i remember no negative ones. I let you know what happens. Iâm thinking of getting a 5lb or 5.3lb density to put under it. Is there much different with the 5.3lb?
There is a big difference between taking a calculated risk or âleap of faithâ based on reliable information and supporting a business that has a long history over many years of being unreliable and unethical and âsupportingâ and perpetuating their practices with your choices and your money. Logic and reason says that what you think you are buying canât possibly be correct and âwanting to believeâ this type of misinformation when all the evidence says that itâs âtoo good to be trueâ is one of the most common reasons for buyers remorse. Of course you are always free to make the choices that you believe are âbest for youâ regardless of the rationale behind them or the justifications you may use but that certainly doesnât mean that I wonât provide a warning to others that are thinking of making the same choices.
Whether you âwant toâ or not ⌠thatâs exactly what you are doing.
Most of the people that provide Ebay feedback donât have any idea what they have purchased or the frame of reference, knowledge or experience to know whether itâs good quality or value and the feedback is just their initial impressions. You can get good feedback on Ebay just by getting a product to your customers on time regardless of the quality or value of what you are shipping. Again though ⌠you are free to believe anything you wish to.
Higher unfilled polymer densities (densities that donât include any fillers that may be added to the memory foam) are more durable (up to about 6 lb density or so) ⌠but density has much less to do with the feel, firmness, or the properties that have been chemically formulated into memory foam than it does with durability.
the 7.5lb density 2" 9 ild is pretty good a bit squishy or slightly easily compressible but very soft and slow response time. I bought from foambymail off ebay for 100 after ship cost now they have a king same 7.5lb for 125.
Iâm sleeping better with it on top of some old sensus 5lb. 3" which is ontop of 4lb 4" and than 3lb. 8". Im considering getting a new 5lb sesnus( $464 ebay) or other 5lb. 4"( $300 fbm) or getting a 5.3lb supercool tooper with cotton cove from Christeli ( $484 cost) and than putting 4" of the 7.5 lb. ant thoughts or opinions.
is there much difference from a 5.3lb and a 5lb density foam? ty , for your feedback,
Matt
In terms of density and âtheoreticalâ durability the difference would be minor and insignificant but they could have different properties in terms of firmness, temperature sensitivity, response time, and âfeelâ (see post #9 here and post #8 here).
When you canât test a topper in person before a purchase then the supplier you are dealing with will be the best source of information about how the memory foam toppers they are selling would compare to other types of memory foam that are available on the market that they are familiar with.
my 2 cents on cheap memory foam: from amazon i recently bought two extremely cheap toppers. one was advertised as a 3lb 1" memory foam but it was actually 2.5lb density memory foam. and the other claimed to be 5lb 2" memory foam but was actually 4.7lb density.
i personally canât tolerate the pushback of latex. and the 2.5lb 1" topper took away the pushback of a day bed without reducing the properties that i love about the 6"â extra soft layer of dunlop latex underneath it. i tried wool and it didnât do the trick that this cheap flimsy piece did.
and for the bed the 2" piece actually serves as the most supportive and pain reducing topper we tried (we tried so many - i could write a blog about my experiences, but iâll just give back to the community here instead). for our purpose it worked out better for my DH and i than any higher quality or lower quality topper in latex, wool or memory foam did. we will probably have to change it once a year but it is so comfortable for both of us compared to anything else, it is worth the having to do a replacement!
in both instances the results were immediate pain free sleep/lounging.
this is what i bought. it claimed to be 5lb memory foam but we did the calculations and it was actually 4.7lb density.
we bought it because it was sold by amazon llc, so returns would be very easy if we didnât like it. to our surprise we ended up loving it! it was actually recommended by my friend who can only sleep on his side. it is not very durable according to all the reviews, but we thought the comfort was worth the trade off. when it wears out, we might consider a 2" sensus topper from rocky mountain. we got a sample and it was nice. actually it seemed very similar to this piece. we also got 5,3lb sample from foamorder in san francisco and it seemed totally different than these two pieces. i guess because it is a softer ild. i donât know what the ild is of any of the memory foam toppers i have. when i had a tempurpedic i think people said the ild was 15?
DH means dearest husband. itâs an absurd internet meme from the mid 2000s to talk about your spouse. even men can refer to their wives as DH. it is often used here. and i like that DH is alive and well on a site about mattresses.
the 7.5lb dens 9 ild foam helped but the very soft you can touch index finger with thumb practically when squeezed. it did have a slow response time ( 7 seconds) which is good. I bought another one 2ââ thick but have noticed low back discomfort not sure if its related to lifting the toppers or not getting enough support from low ildâs. i think partly the later( low ildâs). Since foam by mail sold me a decent 7.5lb that they had because the bought it from a business going out of business ( shouldâve been my cue) I bought a 5lb 4" $300 foam great price but its not the quality i qas looking fro the response time on it is 2 seconds at best. Seemed to be very airy compared the old sensus 5lb that i have. i shouldâve bought the sensus the response time on that is at least 7 seconds and thats a old 5 yr old or more piece. the sensus is also less airy and denser although supposible the same weight. I looked into returning foambymail piece and it would cost me $175 if i can compress it into close to pre open size. Amazon sells teh 4" 5lb sensus fro $475 incl ship. Overstock 5 yrs ago had some for $170 3" but not since. it is pricey but worth it. Christeli had a topper of interest but they no longer sell it.
ty for explaining DH ( DEAREST Husband). Looks like im going to buy the sensus ( bought 2 other times and it was good lasted 3-5 years). Amazon has the cheapest $475 4" 5llb anyone know where it could be purchased elsewhere less costly.
I think itâs very unlikely that the topper you purchased is really 7.5 lb density. Did you happen to weigh it?
The better online options for toppers Iâm aware of are listed in post #4 here. Sleep Warehouse is one of the sources there but their 4" Sensus topper is $50 less on Amazon (after shipping) than it is on their own site and Iâm not aware of any other sources that would be less.
I would keep in mind that the response time of memory foam has little to do with its quality and some people prefer memory foam with a faster response time and less motion restriction or a âsleeping in sandâ feeling (although of course others will prefer slower response times as well).
I would also be somewhat cautious with buying a 4" thick memory foam topper because of the risk or sleeping out of alignment over the course of the night. Memory foam gets softer with temperature, humidity, and the length of time it is continuously compressed and with thicker layers of memory foam there is a risk that you can start off the night in good alignment before it has softened but then wake up in the morning out of alignment (and possibly with a sore lower back).
The instructions that are linked in post #5 here for compressing latex will also work well for compressing memory foam so that you can return it through a courier (hopefully for less than $175)