Change in direction from new bed to just a topper

Well, after finally zeroing in on a Select Foam Aurora-HD to replace our 12 year-old Simmons Sang memory foam mattress, I decided to change direction.

I realized that the Sang is still in what appears to be near perfect condition and exhibits absolutely no sag. None! The firm mattress that felt comfortable to me when I was 50 years-old, seems too firm now and as a side sleeper, I have a spot on my right hip that causes pain unless I adjust my body just right. My shoulders are also not as comfortable as they were 12 years ago. I do not know if the memory foam of the Sang has lost some of its resiliency or whether the discomfort is entirely age related, or both. Regardless, I’m having sleep issues I didn’t have two or three years ago.

After going to a Tempur-Pedic store a few days ago and finding the Allura bed extremely comfortable when lying on my right side even after 20 minutes, I decided that the comparable Select Foam Aurora-HD would be a great bet for a new bed at considerable savings.

Then, my brain kicked in and I thought why not add a 2" high quality memory foam topper to the Sang to try to solve the problem. Tempur and Select Foam use 7 LB and 8 LB foam respectively for their top layers, so I decided to look around on the internet. It seems like the 5.3 LB is easy to find, but the 7 or 8 LB, not so much. My other problem is that our Sang is a California Queen, a no longer available size, even from Simmons. What foam is available, is not available in that size. I needed to find a foam dealer who would custom cut.

Since I was ready to buy a bed from Select Foam, I gave them a call this morning and spent about an hour on the phone with Matt, one of the owners of the company. He was very kind and very forthcoming about different issues and benefits of different foams. I first asked if they would custom cut the foam for me and he answered that they would be glad to do so. Then we spent a lot of time talking about foam and my issues. When I inquired about the 8 LB foam, he said that they do not offer that foam as a topper because handling the foam can easily cause it to tear. They only offer the 5.3 LB foam as toppers on the website. After some more discussion, Matt offered to me a brand new foam which they are going to start using in their beds and are seriously considering to replace the 8 LB topper on their mattresses. He says it’s that good and he thinks it will be a good match for my too firm mattress.

So, I have a nice 2" custom cut 6 LB foam topper coming in about two weeks and I’m excited to see if it does what I need it to. I am hoping so since I cannot return it, although Matt said if it didn’t work as advertised, he would work something out with me. I couldn’t ask for more than that.

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to let everyone know that it was a pleasure talking with Matt at Select Foam and that he was most accommodating.

Hi Rockethead26,

The change in your experience could probably be a combination of some foam softening (which is inevitable) on your mattress and changes in your own needs and preferences as well. If your mattress has softened evenly though and there are no dips or soft spots then it would be a good candidate for a topper if all you need is some extra pressure relief. which appears to be the case. The goal would be to use the thinnest topper that was likely to work well for you so that there was less risk of compromising your spinal alignment on the mattress. There are some topper guidelines in post #2 here and the posts it links to that can help you use your own experience to decide on a topper.

That sounds to me like a good choice … not so thick that you would risk alignment issues but thick enough to make a difference in your pressure points. It would also be very durable at that density and one you are in the 6 lb range or so then higher density in memory foam would make little difference in terms of durability.

Thanks for your feedback and I’m looking forward to hearing about your experience once you’ve had a chance to sleep on the topper :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Thanks for your comments, Phoenix. The Sang is still firmer than our 7 year-old Tempur-Pedic Classic bed that we have in the spare bedroom., so I’m hoping I made the right choice. As you suggested, I’ll report back after I receive the topper and have a chance to use it for a few nights.

When talking with Matt at Select Foam on July 8th when I ordered the $659 custom topper, he had said he would be able to get the topper shipped in no more than 2 weeks and possibly in as little as 4 days. Five weeks have gone by and I cannot yet get an ETA for my topper. Granted, Matt’s mother has had some health issues which has taken his time, and rightfully so. I understand that.

After 2 1/2 weeks I got in touch with Juan Q. the VP of Sales to get a status and he said he would move things along and apologized for the delay, but another 2 1/2 weeks have passed still no status. Rather poor customer service.

Seems like the VP of Sales would be able to find out what’s going on.

Anyway, I just sent an email to cancel my order and will instead be ordering a custom topper using 8 LB foam (which is what I originally wanted) from Rocky Mountain Mattress. I talked with David and it looks like they can ship in two days from order date.

I’m awaiting a confirmation on my cancellation before placing my order with RMM.

I’ll update again as I know something.

EDIT: Well at least Select Foam is diligent about cancelling the special order! I also just placed the order for the Venus foam topper and cover with RRM. I should have it in about a week. I’m looking forward to this. :slight_smile:

Oh yeah, I got my 5% Mattress Underground discount from RRM, too!

Hi Rockethead26,

It’s unfortunate that you had to wait so long for your order and I’m glad that they cancelled and gave you the refund in a timely manner. I don’t know the reason for the delay (my guess is that it had to be special ordered from their supplier and it took longer than they anticipated) but it would have been nice if they had kept you up to date and I would not have been particularly happy either.

I’m glad you were able to replace it with another supplier and I’m looking forward to your feedback when you receive it. Venus memory foam is a very high quality product :slight_smile:

Phoenix

First, I want to give kudos to Matt at Select Foam for calling me after I cancelled the order and apologizing for his company dropping the ball. It was actually ready to ship and he had thought it had gone out two weeks before, but it was too late as I had already ordered and paid for my topper from RRM.

Matt’s mother is seriously ill and had surgery last week and I understand completely why he couldn’t follow up. Matt is going to eat the costs on the custom topper and made no inquiry for payment other than to ask if I still wanted it. I wish Matt and his Mom all the best. I still recommend the company as this was an unforeseen circumstance. If anyone needs a 6 LB memory foam topper cut to 66" x 79", Matt has one he would love to sell.

Si I ordered my custom Venus topper from Rocky Mountain Mattress at Noon on Monday, and it was at my door at 10 AM this morning, less than 72 hours later. Now, granted, I do live in the same state as their factory, but still, a custom topper with a custom zippered cover delivered in just 3 days. 5-Stars for RRM! I also got a free contoured pillow.

I just rolled out the 48 pound (6 cu ft x 8 lbs/cu ft) topper on our bed and the first thing I noticed is that there was absolutely no chemical smell at all. I put my nose to the rubber and just get a very mild, sweet "Fabreze-like smell. It is an exact fit and I only wish that they could radius the corners to match the Simmons mattress, but it’s no big deal. I may do that myself if I need to.

It’s now been out about 45 minutes and I just walked back into the bedroom and there only the slightest indication that the topper is in the room if I approach within 3-4 feet of the bed. No foul odors. I do have one window open, but there is no breeze.

The topper was only compressed for a day, but once it was unrolled, it was already at its full 2" thickness. I’m going to wait before bedtime before I put on the mattress cover and sheets on the bed just to give it about 6 hours to breathe. Initially, I am not going to put the cover on the topper so I can get the feel for the foam for a few days. If I need to firm it up a bit, I can add it to make the foam less heat sensitive.

I’ll report back after I get a couple of nights on it. So far I’m extremely pleased with the product and service from RRM.

Hi Rockethead26,

Thanks for the update and feedback … and I agree that the service form Rocky Mountain was “above and beyond” :slight_smile:

I’m really looking forward to hearing your feedback about the 8 lb Venus because there’s not a lot of feedback on the forum about it. It’s certainly a great material!

Phoenix

After three nights of using the mattress my wife and I agree that it provides the pressure point relief that I required and the overall alignment support that she did. We both have slept more soundly than we have for the last few years, on either the Tempurpedic Classic or the Simmons Sang. My wife uses a device called a Fitbit One activity tracker that monitors hours of sleep, awake time and disturbed (fidgity) time. Her good hours of sleep have gone up about 25% and her awake and disturbed times have dropped in half.

I have not installed the topper’s cover yet and don’t feel the need to. I’ll save it for when we need to move cross country in the next few months as it will help with handling the heavy topper and help to prevent tears.

All in all, the Venus topper is expensive and I’m not really sure we gained anything over the less expensive 6 lb memory foam topper we were originally going to get from Select Foam, but I do know that this one works exactly as we had hoped on our Sang mattress to help with the too firm bed. It works so well, that we’re thinking of buying another queen size Venus to put on the Tempurpedic Classic.

If our opinions change, I’ll update this thread. Otherwise I can highly recommend the quality of the Venus topper and the fist class service we received from Rocky Mountain Mattress.

Hi Rockethead,

That’s great news … and thanks for sharing your experience :slight_smile:

Phoenix