Choosing latex layers for heavy / overweight side sleepers

[phoenix]

Hi HeavySideSleepers,

That essentially makes the Tempurpedic warranty useless.

This is essentially the case with all warranties … innersprings or otherwise … because innerspring mattresses also contain foam on top with a firmer support material underneath (an innerspring vs polyfoam like Tempurpedic, or latex). The weak link of any mattress is almost always in the top layers and as you mentioned foam softening and the loss of comfort and support that comes from it is the main reason people need to replace a mattress. Warranties have little to do with how long a mattress will last for any particular person. You can read more about warranties in post #174 here and about the different factors that are involved in durability and how it is relative to the person on the mattress in post #2 here. Of the 3 types of foam materials (polyfoam, memory foam, and latex) latex is the most durable.

Because all materials will wear out and break down much faster under the greater stress of higher weights … it is particularly important in cases like yours to make sure that the top half of a mattress especially uses high quality and durable materials and that even with this you choose a mattress that is “just enough” in terms of softness and comfort layer thickness to relieve your pressure points. A material such as 4 lb memory foam (for example the Tempurpedic Cloud series) that would be fine and long lasting for lighter people would become softer much more quickly for you so if you did go in the direction of memory foam I would tend towards 5 lb memory foam and higher.

We tried the Savvy Rest in a store, which seemed fine (I think we like F/F/M best, but they had no XF options), though we really won’t know until we sleep on it. People on the forums here suggest that SleepEZ is essentially the same, only cheaper, so we’re thinking we’ll order that instead. We have no idea what to get though…

Shawn at SleepEz is exceptionally knowledgeable and helpful and a call with him would be the best way to help you decide which layering to choose. Your testing at Savvy Rest will be helpful as a guideline (especially if you tested objectively and specifically for pressure relief and alignment rather than just “comfort”) and if you decide on a similar 3 layer mattress then you could add the XFirm on the bottom to replace the Firm which would give you progressively firmer layers from top to bottom (or of course choose any layering that you wanted).

We’ll get two Twin XLs, so we can get different configurations. My husband says he wants something “with a firm surface but more give’ underneath”, and he does not want to sink into the top layer. Should he try F/M/M? F/F/M? XF/F/M? We could swap out a top medium layer to the middle if it’s too soft for him, or would F/M/F be super hard on top, is Firm essentially not a good option for top layer? Can you go F/S/F, or is that really pointless?

Your layering questions should always be part of a more detailed call with the manufacturer themselves. There is nobody else that is more knowledgeable and familiar with their mattresses and which options may fit different people than they are and this along with your own local testing is always the best and most accurate way to make your choices. Layer re-arranging and layer exchanges are or course always there as a backup.

There is a lot of information and some general guidelines about height and weight, different sleeping positions, and layering in the mattresses section of the site but these are more generic and only meant to help people understand the general ideas and “theory” behind different choices and once you are ready to make more specific choices that are meant to match your own specific needs and preferences then accurate local testing (along the lines of the links to testing guidelines included in post #1 here) along with a more detailed conversation with the manufacturer themselves is always the best way to make your choices.

Phoenix