Comfort Layer vs. Comfort Layer

[phoenix]

Hi LMo,

After reading through your site, Phoenix, we realize that the personal feel of a mattress is important, (along with Posture and alignment, Pressure relief,) but we were hoping you could give us your opinion of the Emily comfort layers versus the Natural Everlast comfort layers (both have the same innerspring.) We’re hoping for a “plush-firm” feel (if there is such a thing) that will feel soft & comfy, yet keep us from “sinking” all the way into the mattress. (Our previous mattress–which we loved-- was a Sealy Posturepedic Plush—from BEFORE Sealy changed their build specifications.) Your article on Mattress Comfort Layers hit it on the head for us:

Unfortunately I can only really speak to the quality of the materials because comfort is so subjective and relative to each person and I don’t know enough about either the mattress or you to really make any meaningful comments that could be any more helpful than a more detailed conversation with Quality Sleep who will know much more about their own mattresses and how each one may “match” different types of people that are in similar circumstances than I do. I have never slept on either mattress so I don’t know how either one would “feel” to me much less someone else and it’s really not possible to know how a mattress will feel and perform for someone else based on specs (either of the mattress or the person) or “theory at a distance”.

As you mentioned … there is really no definition of a plush firm feel because each person can have a very different experience on the same mattress based on many variables (body type, sleeping positions, sensitivity, preferences, health conditions, physiology, flexibility, age etc) and a mattress that is “way too firm” for one person can be “way too soft” for the next.

I can tell you that neither one has any weak links in the design in terms of durability and that their mattresses compete well with the best in the industry in terms of quality and value but they would be a much better source of information about “matching” their mattresses to different people or circumstances than I am.

The 32 ild (med.) turned out to be too firm, so the shop exchanged the separate pillow top for the 24 ild, (soft.) As Murphy’s law would have it, that also is too firm—causing sore hips & shoulders, and a feeling of sleeping “on top of” the mattress.

One of the simplest options that may help would be to add a softer topper which can improve the pressure relief of the mattress. There are also some other suggestions in post #2 here that can help if a new mattress is too firm. Outside of some of the ideas there … the “best” suggestion for the first few weeks is usually to do nothing (if possible) until the mattress can break in to some degree and your body and muscle memory can adjust to a new sleeping surface. If you decide that adding a topper would be a worthwhile direction then post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to may be helpful.

Both the Natural Everlast and the Emily have the same pocket coil so the difference between them would be in the comfort layers and the topper you are using.

Based on the mattress alone without regard to any pillowtop and topper on top of it I would say that the padding over the pocket coil in the Emily would feel softer than the padding over the pocket coil in the Everlast for most people (and would also feel softer with the same 3" topper on top of both of them).

I don’t know how the “bare” Emily without the pillowtop would compare to the Everlast with the pillowtop because there are too many variables and differences between them (such as the type of materials, the ILD of the quilting foam, and quilting pattern) so for this you would need to rely on their experience with each mattress.

Phoenix