Hi everyone,
Unfortunately, our DIY experience isn’t going as well as expected. Some details:
Construction:
- split king
- 8" Quantum Edge Elite CombiZone coils
- one side: 3" medium Talalay (ILD 28)
- other side: 3" medium Dunlop (ILD advertised 26, probably 26-30)
Sleeper stats:
- both of us are about 5’6"
- person A weighs approx 160 lb and is usually a back sleeper
- person B weighs approx 260 lb and is usually a side sleeper
Person A (back sleeper) on the Talalay side is adequate, but not great (the zoned area feels a little too high). The Dunlop side is definitely too firm.
Person B (side sleeper) isn’t doing well on either side. The hips and shoulders don’t sink enough, while at the same time, there is inadequate support at the waist while sleeping on the side.
And now some questions:
-
Would adding a 1" transition layer between the coils and the 3" layer help? (I noticed that the Luma Hybrid Slumber System adds 2" of transition foam.) If so, should it be a softer or firmer transition layer?
-
Is there a way to soften the zoned area? I had read that someone repeatedly jumped on the middle coils, but I don’t know if deliberately damaging the coils is a good idea.
-
Should we just give up on the CombiZone coils and get the 6" Quantum Edge Elite Bolsa instead? (There is also an 8" Quantum Edge Elite Bolsa, but a couple of trusted members have advised against using it for heavier sleepers because they’ll wear out the coils rather quickly.)
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Jen
Hi Jen.
Sorry to hear your DIY is giving you difficulties. I’ve been pondering your dilemma all day.
I imagine you had several reasons behind choosing the zoned coils. As you know, the reason for zoning is because of the difference in weight, thickness/thinness, and surface area of three main areas of the body that are the most difficult to accommodate and is sometimes used in more difficult or extreme body weights or profiles.
After reading through your 3 questions…I would say to first try adding a transition layer to see if this helps. Generally, people tend to have a softer comfort layer, a medium transition layer (because you want it to help you to sink in enough to help with pressure relief and also help keep you from sinking down too far and causing back issues) and then the firmer coil unit.
The thickness will vary based on your needs. I’d suggest discussing what you’re experiencing with whomever you choose to purchase that transition foam from to see what they ultimately recommend.
If adding this transition layer does not help, then I would consider swapping out the coil unit (so you definitely don’t want to try any “home remedies” for softening the coils because you may not be able to return them if they are considered damaged).
We are always here if you need additional guidance!
NikkiTMU
Hi Nikki,
Thank you for the advice and for the reply!
Some great news: after some experimentation, we were to essentially “de-zone” the firmer middle of the CombiZone springs. We now have something that is AWESOME!!! I’m not kidding. The bed is AWESOME! Hopefully this is some encouragement to the DIYers out there!
To do this, we purchased the following two critical pieces of foam:
- 1" PR18 foam (2.0 lb/cu ft, ILD 18) from Foamite in Vaughan, Ontario: https://www.foamite.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/FMT-Lineup-May21.pdf
- This is a high-resilience foam, so it has a higher compression modulus and will last longer
- 1" Supersoft foam (1.2 lb/cu ft, ILD 12) from Foam Factory in Michigan: Super Soft Foam Data Sheet | Foam Factory, Inc. (check pricing on usafoam.com and ask for pickup pricing in the store)
- This is cheap soft foam that does the job and wont’ last more than a couple of years. It is virtually identical to Foamite’s 1112 foam.
Our updated construction is:
- split king
- 8" Quantum Edge Elite CombiZone coils
- PR18 foam cut to cover only the softer top and bottom areas of the entire spring set (need two approx 76" x 66.5" pieces)
- Supersoft foam cut to cover only the firmer middle area, which is about 13" wide (one 76" x 13.5" piece)
- person A side: removed the medium Talalay (ILD 28) and replaced it with firm Talalay (ILD 33)
- person B side: same 3" medium Dunlop
We tried covering the entire spring set with PR18 foam, but that didn’t work as well as covering only the soft areas with it and the firmer zone with Supersoft foam. Using the Supersoft over the firmer zone effectively cancels out a significant part of the firmness. I suppose you could say that we now have a custom 1" foam transition layer that is zoned to be softer in the middle!
There is excellent support and comfort for person A (160 lb back sleeper), though it could be a tad firmer. We’ll do more experiments later, but for now, it’s great. There is also excellent support and comfort for person B (260 lb side sleeper).
Given our success, we now have a spare piece of 3" twin XL medium Talalay that is up for sale if anyone wants it! We’re located in London, Ontario, but can ship. Will post separately…
Thank you again everyone!
Hi Jendubois.
This sounds like quite the feat! I’m so glad you were able to successfully dezone your bed and give it the awesome feel you were looking for.
Where did you get the idea to “dezone” that section? It’s super clever and wonderful it worked out. I know your experience will be helpful for future DIYers.
NikkiTMU
To be honest, the idea to de-zone that section just came to mind! I thought that if a section could be zoned by making it firmer, then it must be possible to do the exact opposite by adding really soft material to the firm middle area and regular material to the regular (head and foot) areas.
What is great about this is that it adds another element of flexibility to the DIY process. By changing what is placed over the middle area and what is placed over the regular areas, the relative firmnesses of the middle and regular areas can be changed. Actually, this can get even better: the head, middle, and foot areas can all be tweaked independently of each other! Of course, these changes may also necessitate changes to the comfort layer.
Here’s a diagram to help others visualize this!
Hi jendubois.
I love the visual, thank you so much for sharing that. It’s a brilliant idea that occurred to you and I’m so glad it worked out! I look forward to sharing this method with others in the future.
NikkiTMU