Hey Phoenix,
Just a little update on my purchase from MFC, Canada (Memoryfoamcomfort).
It’s been about a month since I got my new mattress, and I’m still very happy with it.
I did tweak my configuration, though, and figured my experience might help others.
Short version:
For better pressure point relief, I replaced my original 2 inch latex topper with 2 inches of 5 lb Aerus memory foam. For me, this a perfect combination. The support layer, six inches of HR foam, gives resilience, the comfort layer gives pressure point relief.
Long version:
Latex - or at least 2 inches of latex - just did not work for this bony, middle aged lady. I had sore hips getting out of bed in the morning (but my partner did not, which just goes to show you that not all hips are created equal.)
So I phoned the seller again (poor guy, he now knows as much about my aches and pains as my partner - I never imagined the mattress trade could get so personal). Anyways, he recommended using Aerus memory foam, without the latex, for pressure point relief, and he was right. I’m so impressed with this foam I’m afraid I’m about to go into excruciating detail about its merits.
I had hesitated to buy memory foam because of all the negatives I had read about it, i.e. heat issues, off gassing, etc.
Apart from off gassing, I’ve experienced none of these problems with Aerus foam. It is quick response (you don’t get that sinking into wet clay feeling, you can roll over normally in bed). I don’t get hot sleeping on it (in fact, sleeping on HR foam is way hotter than sleeping on Aerus foam, presumably because the latter is open celled and the former is not). Granted, I haven’t slept on it during a heat wave, but at about 25 Celsius, even at 85% humidity, it’s fine. And, being an over-fifty female, I’m very sensitive to heat.
All I use to wick away moisture (my own perspiration, presumably) is one or two cotton fitted sheets (I also use a plain-vanilla “breathable” waterproof polyurethane mattress protector placed directly over the topper - not a plus as regards moisture issues). The topper comes with a terry cloth cover (70% cotton), so that must help too, humidity wise. What’s neat about memory foam is that you can “tweak it”, for lack of a better word. By that I mean you can isolate it from body heat (and sweat) by adding layers of bedding - cotton, wool, flannel work well for heat issues. This in turn affects the firmness and contouring qualities of the foam. One note: since this type of foam does not seem to be highly heat sensitive, it MAY offer less pressure relief than “traditional” MF. I simply don’t know. Maybe Phoenix could share his expertise here.
As said, there is off gassing - a sweet chemical smell, not a toxic waste smell, and not very strong. I aired out the MF about 5 days before putting it on the bed, although the smell was hardly noticeable after 3 days. That said, people who are very odor-sensitive might be put off by this. I now have to unzip the topper cover and bury my nose in the foam to find any odor at all (and I haven’t bothered airing the thing out on my bed).
Conclusion: a slab of HR foam and a high quality memory foam topper such as this one makes for a supportive, comfortable, and inexpensive bed. Plus you can flip over the base and topper individually. I cannot recommend piling two two-inch toppers on a foam base, though. It might work if all the layers were glued together, but if they aren’t, it will feel like a marshmallow.
So there you go. Never thought I would one day wax lyrical about memory foam, HR foam, or any other kind of foam. That’s the pursuit of comfort for you…
Sybarites of the world unite!
