So, I’ve done a ton of reading and I wanted to ask for thoughts/opinions before I buy the supplies on my DIY mattress.
I’m a side sleeper pretty much always. I’ll occasionally swap sides in the night but that’s it.
Me: 5’10" 205lbs. Which is a BMI of 29. If it helps, i’'m very athletic so i’d call me ‘dense’. That also means my shoulders are pretty large which is important as a side sleeper.
I don’t have any sleeping issues or pain. I’ve recently moved and don’t have a mattress currently which is what lead me here.
I’m not a fan of full memory foam mattresses so I decided to build from a coil support layer.
Here’s the build I’m thinking (top to bottom)
Comfort Layer 3" (Haven’t picked source but looking to a pretty soft here)
Transition Layer 2" Latex Mattress Toppers - Talalay Blended/soft #19 (APM)
Support Layer 8" Quantum Edge Elite Bolsa (APM)
In a Bamboo/Wool cover from APM.
I think the thicker comfort layer being soft should help my shoulder with the thinner latex soft then helping the transition to the support layer. I read that the latex ILD numbers are from a 4" or 6" test thickness so thinner should act a littler firmer than they list…which should help transition on my setup.
Thoughts?
I would love suggestions on what or where to buy the comfort layer as well.
You’re right at the limit (over 200lbs) of where I’d suggest a hybrid bed would still work well so keep that in mind.
Assuming you do want a hybrid mattress I’d suggest something like this:
3" talalay 22ILD - Comfort Layer (APM)
2" talalay 32ILD - Support Layer (APM)
8" Quantum Edge Elite Bolsa - Support Layer (APM)
This way if you do find the hybrid doesn’t work you can transition over to a full latex mattres instead and you’d only be out the cost of the coil layer.
[quote=“Mattrebuild post=91706”]You’re right at the limit (over 200lbs) of where I’d suggest a hybrid bed would still work well so keep that in mind.
Assuming you do want a hybrid mattress I’d suggest something like this:
3" talalay 22ILD - Comfort Layer (APM)
2" talalay 32ILD - Support Layer (APM)
8" Quantum Edge Elite Bolsa - Support Layer (APM)
This way if you do find the hybrid doesn’t work you can transition over to a full latex mattres instead and you’d only be out the cost of the coil layer.[/quote]
Oh that’s interesting.
I haven’t tried a full latex comfort layer anywhere (Just can’t seem to find one) which is why I shied away from using latex all the way up.
On going firmer (the 22ild and 32ild): It seemed like when I sleep well its been on softer mattresses, assuming because of the shoulders. You think firmer because of my weight?
The combination of being both curvy and athletic can definitely pose challenges for getting a mattress that’s well suited to you (I ran into this myself). The problem is that you need soft layers to allow curvy body parts to travel into the mattress and you also need firm support to ensure you don’t end up with poor alignment either. As you can see solving these two issues are normally at odds with one another (improvements in one area causes problems with the other). Your weight is right at the edge of where you could run into hammocking issues with the coil spring layer but hard to know for sure without trying it. I suspect this may be a situation where you’d also benefit from zoning so you could consider swapping out the 32ILD support layer for something like the zoned layer from Flobeds but it’s not cheap. I would definitely caution about having too much comfort layer on top because your alignment will definitely suffer while trying to fix the shoulder issue. Anywhere from 2-4" is good for comfort layer thickness but only as long as you can maintain good alignment in the process. Whatever you do I would plan your design to maximize your options in case you don’t nail it the first time and need to go a different route to make it work for you.
Appreciate the replies and help.
I spoked with Ken at APM and he agreed on this setup:
3" Latex Mattress Toppers - Talalay Blended/soft #19
2" Latex Mattress Toppers - Talalay Blended/medium #28
8" Quantum Edge Elite Bolsa (non zoned)
Bamboo/Wool Cover
Have everything ordered and will post how it is after I get a couple of nights on it.
How is your setup working for you? I am a similar build (5’11 - 195lbs with broad shoulders) and thinking about a DIY route. I was looking at the 8" Bolsa coils, then micro coils, then a 3" soft Talalay topper.
Thanks for pinging so that I came back to give an update. Been working out really well. Feels great and no issues with sleep. I was hesitant to fully get away from coils but I think after doing this build I would be fine fully losing coils. Replacing the bottom 8" coils with a thinner section of firm latex.
You’ll need something as a transition between the soft top and the coils though, otherwise a shoulder or something could hit the firm boundary. I think the micro coils are very ‘soft’ feeling but I can’t remember, might give Ken a call on that if they would work like a transition.
I appreciate the follow-up. The setup my wife and I liked best was the Naturepedic Halcyon Arcadia with soft base coils, soft micro coils and soft dunlop topper. I will be reaching out to Ken for his opinion but glad to hear your setup is working for you as it gives me confidence I am on the right track.