We are considering a DreamFoam latex bed from amazon. It has great reviews and Chuck was very informative. I just have some questions from anyone who owns them.
Our situation: My wife is around 5’6" 300lbs, back sleeper 80% of the time, has lower back issues/hip issues. I am 5’5" 160lbs, boney hips/shoulders, am a side sleeper 90% of the time. I life soft beds but do not want to sink in as I feel like I will roll into the center of the bed. We have a queen adjustable bed (L&P).
Our current bed is a Sealy Rivercrest latex mattress. It is about 12" thick, has aa built in quilted top that has worn down. I would say the bed is on the softer side. The issue is about halfway through the night the center of the bed sinks so we roll into the middle. I don’t get hip on shoulder pain with it but I do sink in a little. I have read that this Rivercrest series is known for caving in the middle once the body heats it up.
Chuck recommended a firmness level of 3 (36 ILD) so my wife gets more support. I might get too sore on it so we may need a gel memory foam topper or a latex topper.
My wife tried a Original Mattress Factory Serenity latex bed (flippable) that has been out a few weeks, it is dual 3" latex layers with a high density foam layer in the middle so you can flip to use both sides. It says it has a 30-34 ILD ? That might have been an older model spec though. She said it felt softer than our rivercrest, she didn’t like it.
So it seems Chucks recommendation of a 3 rating might be ideal? If so, what would be best to add softness for the topper? 2" gel memory foam? 3" 24 ILD latex topper?
You might consider getting a split mattress, so that you can customize each side separately. Being a side sleeper, and lighter, you’ll probably be wanting a bit more softness to let your shoulders and hips sink in a bit. As a heavier back sleeper, that softness would possibly be less suitable for back alignment for your wife.
I would think because of the sleeping style and weight differences, finding a mattress that has a suitable PPP (from above link) for you and your wife might be easier in a split mattress format (basically, each side of the mattress is customized separately). But whichever you decide, the first post gives you the tools to help
Yeah a split king would be ideal, but unfortunately about 5 years ago we bought a L&P queen adjustable bed a $500 leather headboard, so we’re pretty invested in this setup… and we lack space for a king bed
My in-laws have a bed that is so ancient and firm as a board that we added a memory foam topper to it and I sleep OK on it, and she slept great on it, so I think if we go with a firmer latex bed with a topper, we both might sleep well.
I wish I knew what our rivercrest ILD rating was as a comparison… am guessing it is a like a DreamFoam 6 or 7.
You can get a split queen also, and it’d work on the L&P. it wouldn’t be independently controllable, but you already can’t do that. You don’t need a king to split side to side
Them, you can get each yourself and your wife the right setup to achieve excellent PPP for each of you.
Wouldn’t the split queen fall off the side of the bed when elevated as it is all one platform? I would think they would need to be held in place. Does DreamFoam offer split queen?
I’m linking savvyrest, mostly cause their pictures might help…
I’m guessing with the adjustable bed, it lifts at the head, and at the legs? The side to side split is a single mattress, just with different foam on your side vs hers. I don’t understand where there is an opportunity to fall off the bed?
I don’t know who does/doesn’t offer split mattresses. It’s very common though, especially with foam because it’s just a matter of different softness/firmness on each side, all put into one mattress case.
(You can also do a split king with independent adjustable beds under each half… That’s a different thing and not what I’m talking about)
The Sealy Rivercrest (and most of their old springfree latex line) used several inches of polyfoam in the upper layers which is a much lower quality and less durable material than latex and would be the weak link of the mattress. It would be most of the reason that the comfort layers have softened or broken down. They are currently being sold as the Stearns & Foster Luxury Latex line.
There are a number of the manufacturers that are members of the site listed here that make latex mattresses that have split layering in a queen. Some local manufacturers will also build a split layer mattress as well. As dn mentioned all of these are a single mattress with a single cover but each half of the mattress is layered differently.
If you do decide to go with a single layer mattress I would tend to sleep on it first so you can use your actual experience to help you decide on a topper (there are some topper guidelines in post #8 here).
The first part of post #2 here also has some information about couples who have different needs and preferences.
I would also make sure that at the very least the top 6" of your mattress uses very high quality and durable materials to help accommodate your wife’s higher weight and prevent the foam in the mattress from softening or breaking down too quickly.
For some people yes and for some people no. There are many factors that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress (see post #2 here) and there is more in post #9 here about the cooling properties of different types of gel memory foam so it really depends on the specifics of the person, the overall design of the mattress, and on the specific type of gel memory foam being used. In most cases it will have some effect when you are first going to sleep until temperatures equalize.
Could you tell me how did you contact Chuck? I called the toll free #, the answering machine came on, so I emailed instead. If you emailed or left a voicemail how soon did you hear from him?
