I did my best to search around the forum but couldn’t quite find a past post that fit our specific needs. Finding a mattress has been a grind and given everything we heard about S brands (even though we liked how those mattresses felt) it looks like I’m gonna try the DIY route.
Some details about us:
Sleeper 1: 5’11, 150lbs
Sleeper 2: 5’4, 145lbs
Both side sleepers. Sleeper 1 likes medium-firm and sleeper 2 likes firm.
Build details: Support: 8" Elite Edge Pocket Coil
Transition: 2" Medium (28 ILD) Dunlop Latex
Comfort: 3" 5LB ViscoMAX Memory Foam Topper
Cover: Brentwood Home Bamboo Cover
Mattresses we’ve tried and liked were the Sealy Hybrid Premium Firm and the Serta iComfort CF1000 Hybrid Medium. Any suggestions? I went off the build guide on the mattress subreddit, but would love some feedback from the pros on here.
That looks like a pretty good starting point for the BMIs (20.9/24.9) and preferences you’re looking for. Since the lower BMI wants it less stiff you might want to split the dunlop layer to allow adjustments to each side (in case it’s not perfect right away) but otherwise I’d say go for it. Nice to see you’re using good quality memory foam as well which should help the overall comfort of the mattress.
Mattrebuild,
Thanks so much for your feedback. The more research I do the more I’m intrigued by latex for both my comfort and transition layers (or just one layer on top of the coils). Any suggestions for a layer that might satisfy my needs? I know my girlfriend would appreciate the less “sinky” feeling of latex over memory foam.
If you want to try latex for the comfort layer you could do 2" or 3" (more thickness is more contouring) of either 14ILD or 19ILD (14ILD is very soft) talalay or alternatively you might try 2" of 14ILD and 2" of 19ILD talalay. The latter will give you a very plush progressive top layer then you can tweak/adjust the support layers below for how firm you want the mattress to be.
I have a similar BMI to you and went with a very similar build. Mine is 6" Polyfoam, 2" 28 ILD Talalay (probably should have gone with Dunlop to save money), and 3" 4lb memory foam.
I’ve tried 19 ILD Dunlop for a comfort layer but didn’t really like it for side-sleeping purposes. I prefer memory foam. Talalay as a comfort layer might work though. Some of these new resilient polyfoams, such as serene foam also sound interesting.
[quote=“MrMatress post=92072”]I have a similar BMI to you and went with a very similar build. Mine is 6" Polyfoam, 2" 28 ILD Talalay (probably should have gone with Dunlop to save money), and 3" 4lb memory foam.
I’ve tried 19 ILD Dunlop for a comfort layer but didn’t really like it for side-sleeping purposes. I prefer memory foam. Talalay as a comfort layer might work though. Some of these new resilient polyfoams, such as serene foam also sound interesting.[/quote]
Dunlop and talalay have very different material characteristics and they are not interchangeable in this regard. Talalay is used where contouring or travel is needed/beneficial while dunlop excels in providing support (not as good for side sleepers or curvy body types). So if you’ve only used dunlop as a comfort layer I can understand why you’d prefer memory foam (which is effectively a contouring material and provides relatively little support at all). Memory foam is also closed cell so the combination of extreme contouring (deep sinking feeling) and lack of breathability can make it feel very hot to sleep on (especially for larger folks who generate lots of heat) while latex is an open cell foam so it’s a more temperature neutral material to sleep on. Again it’s not that one material is better than another, you just need to know which works best for your specific design situation.