Hi Halifax,
Post #2 here has some suggestions for a mattress that is too firm when you first sleep on it and post #2 here has more information about some of the possible causes behind the most common “symptoms” that people may experience on a mattress that may be helpful.
[quote]1. The 2"- 24ild comfort layer is too firm for me. Although I would prefer a slightly softer top layer I don’t believe this is causing my shoulder issues.
- The 2"- 24ild comfort layer is too thin and my shoulders are pushing through and contacting the 40ild core. I believe this is the most likely scenario.[/quote]
I think your “logic” is good and the odds are high that what you are experiencing is either a pillow issue (which can have a significant effect on shoulder pressure points) or as you mentioned you may need some additional thickness/softness in the comfort layers of your mattress.
The first step I would suggest is a more detailed conversation on the phone or in person with Fox Mattress since the manufacturer will have more experience with their mattresses and the options that they have available that have helped others in similar circumstances than anyone else but if a thicker pillow doesn’t solve the issue (and this would have the benefit of only affecting your side) then I agree that a topper would be the most logical solution.
If you do decide to go in the direction of a topper then post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to should be helpful. When you are adding a topper then “just enough” in terms of thickness and softness to relieve pressure points will generally be the least risky in terms of alignment. 2" in a slightly lower ILD than what you have now would be a reasonable “average” choice and as you mentioned would be a little less risky than a thicker topper. It would be very unlikely that you would feel much of the firmness of the support core under your current 2" comfort layer, the 1.5" of quilting foam, and an additional 2" topper.
Phoenix