Hi! I am pretty desperate, hoping I can find help here. I wake up every day from back pain and have to get up, because I just can’t lie on this mattress anymore. When we were on vacation I had weeks without any issues. We were staying in a place with one of those super firm springy mattresses - where the surface doesn’t seem to give at all when you sit down. It feels super taught. I remember the original Ikea mattresses (Sultan?) where like that. In the 365 store they also had one mattress like it, their SOMA, but it was too firm for my husband. So we compromised on an EOS classic, so we could each have different firmnesses on our sides. Well, I have the extra firm coils and the firm latex and it is just too soft for me. I am not heavy (150lbs) but I just need a mattress I don’t sink into. Is there anything I can do to make my side firmer? We have a Thuma frame, so I don’t think the slats are the issue. I think it’s the coils not being strong enough or the latex giving too much, or both.
Hi Hanna and thanks for reaching out on this! Normally neither a firm nor extra firm topper will help beyond a negligible degree, even if you purchased a 3” extra firm topper. Support has to come from the mattress, not from the topper. Also, latex will conform to whatever surface it is on, so if your mattress is soft or sagging the topper will take on the characteristics of your mattress. Lastly, having a top layer that is not encased with the rest of the mattress will allow that top layer enough spatial freedom to move upwards when you lay on it, making for a very plush and enveloping feel, even if it’s an extra firm layer. About 75% of the customers that purchase a firm topper to make the mattress firmer end up returning it, that’s the only reason I mention these things.
The eos classic uses Texas pocket springs quadcoils, but with slightly lower coil count than you can buy on the independent store. From what I read they have a zoned coil system and it’s 14.75g for the legs and shoulders and 13.5g for the waist. A DIY 14.75g from pocketspringstore.com would feel like 10% firmer under your back and shoulders and be more balanced under your waist.
If you’re absolutely sure you want a completely non flexing surface, you could buy a 13.5g twin xl from pocketspringstore.com and use it on your side. You do know this will be a 10/10 firmness coil though. I’m 6’0" and 210lbs and the DIY 14.75g base from Texas pocket springs barely flexes under me.
If you were to use firm latex on the top, probably best to use talalay because it’ll have a uniform firmness throughout the layer. Dunlop is more solid. You could also try HD36HQ or LuxHQ polyfoam for a more settled firm feel. Hd36 will be medium-firm and luxhq is firm
Thanks! I take it “g” stands for gauge? I am a bit confused, because it seems that you are suggesting replacing what I have with the same gauge coils (the middle zone is at issue here). Will the number of coils make a difference in how much give there is?
Yes I’m talking about the gauge. And the middle zone is actually firmer than the rest of your current springs…is the issue that the middle is too soft or too firm? Because the zoning they use firms up the center springs. And yes the number of coils being higher adds a little more support because it’s more coils of the same gauge
Thanks for the topper info. Yes that makes sense and I wasn’t looking for a topper only solution. Maybe I just need a solid board under the latex topper. As in plywood. But I fear that isn’t breathable…
Yes you could try that, and you’re right it wouldn’t breathe quite as well. Another option would be to flip the mattress over to see if the side that isn’t meant to be slept on feels firmer than the side that normally faces up.
Ah, ok, and a bigger number means a thinner wire, right? Sorry it sounded to me like you were saying the EOS classic I have has 13.5g in the middle zone, and the replacement you recommended had 13.5 throughout.
I just checked the SOMA mattress that felt in the store like what I was looking for and that one has 12 g coils with a 3” latex topper. Unfortunately we have a queen size bed and a twin for replacing my half of the mattress is too big.
Ahh…I was thinking you had a king size bed. And yes from what I read your current bed has 13.5g coils in the center, lower number means stronger coils. The pocketspringstore.com 14.75g coils don’t have zoning so because they’re a little higher coil count but without zoning, they’d be a little firmer in the shoulders but a little softer in the hips.
If you were to get a 13.5g base from the site it would be extremely firm throughout the bed due to increased coil count and extremely strong springs.
One option you could try is to get an extremely thin piece of wood or some other very firm material and place it on top of the springs on your side. This would disperse the pressure across a greater number of springs thus increasing perceived firmness.
Thank you! I will probably try the plywood - now to find one without formaldehyde…
The 12 gauge coil SOMA mattress from sleep365 felt like what I am looking for, a little bounce but barely any give when you sit down on it. Feels taut like the top of a drum… I fear the latex will still have too much give, but it’s worth a try…
Hi Hannah;
I am very surprised that the extra firm coils and firm latex in the EOS is too soft for you. Have you checked the label on both the coils and the latex to see if that is what is in your mattress? If so then I suggest that you look into a coir topper (palmpringusa.com). Coir is coconut husk bonded together with natural latex.That is the firmest topper available. They could make you a 1/2 queen and that would be super firm. Or to keep the mattress even you could ask if they would make a 3" coir piece and replace the latex piece on your side. I am not a fan of putting wood inside or on the mattress.