Innerspring Mattress and Latex Topper - searching for right combo

[phoenix]

Hi BetsyBee,

As for mattress pad, the 3" blended from BB came with a non removable bamboo cover – so I have not been using an additional pad on that one. Was your suggestion to add the pad to the already covered topper? The mattress pad I have been using was only placed on the 2" natural. I know you said that the pad can change things – if I were to add the pad onto the already covered topper, what type of effect would I be looking for or likely to experience? A firming up of the thickness/softness so I might not sink as much?

The suggestion was to make sure you eliminated the effect of the mattress pad as a variable. Some mattress pads … especially if they have some padding like polyester batting (vs a mattress protector which has no padding and is generally thinner and more stretchy) … will reduce the ability of the softer layers below it to contour to your body and create a firmer feel. It also depends on the type and thickness of the mattress pad and on the firmness/softness of the foam underneath as well but either way I wanted to make sure you had tested both ways because if removing the mattress pad makes a positive difference then replacing the pad with a thinner stretchy protector could help.

Mario felt that my problem was the topper was too soft and I was going through the topper and feeling the firmness of my mattress below. He advises that I exchange it for a 24 ILD but still in a 3" thickness. At first I was pretty surprised, as I thought my mattress was too firm and why would I want a firmer topper – I questioned that perhaps I needed the 14 ILD, but he said I would go through that even more an advised against that. I also asked about the merits of a 2" vs a 3" but he still thinks I should stay with 3".

As I mentioned in some recent posts here and here … welcome to the world of contradictory suggestions (see post #8 here as well) :).

When a top layer is softer … you will “feel” more of the firmness of the layer below it and/or the transition between the layers. To exaggerate the idea a bit to make the point … if you imagine a 3" layer on the floor you will probably feel the floor below you and if you use a softer layer you will sink “through” it even more and feel more of the floor so it would feel firmer. If you were to use a firmer layer it would isolate you from the floor more and for many people would feel softer. Sometimes mattress design and theory can seem counterintuitive until it makes sense.

If the firmness someone feels is coming primarily from firmer layers underneath a topper (which depends on how far they are sinking in) … then using a slightly firmer layer can feel softer but it will also reduce the amount your lighter shoulders can sink into the upper part of the mattress.

In your case though (based on speculation) the issue seems to be more of the alignment in the midback or upper back area possibly from sleeping in a hunched or rounded position more than a pressure issue. I’m not so sure that you are feeling the firmness underneath your topper because even in a firm Simmons mattress there is some soft foam in the comfort layers before you reach the firmer layers underneath and with your lighter weight you wouldn’t be as likely to “go through” a topper and the softer comfort layers in your mattress to feel the firmer layers underneath this.

Finally, since my “Ideal” was the 2" Natural, which if any of the above choice would come closest to approximately that?

With all the back and forth theorizing and speculation this is perhaps the most important part of your feedback and a good reference point that is worth “listening to” because it’s based on your actual experience. If your 2" topper was N1 (which based on the information Pete provided it likely was) then it would be firmer than a 2" blended Talalay in the same firmness level (blended Talalay is a little softer than 100% natural Talalay in a similar ILD because it’s denser and you don’t sink down as far). Depending on the exact ILD of the 100% natural topper (which isn’t exact) … it would probably be in between the 14 ILD blended Talalay and the 19 ILD. In “real life” though it’s probably a little closer to the 19 ILD because you sink into a top layer more deeply than if the layer is deeper in the mattress and blended and 100% natural latex gets firmer when you sink in deeper at different rates. 100% natural gets firmer faster and while the 19 ILD blended would start off a little firmer with more shallow compression, it wouldn’t get firm as fast when you sink into it more so the differences in their initial firmness would tend to even out with deeper compression.

Mattress design and theory is partly art and partly science and with more complex circumstances like this where the specifics of your mattress that’s under the topper aren’t known, it’s more art than science. This means that each version of contradictory ideas may turn out to be valid. So all of this is still speculation based on your experiences and feedback (as complex as it is) with lots of guesswork involved so your own best judgement and “gut feel” will really be the only way to decide. Sometimes there is no alternative to some trial and error because in the end only your own personal experience will know what ends up working best for you because there are always variables and unknowns and bodies don’t understand “theory” … only results.

Phoenix