Is there a "standard" amount of comfort material needed for pressure relief"?

Beyond Mattresses
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I need good support my spine, but I also need good comfort layers for pressure relief, because I am a side sleeper. 15 guage, 9.5” pocketed coils under 2” of latex felt supportive to me - perfect in fact on the support side,

The last bed I had - a Naturepedic Concerto Hybrid - was marketed as “plush” but to me it was hard as a rock with absolutely no give and cause numbness and intense pain my my shoulders and back. The comfort layer was 2” of Dunlop latex and 0.75” microcoils, and it was not enough.

I suspect it’s due to the fact it was Dunlop latex, and my size - 5’3”, 115 lbs (although my normal weight is 110 lbs). Latex - even Talalay has too much pushback for me.

However, the 9.5”, 15 guage pocketed coils had great support. Best ever so far, which is why I tried so hard, spending hundreds on toppers - to keep this bed. I tried a Dunlop slab, a shredded Dunlop in sewn squares - 3” and a 5” Coop shredded memory foam topper in squares that compresses to 3”. None of them worked and I was experiencing excruciating pain in my shoulders every night so I had to return the bed.

I’m now trialing a Leesa Legend, and it is a hybrid, with 1.0″ poly foam, 1.5” microcoil and 1.5” zoned poly foam in the middle of the bed and it’s not enough. I had to put a 3” Costco Serenity Topper on it to even be able to sleep on it.

The coils are only 6” and are supposedly also 15 guage. But somehow this bed does NOT feel supportive.

I’m trying to figure out what the problem is - or more importantly - the ideal set up. And I know at least I can’t have latex as the comfort layer and perhaps 2” is not enough pressure relief for me. But what is it?

Does the height of the coils make a difference. IF the Leesa Legend coil guage is 15, same s the Concerto, could it be the coil height that made the Naturepedic so much more supportive?

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Hey macdebbie.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum. :slight_smile:

It sounds like you’ve got a really good sense of what’s working and what isn’t for you. The difference you’re feeling between those setups probably does come down to coil height and comfort layer composition.

The 9.5" coils you liked likely felt more supportive because taller coils allow for more travel and a smoother transition between contour and pushback. The 6" coils in the Leesa just don’t have as much range, so even though the gauge might be the same, they’ll feel flatter and less dynamic overall.

You’re also right that Dunlop latex can feel too firm or springy for lighter sleepers. At your weight, you’re not compressing it enough to get into the softer part of the material, so it pushes back instead of cradling. Something with a little more give like lower-density polyfoam or memory foam would likely give you the pressure relief you’re missing, especially for your shoulders.

If you can, try looking for a hybrid that uses a taller coil unit (around 8–10") with a thicker comfort system (maybe 3–4" total) using softer foams or even a plush fiber quilt top. That’ll give you the support you liked from the taller coils without that firm, unyielding feel up top.

NikkiTMU