I am trying to find the perfect topper and need some advice. I (like a lot of people) bought a firm bed thinking it would solve my back problems. It didn’t.
I have a Beautyrest Black Plush-Firm mattress. It is a couple years old and no indentations. I am 6’ 190 lbs. I had previously purchased a Costco memory foam 2.5" topper in an attempt to soften up the mattress. Worked briefly but wore out after one year. I sink right through and instantly feel lower back pain due to improper alignment. Recently, I had the opportunity to borrow a Pure Latex Bliss (PLB) 2" and 3" topper. The 2" almost worked, as it provides some support in connection with my mattress. It is 10x better than the memory foam, however, I compress it all the way down and I wake up about 5am feeling like I am sleeping on my old firm mattress, with essentially the same pressure points. It is better than memory foam as I did not sleeping all night in pain. The 3" did isolate me from the firmness of my mattress, but was too cushy and, in that regard, didn’t offer any support at all – almost like my old memory foam topper.
Given my experience with PLB toppers, I tend to believe that a 3" topper with a higher density (ILD) may do the trick. I am thinking either this 3" 22 ILD topper from Amazon or a 3" 19 ILD topper (e.g., Rejuvenite or Ultimate Dreams or ErgoSoft). I would likely lean toward the ErgoSoft Ultimate Dreams as I understand they accept returns if it doesn’t work out. I think the ErgoSoft is only 16-18 ILD but understand the Dunlop latex toppers are generally firmer. I am skeptical about 2" toppers, as I sleep on my side, but still wonder if a 2" topper with a higher ILD than the PLB would work.
QUESTION: What topper would be best for my weight, bed, etc…? Can anyone please offer some professional or experienced advice? Thanks in advance.
There are far too many variables for there to be a formula that can predict what anyone will feel on a specific mattress/topper combination or what may be best for them based on “theory” … especially if the layers of the mattress it is going on are completely unknown. having said that … Post #2 here and the posts it links to should be helpful in giving you some good guidelines and some good purchase sources as well.
I appreciate that its hard to determine. My mattress is just firm with a soft casing. So, its like sleeping on the floor, maybe with a comforter in between. So, my question boils down to what topper can you stick on the floor and expect to properly align a 190 lb man? The bed will provide some give, but not much in my opinion. Any insight is appreciated.
I know that your mattress may “feel” like the floor and a firm mattress is generally a much better candidate for a topper than a soft one … but I can assure you that there is some soft foam in the upper layers of your mattress that are very different from the firmness of the floor and will affect how a topper/mattress combination performs and even the deeper layers will make a difference as well. There are no specific answers to your questions because each person can be very different but the post I linked will help you make the best possible decisions.
Each person’s definition of soft and firm can also be very different depending on may factors including body type and sleeping style. There are also different types of softness and firmness as well that different people will be more or less sensitive to so when you are looking for a topper it’s best to think in relative and more practical terms rather than 'theoretical" terms that can take into account your own unique perceptions.
It would be a little bit like asking how much salt is the 'best" amount to use in food which would depend on each person’s preferences, the type and amount of food they are adding it to, and what has already been added to the food.
By itself … a topper would probably be too thin to provide either the pressure relief or alignment that most people would be looking for on a floor and need something underneath them (which of course is why they are not used by themselves as a mattress). It’s the combination of materials, components, and design that provides each person with the PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences) that they will do best with, not any layer or component by itself. Every layer and component of a sleeping system will affect every other layer (and different people) to differing degrees