Looking for some advice. I’ve recently purchased the Christeli Charlston which features 5-6 lb. memory foam. I’ve been sleeping on it for about two weeks. The bed is very comfortable but has a dense/solid feeling that was unexpected. The way I’d describe it is that it feels a little firm and then you slowly sink in. I was thinking of getting a 2" or 3" Latex topper with a low ILD to add some cushion and to serve as a protector for the memory foam (longer life/improve durability). I understand this might impact the ability for the memory foam to use body heat quickly but I’m thinking I might prefer the cushioning effect of the Latex and that I’ll still be able to feel the memory foam properties as I settle through the Latex. Does anyone think this is a bad idea?
Some background: I’m a 220 lb. male and my wife is 120 lb. I’m a side sleeper and she sleeps in all positions. When I sleep, I feel like my shoulders could sink in a little more. I’m also a hot sleeper. My wife has no complaints.
What you’re describing is exactly the feel of a dense memory foam bed. The “slowly sinking” feeling is achieved as the memory foam “softens” in response to your body’s heat.
This is actually a quite popular combination. There was specifically a very popular mattress that was made a few years ago that used high quality memory foam similar to your mattress, and they included a 2" layer of 19 ILD Talalay latex as the uppermost layer within the product. By placing the latex on top there was a bit better breathability within the product on top, an increase in the “buoyancy” of the feel of the mattress, but there was still the dense memory foam feel beneath. Of course, this is a general statement about the product based upon quite a few people with whom I’ve spoken, but your thoughts are certainly not out of line and your choice of componentry would be, “at a distance”, appropriate to achieve what you’re describing. You are correct that some of the “sinking” of the “heat activation” of the memory foam will be minimized, but it will still soften a bit. Additionally, your mattress is only a few weeks old and there will still be a bit of "false firmness’ that will be lost as the product adjusts and breaks in.
I’ll be interested to know what you decide to do and your results.
I’m searching for a latex topper now and considering the usual members from this site. I feel like SleepEZ is my best bet but they only offer a 3" topper. They have a great upgrade model so in the event that my memory foam degrades, I can add another 3" layer with free upgrade of encasement and convert the entire mattress to Latex with Polyfoam base. That being said, I’m a little concerned that 3" may take too much feel out of the memory foam. Is there anyone that could share feedback in using a 3" latex topper (19 ILD Tatalay) over memory foam? Would be great to hear anyone’s experience.
I used to offer a memory foam mattress that had 4" of memory foam (yours has 6") with a 2" Talalay layer built in on top. The 2" was a nice buoyant upper layer that gave some extra softness and breathability to the mattress versus a typical memory foam product. You’d have some upper level softness but then the deeper layers felt firm and solid. It was a combination that I personally really enjoyed. 3" of Talalay on top would also have felt good in my opinion - it just would have been a little more “latexy” than the 2" latex layer.
Your mattress has the 6" of memory foam, so you’re still going to feel that density whether you use 2" or 3". It would just come down to your personal preference of an upper layer of comfort and how buoyant you’d like it to feel.
I know you’ve probably read it quite often here on the site, but using someone else’s opinion as to how something feels won’t necessarily be applicable to your own personal opinion. Additionally, if someone else was placing a 2" Talalay topper on their own memory foam mattress, their memory foam mattress would more than likely have different specifications than yours and this would of course also influence their feel as compared to your situation. So what I’m ultimately trying to say is that someone else’s opinion would probably not be the best thing to gauge your own potential level of success. I can let you know that placing the latex on top will get rid of some of that dense/solid feeling that you described. How much you want to get rid of would be dictated by the thickness of the topper you chose, and you may wish to phone and see if SleepEZ can offer you a 2" topper (sometimes they can get you special thicknesses) and then see if they would allow you to swap it out for a 3" in case you didn’t like the 2" Your own careful testing will really be the only indicator of your ultimate happiness.
Done that myself SleepyJ. Had Christeli Charleston for little under 50 days- after 3 weeks was looking for something to soften up the confort level without taking away totally the memory foam feel. So I walked the foam for 15 mins to soften up the foam and accelerate the break in period (my advice for this is to do it in 5 min daily intervals then sleep trial overnight until confort level is reach instead of all at once) and I bought a 2" dunlap latex top. The “feel” is gorgeous like a floating sensation which is somewhat of the feel from my previous Tempurpedic Grandbed that was too firm for the wife… Caveots of adding latex to the Charleston -in my experience it was not as warm which also reduced some of the sinking feeling of the memory foam and after 3 weeks I started feeling out of aligment with lower back pain and shooting pains in other areas. So I took off the 2" latex -had already ordered a 3" latex to compare but now am sending that one back also-(i’m searching myself for the right feel) when I read on a message board just how much a quality mattress protector can influence the feel and confort of the memory foam- much more so than a traditional spring mattress. So I contemplated just how important keeping the new Christeli Charleston mattress “new” especially after the 9 yr old Oringal Mattress Factory spring mattress it was replacing had a quality protector on it and it looked brand new but still was going to the dump and if Im not planning on gettting drunk and passing out spilling beer everywhere and I do not currently have a bladder control problem- maybe see how the feel compares with just 1000ct sheets between me and the memory foam… Much better. Also, do not under estimate just how much different a quality memory foam mattress will feel after 3 months- it changes alot imo. Good luck and hope this helps.
Thank you for relating your experience and tips of placing latex over a memory foam mattress. Especially useful were your tips about accelerating break in on a mattress, the effect that a mattress pas can have on the overall comfort of a mattress (especially something with high point elasticity like a memory foam mattress) and the notation that there is a change in feel over the first three months as the mattress loses some of its “false firmness.” I appreciate you taking the time to reply to SleepyJ.
Thanks for the feedback! I’ve decided to try a 3" Tatalay Latex topper 14 ILD. I’m already starting to think I should have went with 2". I’ll reply back here with my experience once it is received.
I’ll look forward to your feedback one you’ve had a chance to try your new topper for a while.
For your mass and the concerns that you listed in your previous posts, for an ultra plush topper like you chose, the 3" would usually be more appropriate to begin to attempt to address your concerns versus the 2" version of the same topper. But of course your experience will be the ultimate decider.
Following up on this thread. I moved forward with purchasing a 14 ILD Tatalay topper from a little known company, Mayer’s Bedding (https://mayersbedding.com/), which has been reviewed well in one other post on this site. I decided to give them a shot given their prices and source (Tatalay Global).
Mayer’s Bedding ships their product direct from Tatalay Global which took about 7 days for delivery from when I submitted my order. Unfortunately, the first king topper arrived pulled apart from the seam where the two halves are typically glued together. A quick call to the owner, Robert and I was sent a new topper within the next week. I found the quality of the topper cover to be very good as well. I would definitely shop from him again.
About the topper: Both the wife and I are very happy. This added the softness we needed and you can still fell the memory foam sink in slowly on compression. I’m now wondering if going full latex would have even been better. That being said, we’ll be making no changes as the current result is perfect.
Admittedly, I conducted a bunch of research online with most of my useful knowledge gained from this website. One thing I did not do is go out and test a bunch of beds at retailers to better understand what each type of mattress felt like. For anyone who is shopping for either a mattress or topper, my recommendation is to go out and test them as Phoenix and others have pointed out. Regardless of any return policy from an online seller, it isn’t any fun thinking about going through the return process unnecessarily. I was very lucky this ‘blind’ shopping experienced ended with such a good outcome.
Congratulations on your new topper! I’m glad that it worked out well for you and you are sleeping more comfortably. It’s also nice to know that you were provided good customer service and were able to get a replacement topper sent out quite quickly for your defective one.
