Originally I was looking to do the 13" Height (I have a fairly low profile bed with a top-end Legg and Platt adjustable Base, I also think 13" looks better) with Soft T/Med D/Firm D/Extra-Firm D as the algo recommended. Me and my wife are both light-weight side sleepers. I am 5’7 and 140lbs and she is 5’3 and 110 lbs, mid thirties.
I am on an Avocado Green with Pillowtop and it is too firm. We are both getting sore necks, traps, and shoulders. I plan to return it. I’ve long slept with a Latex pillow and really enjoy it.
Then I read that adding a Soft Topper increases the plush, sink-in feel that you get from a pillowtop or memory foam. I like that. So now I am thinking of going with a 10" (instead of the 13") and adding a 3" Soft topper.
Should I go with 3" Soft Topper+ 10" Med T / Firm D / Extra-Firm D. That would equal the original thought I had of doing a fully enclosed 3" Soft T/3"Med D/3"Firm D/3"Extra-Firm D, but be a bit more plush?
Or should I do 3" Soft Topper on top of a 10" fully enclosed 3" Soft T / 3" Firm D / 3" Extra-Firm D (as the algo recommends if I were to do just a 10" mattress)
I plan to do split down the entire bed except for the topper so I can swap if needed.
Also can you comment on the difference of going Soft Topper with Stretch Cotton vs. Soft Topper with Wool? Would there be a noticeable difference between Soft Topper with Stretch Cotton + M/F/EF vs. Soft Topper with Wool + M/F/EF?
If the Soft Topper + 10" Med T / Firm D / Extra-Firm D ended up being too firm would I swap the M for another Soft Layer(S Topper/S/F/EF)? Or if it was too soft just rearrange the Firm on top of the Medium?
Thanks!!
Hello lavawm85 and thanks for the inquiry! I definitely think you’re on the right track with ordering it as a 10" mattress with 3" topper. My advice is to get soft Talalay as a topper, then medium Dunlop/firm Dunlop/extra firm Dunlop. If you end up needing another layer of Talalay you could always order it later as an exchange, but most of our customers do best with only one layer of Talalay and the rest in Dunlop because the Dunlop layers do a really good job of maintaining proper spinal alignment and avoiding back pain. We will recommend Talalay for two or more layers for customers that have things like fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic hip pain, chronic shoulder pain, or anything where they’re sensitive to pressure, or for customers that just prefer a bouncier / springier feel. Outside of those circumstances, one layer of Talalay and the rest in Dunlop offers a better chance to be successful for the average person.
I don’t normally recommend the wool topper because the wool first of all costs more, and secondly it makes the topper feel firmer. So you’re spending more money to do the opposite of what a topper is intended to do (make the mattress softer).
If you try soft/medium/firm/extra firm and it’s still too firm, the next softest step would be soft/medium/medium/firm.
Hi Sleep EZ,
If I could jump in with a question.
Why is soft/med/med/firm considered to be the next softest configuration instead of soft/med/firm/firm? At OP’s size, would the different in the bottom two layers be negligible?
Yes thanks for the extra question! That would technically be the next softest setup, but most people aren’t sensitive enough to notice the difference between a firm and extra firm layer, especially when it’s at the bottom of a 13" mattress. Of course I have talked to some customers that are sensitive to notice a difference and they end up trying and loving s/m/f/f.
This is another reason that I recommend customers split all of their layers (on queen size mattresses and larger) because it actually lets you try all of these combinations by borrowing layers from the other half of the mattress. So if someone tried s/m/f/xf and wanted it just a hair softer, I’d recommend they borrow a firm layer from the other side to try s/m/f/f. If the sleeper tries that and it’s still too firm, then they would try s/m/m/f. If they try s/m/m/f and it’s too soft, then the middle-ground between the two setups would normally be s/m/f/m or s/m/xf/m.
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[quote=“Sleep EZ post=91297”]Yes thanks for the extra question! That would technically be the next softest setup, but most people aren’t sensitive enough to notice the difference between a firm and extra firm layer, especially when it’s at the bottom of a 13" mattress. Of course I have talked to some customers that are sensitive to notice a difference and they end up trying and loving s/m/f/f.
This is another reason that I recommend customers split all of their layers (on queen size mattresses and larger) because it actually lets you try all of these combinations by borrowing layers from the other half of the mattress. So if someone tried s/m/f/xf and wanted it just a hair softer, I’d recommend they borrow a firm layer from the other side to try s/m/f/f. If the sleeper tries that and it’s still too firm, then they would try s/m/m/f. If they try s/m/m/f and it’s too soft, then the middle-ground between the two setups would normally be s/m/f/m or s/m/xf/m.
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Thank you. Appreciate the response.
[quote=“Sleep EZ post=91297”]This is another reason that I recommend customers split all of their layers (on queen size mattresses and larger) because it actually lets you try all of these combinations by borrowing layers from the other half of the mattress. So if someone tried s/m/f/xf and wanted it just a hair softer, I’d recommend they borrow a firm layer from the other side to try s/m/f/f. If the sleeper tries that and it’s still too firm, then they would try s/m/m/f. If they try s/m/m/f and it’s too soft, then the middle-ground between the two setups would normally be s/m/f/m or s/m/xf/m.
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I totally agree and I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t want to do this (assuming the mattress was large enugh for 2 people) since it provides so much more flexibility in the design and maintenance of the mattress over time.