mattress shopping trip, and question for the pros

[phoenix]

Hi Vicky,

Thanks for taking the time to share your comments and feedback about Royal Bedding … I appreciate it

So my question for you mattress pros is an option I read about online (sleeplikethedead.com), that recommends buying a firmer innerspring mattress and using a topper (foam, latex or whatever) to make it as soft as you need it. That way the mattress will last longer as it will have minimal comfort layers to break down and form body impressions. A topper is cheaper to replace than a mattress. What do you guys think? Is this a viable option?

You can read my thoughts about buying a mattress/topper combination that you can’t test in person in post #2 here. As you can see it’s not something I would generally suggest either in terms of risk or quality/value unless there were no better options available to you.

I will be honest, I am not as enthused about the latex as I thought I would be. Nor have the Tempur-Pedics I tried out been all that. It’s just that all the stuff I read says that innersprings aren’t the best options for pressure-point relief, so I was trying to expand my options. Maybe I should go to the doctor to make sure I didn’t suddenly develop bursitis or sciatica or something in the 2 months I’ve had these crap mattresses!!!

There is more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between “support” and “pressure relief” and “feel”.

The type of support material in a mattress would be a preference and a budget choice but not necessarily a “better/worse” choice. Innersprings and latex can both make great support systems in the right firmness. There is more about innerspring support vs latex support in post #28 here and the posts it links to but I would choose between them based on careful testing and based on your preferences rather than on a predisposition towards thinking that one is necessarily “better” than the other.

Did you happen to try any of the other mattresses at Royal Bedding?

Phoenix