Thanks for an amazing forum. Read alot learned alot. Wanted to get some thoughts on the purchase that was made and see if it would work out. We did visit independent mattress stores, and found a great bed, however felt that the bed had too much play due to the innerspring system being used so if one of us moved the other definitely felt quite a bit of the movement. So background, i am 5’11 250 she is 5’4 120. I have back and neck issues due to accident. Below is what i purchased and wanted to get some thoughts
I purchased a king Barnhart Firm Mattress from costco, and am planning on adding a 3 inch 19ILD latex Topper from Amazon which would make it a plush mattress which is a good fit i believe for us side sleepers, links are below. This is what i have purchased, my other option was getting just the Stearns and Foster lakeshore luxury Firm mattress, which is a plush mattress, please let me know thoughts on which is better route, so i can cancel if needed.
The first place I would start your research is the tutorial post here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choices.
Outside of your own personal testing and experience for PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) a mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality of the materials inside it.
Unfortunately … neither of the Costco mattress descriptions you linked to include any meaningful information about the quality of the materials inside them so it’s not really possible to identify any weak links in either of them or make any meaningful comparisons with other mattresses unless you are able to find out the specifics of all the layers and components inside them (which is unlikely with major brand mattresses). In general I would avoid major brand mattresses or any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the quality of the materials inside it or where the odds are high that the quality/density of the material is relatively low (such as the polyfoam that is used in both of the mattresses you linked).
I would also tend to avoid purchasing a mattress with the intent of adding a topper unless you have no other options or have tested the combination in person because that introduces more uncertainty and variables than just buying a mattress alone that is already a good match for you in terms of PPP. If you do decide to go in this direction then I would first buy the mattress and use your personal sleeping experience along with the topper guidelines in post #2 here and post #8 here to decide on a topper that has the best odds of success. I would tend to avoid both of the mattresses you are considering.
The Ultimate Dreams Talalay latex topper is a good quality/value topper and Dreamfoam is a member of this site which means I think highly of their quality, value, and service, but it would be important that the firmness you choose is a good match for you in combination with the mattress you purchase. A topper can feel and perform very differently over different mattresses.
I should have mentioned this and apologies I did not I did try this combination at a local place that is on your list of recommended places and they had this setup where they had a firm innerspring and then a latex topper on top i think it was a 4" topper with 1" being foam. Hence that’s how I came up with combo of getting a firm mattress with a topper. And the bed was extremely comfortable and supportive it just had a lot of motion when you moved, thanks.
Did you try the topper on the same mattresses or just a “firm” innerspring (which may or may not be similar or even closely comparable to the mattresses you linked). Was the topper you tried the same type, blend, and firmness of latex?
I would also keep in mind that the topper you tried could be quite different from the topper you linked. The extra inch of polyfoam along with any differences in the type or firmness of the latex in the 4" topper will make a difference in how it feels and performs compared to the 3" topper outside of any additional differences between the mattresses that are underneath them.