First off, thank you all for this site! This is a fantastic forum for people like myself who know very little about mattresses. I am currently in the market for a mattress topper in the price range of $400 and under. I currently own a hybrid latex/foam king mattress from about 4 or 5 years ago in which I spent a pretty penny on. However, its starting to wear and imprint a bit and most importantly I’m waking up with dull hip pain as I am a side sleeper. What I am looking for is a topper to relieve some of the pressure off my hips.
Recommendations very much appreciated and my budget again can go up to $400 which I know can be on the high side but I’m looking for the best topper solution without buying a new mattress. Memory foam? Gel? Latex? I have no clue which topper is the best for a side sleeper or density.
Oh I should add I weigh 170lbs. I think thats important for ild for latex? I don’t know this is where I need help. BowtothePhoenix is for all those responses from Phoenix I like reading the verbose responses hopefully he chimes in.
Phoenix recommended AZ Premium Mattress, they do a ton of mail orders. I bought The Talalay Gl firm response and I am very happy. Check out their site.
Robbie
This kind of dull pain can be from two reasons. The first is a mattress that is softening which can end up with your hips flexing beyond their “neutral” range. The second is that in some cases when the upper layers have softened and you are “going through” them more into a firmer layer below … then this can lead to pressure problems. The first is more difficult to “fix” because it is mainly a support issue which may require firming up the support of the mattress while the second in much easier because it is a pressure relief issue which can be 'fixed" with a softer topper.
A topper can work well and with better quality materials can even help with the first issue in the short term. This is particularly true of latex which even in a comfort layer and with softer ILD’s can be more supportive than other types of foam. As long as the support issue is not so bad that the flexible topper just follows and “bends into” any soft spots … then it can be a good idea … at least for a while.
It would help to know the mattress you currently have and it’s layering because what is under the topper may help identify what is happening and make a difference in what type and thickness of topper would be best.
I also agree with robbiev3 that Arizona premium has some very good value in latex toppers. There are also some very good options for a high quality memory foam topper if that’s the direction you choose to go. Post #4 here has some of the better sources for latex and memory foam toppers and of course there are other good choices as well depending on what you need. A forum title search on topper (you can just click this) will bring up lots of information about some of the choices that others have made as well.
I can tell you right now its a Spring Air Latex mattress from about 4 or 5 year ago. Looks like a 7" base with 3" topper. I definitely sink right thru to the second layer and hit the harder layer guess I really never thought about it that way. So, maybe there is hope?
I go through the top 3" inch layer like butter and I’m only 170lb. I was thinking of throwing a 3" 19 talalay on top bad idea? Should I go 28? Any help appreciated.
That probably explains it because the old Spring Air Nature’s Rest latex mattresses (if that’s what it is) had several inches of soft polyfoam in the mix in the comfort layers. Some of them had a polyfoam core with a mix of laminated poly and latex in the comfort layers and some of them had a latex core with the same poly/latex laminated layers on top. The ones with a eurotop had more of the polyfoam than the thinner models. You can see some examples in some of the pictures that are still hanging around the internet such as here. This particular model has 3" of polyfoam (the conforma foam) and another 3" of "hybrid latex’ which is also polyfoam with some latex enhanced form laminated to it.
If your mattress looked like this one … then a topper may “follow” the soft spots depending on how thick the softened foam is (there were many different models) but the latex will still even out the feel of the soft spots underneath it so it will still probably help to a degree … but it won’t be a long term or perhaps a great “fix”. It’s very difficult to fix a mattress that has become too soft.
I would probably tend to go with an ILD in between the two you mentioned (@ 24). 28 may be too firm for comfort and 19 may be to soft for good support especially with some softened foam underneath it. The thicker the topper the more you turn the softened foam into a deeper support layer which is not great. A thinner topper (say 2") is usually “safer” for alignment and even so it still may be an issue depending on how thick your model was. Did it have the eurotop like in the picture or was it a tight top? How thick is it? The law tag (if it’s still attached) may also give some indication of the amount of polyfoam in the mattress.
If yours had a latex core … it’s probably still good and if you were feeling adventurous you could open it up (mattress surgery) and carefully remove the comfort layers, replace them with a new layer, and then get a zip cover of the right thickness to go around it. The only difficulty would be to remove the comfort layers and you would need to do it very carefully and perhaps use a knife if it’s glued tight.
Thanks for the responses. Ok so I did some further digging unfortunately my tag is torn but I could make out the percentages of materials and the first few letters but not the entire names. It goes in this order on the tag.
10% Polye…
75% Polyu…
15% Blend / Inner…
Sorry that is all I could read. Also, the mattress has a very thick pillow top probably 5"? over a 8" base? After carefully examining the mattress it is holding up well similar to a spring mattress as in the center has great support and all around the edges but it indents in the two spots where we sleep. If I lay in the center it has great support. Hope this helps. If you think a mattress topper is a waste of time/effort for me and buys me little I can take the plunge and buy a high end mattress. Otherwise if I can get by I would like to try the 2" 24 ILD you mentioned. Although on mattresses.com I only saw 3" and no 24 ILD in Talalay.
Your mattress tag indicates that your mattress is almost all polyurethane and not latex at all. In other words … the model you have uses a polyurethane core (which is OK but doesn’t have the same value or performance as a latex core) but also only uses a small amount of latex in the comfort layers. The 10% polye… is likely polyfoam or polyester fibers, the 75% polyu… is polyfoam and the 15% blend / inner I don’t know but must be the latex (combined with something else). If this is latex (which is likely) then the 15% is by weight and by thickness would likely be about half of this which would mean in the range of an inch (.75% or 13" = .975").
What this means is that your mattress is likely to be at or close to the end of it’s life and that it’s really not worth doing any surgery or really taking any other more radical measures to extend it because it doesn’t have a latex core anyway and only a bit of latex in the comfort layers.
So a topper may provide some temporary improvement but won’t fix the underlying problem of the foam softening under the areas where you sleep. The areas that are not “used” as much like the edges and middle are still closer to their original firmness level. This also means that the hip symptoms you are feeling are more likely to be from overextension of the joint than coming into contact with a firmer layer (there is probably too much foam in the upper layers for this to happen even when it softens). If this is the case then some of the suggestions in post #2 here may be worth trying before you spend more money fixing the wrong issue, only partly fixing the right issue, or deciding on what type of topper to buy.
Arizona Premium has a 2" talalay topper here (and also carry 3" toppers). If you decide to order one of these … make sure you add a cover as these are “raw” latex.
Sorry to be the bearer of somewhat “bad” news.
