Mattress vs topper vs?

Hi mattressbuyer1 and welcome to the Mattress Underground :slight_smile:

Even for a few years, any mattress you decide in will be based on your Stats (height, BMI, sleeping position(s) and any underlying health concerns) and your PPP (posture & alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences).
You might want to take a look at the Mattress Shopping Tutorial to see how to find a great mattress outlet, as well as the Mattress Specifications You Need To Know and compare these to the Mattress Durability Guidelinesto see how certain materials will last over time.

Without your Stats, it’s difficult to asses the mattresses listed; the Beautyrest Harmony Lux Diamond medium queen has a high profile of 14.75", with comfort layers consisting of InfiniCool® Lux cover, 3/4" SurfaceTouch™ Gel Memory Foam, 1" RightTemp™ Wave Foam,1/2" Firm Comfort Foam, 1" Micro Diamond™ Memory Foam, and 2" Medium Comfort Foam, and T2 Pocket coils for support. Like many of the ‘big brands’, there is little transparency for the components, with proprietary foam formulas which have no information on density,
Making it especially difficult to assess for suitability of durability of any sleeper regardless of their Stats. Likewise the Helix Midnight Lux, at 13.5", has a Tencel or Glacio Tex cover, Responsive foam and copper gel memory foam comfort layers, MemoryPlus foam transition layer, with 1000 ct zoned coils of unknown gauge and thickness, and Duradense foam base. Again, many proprietary foam names with no details on composition. You can read more about the properties of memory foam from @Phoenix in this post.

If you are set on a memory foam mattress, we suggest any foam in a potential mattress has no more than an inch or so of lower grade foams (for memory foam no lower than 4 lbs/cuft for normal range weights, and 5lbs/cuft for higher range weights) and if polyfoam is used, with at least 1.8 lbs/cuft density, just to ensure you have support.

For your budget - $1700 max but closer to $1000, many of the [Trusted Members] of the site offer memory/gel/polyfoam hybrids that are within your price range… GhostBed offers the GhostBed Flex 13" gel & memory foam hybrid that’s on sale at just under your max budget limit, and Texas Mattress Makers and Beloit Mattress Co. offer a number of memory foam hybrids at $1000 or less.

I would caution against a ‘cheap’ bed with a topper, as any memory foam mattress with an excess of inexpensive foam can prematurely ‘break down’ leaving worn areas which can cause muscle aches and pains and even alignment issues…you would be best served in finding a compatible good quality mattress that will hold up for the time you are art you’d current living space. I wish you success on your mattress search!

~ Basilio