memory foam layer over latex layer

[phoenix]

Hi beth620,

Thank you so much for taking the time to find the common thread in my mattress preferences. I really appreciate your effort. It’s good to realize that it doesn’t specifically need to be latex under the memory foam, but just a resilient material of some kind, paired with a thinner fast-responding memory foam layer. But another question about faster-responding memory foam: it seems less dense which makes me wonder if it’s poor quality and won’t last. What do you think?

You can read more about the factors that contribute to durability and the useful life of a mattress in post #4 here. I would tend to use memory foam in the 4 lb and higher range in most cases and I would lean towards 5 lbs and higher and start to reduce the amount of 4 lb memory foam once you go over about 200 lbs or so. 5 lb memory foam would be more durable than 4 lb but it may also not have the “feel” that many people are looking for … especially in lighter weight ranges.

I forgot to mention trying BedInABox in a local store and noting their foam is similarly fast less dense. Their website claims that their low density foam is a new formulation that is still durable. Do you think this is true, or just advertising? I’ve found most of the statements of mattress companies strike me as completely bogus, but this isn’t from one of the big ones…

I believe this is misinformation and you can see more of my thoughts about Bedinabox’s claims in post #2 here.

Before I drop the REM Paradise, do you have an opinion of that company and mattress? While it’s pricey for me, I’d consider it if there were another option at the same store in case I’m wrong and need to exchange, or if it were highly recommended.

I’ve talked with Randy there and he is knowledgeable and uses good quality materials in his mattresses but they are in a more premium budget range than other mattresses that use similar materials so I would make some careful value comparisons based on your own personal value equation before buying one. I agree that they are quite pricey.

Sorry to keep on going here, but I can never organize all my questions / concerns in the first try! I didn’t mention the heat issue, but I’ve also been seeking memory foam that’s only pressure sensitive and not heat sensitive. As a secondary benefit, I hoped it would be a kind I don’t sink as far into, but maybe that will be solved by having just a thinner layer with a resilient layer below.

All memory foam is heat sensitive … just to different degrees. There is more about the factors that can contribute to sleeping temperature in post #2 here.

You asked about location: I live near Sacramento, CA. I’ve looked at a past thread in which you recommended local manufacturers and small retailers, but noted while there are many around Sacramento, there’s little in it. I went to the close ones, including the Mattress Factory. I would consider them to get good quality polyfoam if I wanted to go the DIY route, but they weren’t interested in customizing anything for me. If you have any updated suggestions, I’ll check them out. I haven’t gone to the Bay Area yet, but perhaps it’s worth the drive.

This is probably the post you saw but just in case the Sacramento list is in post #5 here. I would do as much of your research on the phone as possible before making any trips.

Thanks for the suggestions including Restonic and Therapedic. The Restonic website doesn’t have much, but they mention some retailers nearby. Therapedic website has more, and has ones that look right for me. But they don’t seem to have a presence in California I’ll continue to explore the others.

Most larger manufacturers websites don’t include most of the mattresses they make and it varies in different areas of the country depending on the licensee factory that makes them. You would probably be better off calling stores to identify the general types of mattresses you are looking for based on general descriptions than trying to find specific manufacturers based on specific designs. These were just a very few off the top of my head that make similar mattresses.

Before I realized I could edit a my original post, I responded to it with more info about myself. I wonder if I should read anything into my memory foam topper experiment:
I’ve recently experimented with memory foam by adding a 2" memory foam topper to my current mattress, and I like it. It initially felt too soft, but either I’ve gotten used to it, or the colder weather has made it firmer. However, I’ve several times woken up with a numb arm, which never happened before adding the topper.
I raise this concern again because my mattress preferences are based on spending maybe 15 minutes on each mattress, and not a whole night, and they’ve evolved (over the last 4 weeks of shopping) to be quite different than my current mattress. I’m worried that maybe I’m completely wrong. I hoped to learn something from trying the topper, and I think I’m sleeping better, but the numbness is worrying. An additional detail is that I attempted to fill in the body impression at my shoulder with 2 layers of 1/2 inch foam from the local fabric store. The numb arm is right above this… Should I infer anything from all this?

I would need much more specific information about you and all the layers in the mattress / topper combination to make any meaningful comments. In general … accurate and objective testing using the testing guidelines will be fairly close to predicting your longer term experience in most cases and for most people within a reasonable margin of error that is close enough to use fairly minor fine tuning.

It’s possible that the foam you used to fill in the impressions is either too firm or is interfering with the response and compression of the layers underneath it. Numbness is generally an indicator of pressure issues in the area of numbness.

Phoenix