It depends on which mattress/topper combination provides you with the best PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) on a specific mattress for a specific person and personal preferences are only one of the “P’s”. You may “like” the subjective “feel” of a certain topper but the combination of the topper, your mattress, and you may still not provide you with the Support/Alignment or Comfort/Pressure relief you “need” (these are “needs” not “preferences”).
There are hundreds of different versions of memory foam and each individual supplier will be more familiar with their own products and how they compares to each other and the other types of memory foam in the market than anyone else(there is more about the differences between different types of memory foams in post #9 here and post #8 here).
I’m happy to help with “how” to choose but the specifics of “what” to choose will depend on all the many variables that are involved and there isn’t a formula or “theory at a distance” than can predict the best choice for you with any certainty.
You can compare the “quality/durability” of a product based on its type and density but that has little to do with the feel and performance of a specific type of memory foam and outside of the guidelines I linked, a conversation with an experienced and knowledgeable online retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and that can give you good information about what they sell is your best source of guidance. If you are still uncertain after that then their return or exchange policy may also be an important part of your personal value equation. Each person can be very different and what works perfectly for one person may now work well at all for another with a different set of circumstances, needs, or preferences.
While it’s a common belief with consumers that there is a “formula” that can predict the “best” choice with some certainty … there are just too many variables and unknowns for this to be possible and the knowledge and experience of a manufacturer along with their return or exchange policies can be among the most important parts of a successful topper purchase. Once you know how to eliminate the worst choices or the choices that are most likely to be unsuitable for you and you know how to make meaningful comparisons in terms of quality/durability … then only you can decide on which choice is “best for you”.
Outside of the members here (which jankc suggested and which I specifically recommend) … the previous link I included in my last reply with the topper guidelines also links to a list of some of the better online topper sources I’m aware of.
I’m a side sleeper mostly. I do like the doughy response of denser memory foam. I’m going to be getting a Spa Sensations 6’’ Memory Foam Mattress, as it’s within my budget. The layer specs are as follows:
1.5" memory foam-2.5lb density
4.5" comfort curve air flow HD base layer
1.5" memory foam-2.5lb density is hardly memory foam at all, but I’m hoping it will serve as a decent base for a high quality topper.
I would want to know the specifics of the HD base layer but this mattress already has a significant strike against it with the 2.5 lb memory foam which is a very low quality material and even with a high quality topper (and depending to some degree on the quality/density of the polyfoam base layer) it would likely still soften more rapidly underneath a topper which could lead to the premature loss of comfort and/or support that isn’t covered with a warranty. I personally wouldn’t consider this to be a good option with or without a topper and for me the “cost” of this type of purchase (outside of the purchase price) would be much too high unless you are one of the fortunate few that can sleep on anything without any symptoms or discomfort (in which case you wouldn’t need a topper at all) and you are comfortable with a mattress that isn’t likely to maintain it’s comfort and support for very long.
I would also tend to choose a mattress that has high odds of working well by itself without a topper because choosing a topper that would work well for you on a specific mattress can be almost as difficult as choosing a mattress and adds a second variable that can be much more difficult than buying a mattress only where there is only one variable to consider.
I personally wouldn’t consider a mattress where the quality was this low (even in the lowest budget ranges) and I think you have better options available to you.
Answering this would require a book on mattress theory and design because there are too many variables and “it depends” in any answer. If you are considering designing your own mattress vs buying a design that already has a track record and is already “proven” in the market or that you can test in person then I would first make sure that you’ve read post #15 here and the posts it links to so that your expectations of success are realistic and that you are comfortable with some trial and error and any costs that can be involved with the mistakes you may make along the way.
Your own personal testing or experience is the only way to know with any certainty whether a specific mattress design and combination of materials will be suitable for you. Outside of this your best chance of success with designs you haven’t tested are more detailed conversations with an online retailer or manufacturer that knows more about the combinations of materials they use in their specific designs than anyone else and/or has a good return policy if the choice you make is not as suitable for your needs and preferences as you hoped for. Post #2 here has more information and some links to some of the sections of the site that may be useful but these are only generic and not specific to any person.
I personally don’t trust the accuracy of the specs they provide. You can read more about Foam By Mail (FBM or the other names they use) in this thread along with post #2 here and post #2 here.
In general … 2.8 lb polyfoam would be a good quality and durable material but of course the density or durability of a material has little to do with whether it would make a good choice in terms of PPP because durability and density have little to do with softness or firmness or how a material “feels”.
I ordered 3" 4lb and 2" 5lb… I receive both in 4lb
They lost memory in a couple weeks
I ordered custom sizing and the cuts were sloppy. (I’m a furniture designer and cutting foam is not that difficult.)
BUT
I did like their terry cloth cover.
I used that polyfoam in a 5". I do know is it was pretty dense. Itt seemed fine when the top layers had good memory. When the memory gave from the 5" top layers, I could feel the stiffness of the poly underneath. This I did not like. But I wonder if it works more synergistically with a proper 5lb top layer
Rather than spending weeks or months or longer to learn mattress design theory and then still having to go through what could end up being a significant amount of trial and error that can be involved in translating more generic theory into your own personal experience … I would tend to work with a reliable supplier that already knows what you would otherwise have to learn or at the very least base your design on one that is already proven with customers that are similar to you and has higher odds of success. If they also have a good exchange or return policy then it can also save you the cost of mistakes and not being able to return a material or layer you have purchased that doesn’t work out well for you.
It will be a twin. Budget tops out at 300. Brooklyn Bedding seems to have good memory foam from what I’ve read, and they’re a member on this site. I’m looking for support foam. One thing I’m thinking about is what layers would work, such as the following stack.
HD polyfoam, then 2" 5lb memory, then 2" 4lb memory
I’m a side sleeper so I’ve read here that 4" comfort layer might be a good thickness. I was thinking 4lb followed by the 5lb as a transition to the HD poly.
Are you set on memory foam? I think that finding a quality memory foam mattress would be hard with your budget. Also diy bedding can be very costly and time consuming to make work right. You should search for people making their own beds and see what has worked and not worked for them and compare your sleeping preferences with your height and weight.
One thought is to use something like a tuft and needle mattress as a base. It should be somewhat comfortable and then talk with brooklyn bedding to see if 2 or 3" topper would be better based on what is going on with just laying on the tuft and needle. I think you could do that within your budget. Let me know if you want a coupon code for tuft and needle. I have one that is a little better than the mattress underground forum one.
I tried building a bed with foam from FBM, and I just could never get it right.
A component memory foam mattress like this may be worth considering either as a blueprint or as a purchase and you would have the option of rearranging both the comfort layers and the support layers to customize the firmness.
Brooklyn Bedding also has the option of exchangeable memory foam comfort layers (see here) which may be worth considering.
Both foam companies may have good suggestions on mattress building. They both have 1.8+lb poly foam. They both have memory foam also, which may be cheaper than Brooklyn Bedding. Keep us posted on what you decide to do.
As jankdc mentioned … both foam suppliers will likely be able to give you some good suggestions and information about their foams and you can use the suppliers in the mattress components post I linked earlier as value references as well.
I’m also looking forward to finding out the details of your final design and seeing how it works out for you.