My jumping off--- starting point bed...Have a question.

[phoenix]

Hi euestride,

I am still curious and I am wondering if anyone can tell me what the firmness is of this mattress by the construction of it. IF they are telling the truth. Obviously I want something of higher quality and firmer because of weight etc but because it felt so good I was just curious as to where it lays in the spectrum of support/comfort layers.

This is what the picture I took said

Fabric: Bamboo with non-slip bottom
Upholstery: 1" Gel Memory Foam
1" latex foam
2" Memory foam
Core: 7" High Density Base Foam
Foundation: Triton Lite

No info on the density/lb

Unfortunately the polyfoam and latex don’t include any ILD or firmness information and the memory foam doesn’t have any density information so it’s really not possible to assess how firm it may be compared to other mattresses. There are also no standardized firmness ratings between mattresses or different manufacturer’s firmness “ratings” so a mattress that is rated as “medium soft” by one manufacturer could be rated as “medium firm” by another. The perception of softness and firmness will also vary between different people depending on body type, weight distribution, sleeping positions, and sensitivity to pressure so a mattress that is “firm” for one person may be “soft” for another. In the case of memory foam the ambient temperature and humidity can also affect the firmness. There are also different types or “definitions” of firmness that can affect some people people would “rate” the firmness of a mattress overall (see post #15 here).

The “bottom line” is that the only meaningful way to compare the firmness of your mattress to another one would be based on your own personal experience.

I have had little to no experience with memory foam and was shocked how much I liked it. The things I didn’t was…feeling trapped when I tried to move, knowing through friends the “heat” factor, and finally…with my bad hips and back …that other “activities” would possibly be much more difficult with memory foam.

This is a common complaint with memory foam because it has no resilience and is much more motion restricting than other more resilient materials such as latex which have more resilience or “bounce”. There is more here about memory foam and sex.

Your mattress only has an inch of latex so it’s not really a “latex hybrid” and would be more of a “memory foam mattress” even though the thin layer of latex would have a “small” effect.

There is more about how latex compares to memory foam in post #2 here but in very general terms more resilient materials such as innersprings, latex, and to a slightly lesser degree polyfoam, are all more resilient and less motion restricting than memory foam and have more of the “bounce” and “rhythm” that most people are used to with their “other activities” on a mattress.

The best way to know the difference between them or any other type of mattress would be based on your own testing and experience on some latex or latex hybrid mattresses locally so you can “feel” the difference in person. If you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know of any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area.

Phoenix