In most cases … it’s the quality of the materials that are used inside most of the mainstream pillowtop mattresses that are the biggest issue … not so much the pillowtop design itself.
There are really two strategies here. One is having separate mattresses that are placed together side by side as a way to accommodate your different needs and preferences. The other is the strategy of buying a mattress and then adding a topper afterwards.
The first strategy is one of several that you can use that can accommodate couples that are in different weight ranges. There is more about this and some of the others in the first part of post #2 here.
The second strategy of adding a topper on top of a mattress can be a little risky because choosing a topper that is suitable for each of you in combination with a specific mattress can sometimes be almost as difficult as choosing a mattress in the first place (see post #2 here). Of course if you can test the mattress/topper combination in person with both of you on the mattress before you buy either one then the risk of making a “less than suitable choice” would be lower. If you choose a suitable combination the strategy can be a good one because as you mentioned you can replace a topper without replacing the complete mattress but the challenge and the risk involves making the most suitable choices for each of them.
There is more in post #13 here about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase but in terms of quality and durability … the only way to know this for any specific mattress is by knowing the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer or who made it (see this article). Many of the Amish made mattresses and foundations though do use good quality materials but knowing this for any mattress is always a matter of knowing the specifics about what is inside them.
I see what you are saying about a separate topper. At Verlo we were able to actually test it and ascertained that 2 1-inch layers worked very well and offered flexibility. But it would all be entirely different on a different mattress.
I think I am just trying to safeguard against a mattress going bad. Experience tells me that; everything feels great at first, until you get it home and sleep on it for a while and that; even the floor works if you have a nice cushy layer on it.
I sound like someone who has had too many sleepless nights.
Thanks for the additional links.
This is where we are headed next.
(https://themattressexpert.com/ Online retailer but they are partnered with https://www.homemattresscenter.com/ in Wilmington, New Castle, and Newark, DE where you can test some of their mattresses.)
This is exactly why its so important to know the type and quality/durability of all the layers in a mattress (see this article and the guidelines it links to) so you can make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress that will soften or break down much too quickly relative to the price you paid.
Lower quality and less durable materials can feel exactly the same as higher quality and more durable materials in a showroom because you can’t “feel” the quality or durability of the materials in a mattress … they just don’t maintain their properties nearly as long.
Just make sure you call them first (or any retailer you plan to visit) so you can confirm that they are willing and able to provide you with the specific information that you need about the materials in any of their mattresses you wish to test because if you visit a retailer that either can’t or won’t then you would be wasting the time you spent there no matter how any of their mattresses feel to you.
Okay, thanks, I will keep you posted. By the way, I have so many tabs open on my laptop from all the posts on your site that I want to keep fresh in my mind that it’s almost unusable! And it’s been this way since the day I found you! I can’t wait until this is over and I can have my laptop back. : )
I can certainly understand this … yesterday I was working with over 400 tabs and that has only gone down to 353 that I have open at the moment. It’s a cause for celebration if I ever get down to less than 100. I’m very grateful for the “restore previous session” option when my browser crashes.
The problem with my situation is that buying a mattress won’t change the number of tabs that I keep open but I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding so at least one of us can use their computer for something else besides researching mattresses :).
I have deleted your post because it was strictly promotional, didn’t contribute to the forum, and violated the “self promotional” rules of the forum. Future posts like this will result in the revocation of your posting privileges on this forum.