This is my first post here. Thank you for such an informative website! We have a 10 year old Sleep Number king size mattress, and we are looking for a natural latex topper that will provide pressure point relief for my husband. He is 6’5" 190 lbs and sleeps mostly on his side. He’s looking to relieve pressure points on his hips. I am a 5’10" 135 lbs mostly back sleeper. My main concern is I do not want to sink too deeply into the topper. I have a disability and sinking into the topper will cause difficulty turning onto my side. Due to back issues, I keep my side of the mattress very firm, and I would benefit from a topper that will fill in the “gaps” such as my lumbar area.
After much reading on this site and talking to online retailers you recommend, we think a 3" talalay natural latex topper from Flexuscomfort.com is what we want. However, we are having trouble deciding whether their medium soft (22-24 ILD) or the medium (28 ILD) would fit our needs best. The topper needs to be firm enough that my husband won’t “bottom out” of the topper but soft enough to provide him with pressure point relief. (Their customer service told me we can make one side medium soft and the other side medium if that would work best.) Would you please suggest what firmness and thickness you think would fit each of our needs?
I don’t have any specific suggestions because unfortunately there isn’t a formula that can predict how well any topper will work for a particular person on a particular mattress with any certainty because there are too many unknowns and variables involved to make specific topper suggestions and because softness/firmness can be so subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual perceptions as well as the firmness/softness of your mattress which will also affect how soft or firm your mattress/topper combination will feel as well. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here).
Having said that … there is more information about how to choose a topper in post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to about firmness and thickness that can help you use your sleeping experience as a reference point and guideline to help you choose the type, thickness, and firmness for a topper that has the least possible risk and the best chance for success. It also includes a link to a list of some of the better online sources for toppers I’m aware of as well (including Flexus)
Outside of the firmness and thickness suggestions in the topper guidelines … when you can’t test a particular mattress/topper combination in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer such as Flexus that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specific options they have available based on the information you provide them about you and your mattress, any local testing you have done, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific toppers to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences than anyone else.