Hi Rosenthal311.
I am sure that given your experience with the Vi-Spring mattress (that you were mentioning in your previous post) you have now a few more data points as to what direction you wish to go with your new mattress, but I would do an internal checkup to make sure that anything you are considering does not come from a tendency to go with the pendulum swing from “too firm” to “too soft” and to test and have a detailed conversation with a trusted manufacturer or retailer that has your best interests at heart and sells their products based on suitability rather than profitability.
As you’re aware Nest is one of our Trusted Members here which means that I think very highly of them and that I believe that they compete well with best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency. You are correct that Nest’s Alexander Luxury Contour is a new 2017 addition to Nest’s lines. This mattress was designed to be quite plush and comes in a single firmness choice. From top to bottom the layers and specs are:
Comfort Layers:
- [li]1.5" x 2.5 lb. 2.5 lb. Copper Phase Change Gel Memory Foam (even though it is “an inch or so” this would be a little on the lower end on the Memory Foam durability scale that I usually recommend for the uppermost layer of the product which tends to undergo the most mechanical stress.
- 2" x 3 lb. Soft Energex Foam ( Energex is a high-quality polyfoam, one of the newer generation of what I term " high-performance polyfoams" and it is formulated to have different and more desirable properties than more conventional polyfoam and can approximate some of the more desirable properties of latex or memory foam (depending on the specific formulation). With their higher densities, they are all durable products.
- 1" x 4 lb. Visco Soft Memory Foam (this falls within the durability guidelines for your weight range)
Support layers
[ul]
[li]3" x 1300 Micro Coil System[/li]
[li]4" x High-Density Foam Edge Support Core (Usually 1.5 lb and a higher a IFD is good option for your weight range)[/li][/ul]
I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site but just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
As far as temperature goes, While it’s not possible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use (which in many cases can have just as significant an effect on temperature as the type of foam in a mattress) and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range and because there is no standardized testing for temperature regulation with different combinations of materials … there is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system.
Side sleepers generally need a bit more pressure point relief on the surface to accommodate the wider dimensional variances between the shoulders and the hips and the waist. There’s a bit more about different sleeping positions here .
in post #2 here. A good starting point for a good comfort layer for a side sleeper is 3" and then depending on weight, body shape, preferences, and the firmness of the support layers, to go up or down from there.
Good luck with your research and I’m looking forward to your feedback and any questions you may have along the way.
Phoenix