Hi Jtat84,
That’s good advice because 1 - 1.2 lb polyfoam is a low quality material and I would stay away from any mattress that includes more than “about an inch or so” of lower quality and less durable materials in the upper layers of the mattress.
Unfortunately the specs you listed don’t include the information I would need to make any meaningful comments about the quality or durability of the materials inside it.
If you can find out all the information listed in this article (including the type and thickness and density of all the foam layers) and post them on the forum listed in order from top to bottom or from bottom to top I’d be happy to make some comments about the quality and durability of the materials and let you know if there are any lower quality materials or weak links that would be a reason for concern in terns of the durability and useful life of the mattress.
You can read more about convoluted foam in post #2 here. Whether it is a low quality or higher quality material would depend on which type of foam it was but if it’s memory foam then it would be a lower quality material than I would be comfortable with and depending on its thickness and on whether there are any other lower quality materials it could certainly be a weak link in the mattress.
Although this can be a good strategy if you can test the mattress/topper combination in person before a purchase … you can see my comments about choosing a firmer mattress first with the intention of adding a topper later in post #2 here.
In most cases I would avoid this approach because of the uncertainty involved with two purchase choices instead of only one and choosing a topper that would be suitable in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) for a specific person on a specific mattress can sometimes be almost as difficult as choosing a mattress that doesn’t need a topper in the first place. I would generally focus on choosing a mattress that is likely to be a suitable match without a topper (again unless you can test the combination in person or you are purchasing both online as a set and they both have a good return/exchange policy) and then use the option to add a topper as a “backup” strategy in case your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for rather than a “primary” strategy.
It can also be more costly than just buying a mattress which includes the same materials as the topper as a layer inside the mattress itself and you would be avoiding the risk of having additional materials in your base mattress that you may not need or that may be lower quality foam (that can soften or break down more quickly) or that may be softer than what would be ideal for a transition layer under a softer topper. At the very least I would make sure that the topper has a good exchange or return policy so there would be less risk of buying a topper that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for in combination with your mattress. I would also make sure that you can find out all the specifics of the materials inside the base mattress so you can make sure it meets the quality/durability guidelines here and that there are no weak links in the mattress.
Having said that … if you do choose a suitable mattress/topper combination which turns out to be a good “match” for you in terms of PPP (and there are no lower quality materials or “weak links” in the mattress/topper combination then it would have the advantage of being able to replace just the topper without replacing the entire mattress if it softens or breaks down before the upper foam layers in the mattress (which is likely because a sleeping system will tend to soften or break down from the top layers down) or if your needs or preferences change over time and a topper can also help extend the useful life of a mattress underneath it as well.
Phoenix