To start… I’m 6’5, 300 lbs. w/ extremely broad shoulders. My waist/hips are relatively “average” relatively speaking. Mostly I sleep on my side but love laying on my back to read. I’ve had a history of back issues. Nothing too serious, and most of the time I’m just fine. Generally I prefer a firm to extra firm and bouncy mattress. I like what I’ve got and it’s good enough for my back, I just want to add a bit more plush-ness without diluting the firmness of what I’ve got.
A couple years ago I ventured down the DIY rabbit hole. Went to a local mattress store to try latex mattresses to see what they were all about. I just couldn’t do the full latex. I missed the springs too much. I ended up going with 6" coils with 3" extra firm talalay from SleepEZ on top. For the most part, I love it. Every time I lay flat on my back on that setup, I absolutely adore it. My problem is that I tend to fall asleep on my side and with my current setup I wind up tossing and turning a bunch.
Thus far I’ve tried a handful of toppers. The closest I’ve got to being settled is with a simple 2" memory foam topper. But, occasionally I’ll wake up with a sore back. I take the topper off the following night and I’m good again. What I’d love to achieve, if possible is a setup where I’m not constantly fiddling with it. For reference, what I’ve tried already and discarded:
3" memory foam … Just way, way, too soft and caused back pain
2" sleeponlatex soft dunlop latex … too soft
1.5" Saatva high resilience foam … I kind of liked it but ultimately it felt too firm and I woke up stiff too often
At this point I’m debating a couple more options and I’d greatly appreciate an expert weighing in.
Would adding an additional 3" of firm talalay give me that ‘slightly more plush’ feeling I’m looking for? Or should I go for something like 2" medium talalay? I’m leery on the medium considering how much I disliked the 2" of soft dunlop. I realize they’re not the same, but I really sincerely love a firm mattress. And then lastly, I’m considering a combination 1" memory foam 4LBS with 1" Extra Firm Super Luxury Foam from foamforyou.com
Or is there another option I haven’t considered? Any input would be much appreciated.
Thank you!
This may be a dumb question, assuming everyone knows they need one, but are you sleeping with a leg pillow when you sleep on your side? I used to laugh at my husband with his various pillows he used to support various areas, until I tried a pillow between my knees for side sleeping. The pillow keeps your spine in line and would likely prevent back pain. I use a feather pillow because I don’t like a big puffy pillow for my legs.
Thank you for the response and suggestion. I’ve tried the pillow between the knees. I like it, but I’ve always wished the pillow was bigger… and thus I’ve been thinking about buying a body pillow for years now and have never done it. I can’t for the life of me come up with a good reason why I haven’t just done it. I guess this is my sign.
Thank you for the response. I looked at the firm Talalay toppers on your company’s site and see that the firm ILD is a bit lower than the company I bought the extra firm 44 ILD topper I’m currently sleeping on. I obviously don’t know much which is why I’m here. I tried a 22 (I think it was) and found it way too soft, which makes me think the 30-34 you have listed on your site might be a happy middle ground. But again, as a bigger dude who prefers a firmer feel, I can’t help wonder if something like 38 would be better, especially given my understanding that adding thickness to a mattress will decrease it’s firmness. Do you (or anyone else for that matter) have any thoughts?
For a minute I was thinking of just adding a second 3" extra firm topper with a 1" high density poly foam layer between them, figuring the added thickness alone would give me that slight bit of extra cushion I was looking for. Could anyone lend any insight on how this MIGHT feel?
Cameronv,
I think for a guy your size, I like the idea of you with a coil support layer. You didnt mention the type of coils or the gauge. I am not nearly your size 6’ 218(formerly near 250ish) and we like a firm mattress. Our mattress has 13.5g harden pocket spring coils. Remember, gauge of coil is not the only factor in a supportive coil, but it is a good place to start for a bigger guy like yourself. Not sure if you are focused on all natural materials, but over those coils, I would recommend and inch or so of HD 1.8lb or higher foam to aid in supporting the latex you decide for your comfort layer and keep it from intermingling with your coils. If you were to put a 36ILD above this start up build, you can then address, your final preferences for shoulders and hips. If you like that bouncy mattress, perhaps an offset innerspring in the 12-13g thickness (like an orthopedic style mattress) with a supportive boarder rod. It may sound old school, but you will get the support and bounce you are seeking. You can certainly use a firm talalay latex, but I would stay away from the viscoelastic memory foam. I think you will just sink and wear it out. Then over the latex use a layer of wool or cotton then your cover. I would try to stay away from the lower quality foams and memory foams (even though HD foam is still considered memory foam, there is barely any slow or quick response, just firm. I know you stated you like the HR foam, I am not so sure that is what was causing the stiffness, but I think you will do better with the firm latex. If you decide to use an offset style coil, you should go with a box spring. I am thinking for a guy your size, I like to go old school, with the talalay twist for comfort. Keep in mind that if you go with a firm dunlop it has a slightly higher support factor than the talalay so as you sink down it will feel a bit more firm than the identical ILD in talalay. It starts off about the same, but the more you compress, the more supportive the dunlop will feel, but you will lose the bounce of the talalay. I would think at your size, I might expect that to happen.
I guess it’s just me, but I prefer a queen size leg pillow. I always think a bigger one would get in my way, but you should try whatever works for you.
Wow. Thank you. I sincerely appreciate the thoroughness of your response. So, I already built this mattress a couple years ago. As it is currently, from the bottom up:
Keetsa frame
1.5 inch High Density foam base
6" L&P Caliber Edge Pocket coil 13.75 gauge coils
3" Extra Firm 44 ILD Talalay
2" Memory Foam topper that I’m constantly removing and then putting back on
For the most part, I’m really pleased with my current mattress. I like it better than most any other mattress I sleep on, and I do travel a fair amount. My issue is just trying to finalize the comfort layers. I came here wondering how to balance my abundant love for the 44 ILD latex while laying flat on my back, with my desire for the pressure relief/cradling feeling of memory foam while sleeping on my side. At this point it sounds like another firm (36-38) Talalay layer might be the way to go based on the feedback here.
If there was such a thing as slightly more responsive/higher density memory foam, I’d probably be happy with that. While doing research I read something about how micro coils could give that memory foam cradling feeling without the foam, but I’m having trouble sourcing any.
At this point, I think the only questions I have remaining are whether or not to go with with the 2" ArizonaPremium suggested versus another 3" layer of latex. I’ll take the word of the guy that works for the mattress company, but I am curious as to exactly why I should go with 2 versus 3 inches. Everything I read says a thicker mattress as well as thicker comfort layers are better for higher BMI individuals. My guess is the loss of firmness as the mattress grows thicker would be the reason to keep the top layer at 2 inches, but wouldn’t that be mitigated by using higher ILD latex?
So essentially you came very close to my suggested hybrid route. Instead of memory foam, perhaps a 1-1.5 micro coil layer, rather than memory foam. You may get better longevity! 3" of foam will be softer than 2", which is probably why he is suggesting it. Which i would tend to agree, to keep you from sinking too much, i think you would be happier with the not so ultra-firm latex in place of the memory foam.