Any thoughts? I saw that Lucid is not great from reading here, for some reason. It is thicker, which i presume is better, and also has gel, which is cooler (i get hot)
I figure memory foam is a good option since its so popular/touted.
There are many reliable sellers that are selling good products on Amazon and there is nothing wrong with purchasing from them, provided that you inform yourself and make sure that you find out the information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials to the durability guidelines here. Because you are looking at a low budget range topper you may be forced to make some tradeoffs between quality and value and generally speaking inexpensive toppers are usually made from lower density foams which will soften more quickly and would entail a shorter useful life of the product. On the other hand you may feel comfortable with spending less and getting whatever life span and comfort the product has to offer.
It is always good idea when choosing a suitable topper to take into account the mattress it will be placed on as these both work hand in hand to give you the pressure relief and posture alignment you need and you will need to choose the thickness and softness that has the best odds of working well for you.
Assuming that the mattress on which the topper will be placed is still in good condition and has a reasonably flat and evenly supportive surface (no significant impressions or soft spots) then a topper can work very well to improve pressure relief and what I call “secondary support” (the type of support that fills in the gaps in a sleeping profile and is connected to the comfort layers rather than the support layers of a mattress).
Because your primary sleeping position is on your side you probably have a greater differential between the waist and shoulders and may need thicker and softer upper layers than body types that are “straighter” to allow you to sink in a little more deeply in the wider areas and “fill in” and help provide secondary support for the gaps in your sleeping profile.
On the other hand, if your mattress has softer support layers or already has some layers of softer foam in the comfort layers, then it will generally need a thinner topper than a mattress that has a firmer support layer or where there is already less softer foam in the comfort layers. Too much softness or thickness in the upper layers of a sleeping system (the comfort layers and topper combined) can be risky for alignment. There is more information about how to choose a toper in post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to.
While other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful … I would always keep in mind that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and I would be cautious about using anyone else’s suggestions, experiences or reviews on a specific mattress (either positive or negative) or review sites in general as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you. In many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range). In other words … reviews or other people’s experiences in general won’t tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).
The 3"Memory Foam in the Lucid topper is manufactured in China and you can see my comments about mattresses and materials imported from Asia and China in post #6 here The main reason for concern is that these materials may have been compressed for long periods of time in either shipping or storage before being purchased, which in my opinion makes this a more risky purchase.
If the product weights on Amazon are correct, the Dreamfoam bedding topper has a slightly higher density than the Lucid topper, and their foam is CertiPR-US certified and made in the USA. Lucid doesn’t list whether their topper is CertiPUR-US certified or not - some of their foams are.
A thicker topper does not necessarily mean that it is “better” as the thickness and other topper specifications have to be assessed against your sleeping position, the mattress or support that you have under the topper, your personal preferences and sensitivities to different foam properties, and all the other interrelated variables. Even with the new generation of Memory Foams gel infused and that are a little more breathable they still tend to sleep hotter than other foams that are available. You can read more about the pros and cons of memory foams in this article
There are so many different types, qualities, and properties of the many types of memory foam that knowing what you are buying depends on the knowledge and description of the merchant you are buying from. It is also often the most mislabeled type of foam and low density or uncertified memory foam is being sold everywhere with descriptions that are misleading or in some cases completely wrong. They are also more widely available because they are a common topper material and only used in comfort layers and never used as part of the support system of a mattress.
“Popular/tauted” or not I would be very cautious basing my choices on the opinions of other people as this is one of the biggest mistakes that consumers make – relying on the experiences of others and assuming that these would somehow be an accurate indicator of the applicability of a particular product to themselves. There are simply too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved in choosing a mattress or topper for someone else to make specific suggestions based on specs or theory at a distance that can possible be more accurate than your own careful and objective testing.
