Does the mattress thickness (7’, 9", 10", etc.) make a difference in comfort or durability? Trying to determine which thickness to go with.
Hi Runnerme,
The thickness of a mattress is just a side effect of the design and by itself isn’t particularly meaningful because whether a thicker or thinner mattress would be better or worse for any particular person will depend on the specifics of the material (type, firmness etc) and on how all the layers and components in a mattress interact together. The thickness of individual layers or the mattress as a whole is only one of many specs that are used to make different mattresses that perform and feel differently from each other and that makes a particular mattress suitable for one person and not another.
The height or thickness of a mattress by itself also makes very little difference in terms of quality or durability and is always much less important than the quality and durability of the materials inside it. If a mattress is thicker but uses larger amounts of lower quality and less durable materials than a thinner mattress then it would be less durable and can often be a problem waiting to happen with premature impressions and foam softening. This is one of the reasons there are so many durability issues with many of the pillowtops and eurotop mattresses that are made by the major manufacturers. Thicker layers of lower quality materials can add to the cost of a mattress but can often cause even bigger durability issues than thinner layers of the same lower quality materials.
If a mattress uses only high quality materials then in some cases a thicker mattress can be beneficial for some people … especially for higher body weights … but this is only if the mattress uses good quality materials that won’t soften or break down too quickly and there are no weak links in the mattress. There is more about the effect of thickness in post #14 here but there is nothing that is inherently “better” about a thicker mattress unless that specific mattress is a better match for you than a thinner one.
There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses but regardless of how thick or thin a mattress may be … the most important part of the “value” of a mattress is how suitable it is “as a whole” for your particular body type, sleeping positions, and preferences in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) regardless of the thickness of any individual layers or components or what they end up adding up to in the mattress as a whole.
Phoenix
Thank you Phoenix for the information. I think I’ve narrowed down to purchasing a latex mattress from either SleepEz or CozyPure. We’re hoping to test out the different layer configuaration at Savvy Rest in Vienna, VA to determine the layers to purchase. This site has been tremendously helpful so thank you, thank you, thank you but yes searching for a mattress can be information overload, especially for a sleep deprived mother of 2 (under 2yrs).
Hi Runnerme,
You are certainly looking at some great options and I would make sure that you take the time to have a more detailed conversation on the phone with each of them so you are knowledgeable and comfortable with all the many options that each of them has available.
I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding 
Phoenix