If the TMU community will humor me, I’m going to provide my king-size hybrid build and see if anyone has any thoughts or insights (understanding that ultimately we’re going to need to take it for a spin ourselves).
Me: 6’ and 205/220 (carrying it more and more in the gut, sigh…)
side sleeper (due to snoring), but naturally a back sleeper
recurring lower back/soaz band pain (muscle/nerve(?) issues, spine is structurally sound)
Her: 5’ 8" and a fit 130
stomach sleeper (a little on the side)
We both prefer a firm mattress (but I need pressure relief)
From top to bottom (encased in wool/bamboo quilted encasement):
2 inch natural Talalay (soft 20 - 24 ILD) [contemplating going with a split soft/medium as one side may suit one of us better, or just going with medium across board if it’ll provide some pressure relief at my height/weight?]
3 inch natural Talalay (firm) [contemplating going with firm dunlop for added density and less bounce?]
two twin xl, 8 inch Texas Pocket Coil quad coil with edge support (on external sides) in 15.5 gauge
one inch of HD36-HQ foam
I am also switching my pillow to a CST medium pillow in the hopes that it will better support me as a slide sleeper.
I would be interested in any thoughts people have on my choices at this point. Given our historical preference for firm, I would rather err on the side of being firm. That said, I’m learning that latex “soft” is not the same as a “soft” traditional spring mattress. In other words, soft is not synonymous with unsupportive. And while I’m trying to keep the mattress at 15 inches or lower, I am wondering is going to a 3 inch top layer would be worthwhile (or if that would start to actually make things soft, if I didn’t sink into the firm later below?).
Yes!! This is so important. If soft isn’t right for your support needs, then it’s just not right. But, soft can be and is supportive for all kinds of sleepers.
At first glance your build looks decent to me. Do you already have these materials? Or are you wanting feedback on them first?
Either way, I think starting with soft is the right approach and then if it’s too soft, you know you can or need to go up to a medium.
It’s tricky, because that’s quite a lot of foam for your flat profile sleeping partner. I’d start with less and add as needed.
There are a few folks in the forum similar in size to you with DIY experience. I hope they chime in as well!
Thanks! I haven’t yet bought the components, so very interested in any thoughts other folks might have.
Could you please expand on your thought re the total amount of latex and how that might impact a flat sleeper? Was that more about the thickness of the soft layer, or soft and firm below? I appreciate any additional insight. Thanks again.
I just wanted to revisit this to describe the king-size DIY build I ultimately went with, as I definitely found it helpful when other posters did the same (closing the loop and all). We’ve only had the build completed for a week, but so far so good. Here’s what I did:
bamboo/wool encasement (APM)
1 inch of LUX-HQ foam (Foam Factory)
2 Twin XL 8 inch quad coil 15.5 with firm edges (Texas Pocket Coils)
1 inch layer of Shepherd’s Dream wool batting
2 inch natural talalay (one side firm, one side medium)
2 Twin XL vzones (one medium, one soft) (Flobeds)
Naturepedic cotton mattress protector
With the vzones, I rearranged the sections to try to better reflect a “zoned” build that CST provided for both me and my spouse.
For pillows, I purchased a king size talalay medium pillow (CST) and then purchased a lanoodle (Cozypure) with extra noodles and a wool bolus pillow (Woolroom) with extra wool. Following info from Maverick, I purchased some extra zippered pillow cases and then created two “mixed” pillows with lanoodles and wool bolus compartments. One reflecting a higher loft for me (side sleeper) and one for my stomach sleeping spouse. The talalay pillow is pretty thick and springy, which I liked at first, but it may ultimately be a little too high for me. I’ve been sleeping on my hybrid latex/wool pillow, and that’s been nice.
While my wife definitely thought I was insane for going down the DIY rabbit hole, I think she’s been pleasantly surprised with the results. As a lightweight stomach sleeper, I figured she’d be okay since it’s pretty easy to make sure she had a firm environment, and I’m thankful for CST’s advice to give her a softer zone for her stomach/chest/shoulders. With the soft vzone for my wife’s side, I just swapped the soft hip section for a medium piece at the feet section, so that I made sure her hips would be supported. I think my side is working for me as a side sleeper. I modified by zones shortly after I initially put things together, by swapping the firm latex piece at my stomach with a medium piece at my head.I don’t seem to be rotating as much as I used to with my old innerspring mattress, so that’s good. But I know one week is still a little premature to declare victory! But so far, so good. I appreciate all the information I was able to get from this site (reddit as well), from conversations with APM, CST, Texas Pocket Coils, and Flobeds. Everyone was very happy to field my questions, and I didn’t get the sense that they were offended/bothered that I was buying various components from other stores. Thanks!
I love that you closed the loop here – it’s so helpful to see the results, espcecially when one is this deep in the rabbit hole. I may not be deep enough into my research, but I’d love to know what propelled you to choose TPC coils (instead of perhaps ones from APM). Do you have input that you gleaned as to why one population likes TPC and one prefers APM coils? Thanks, again.
I cannot wait to have all of this behind me. I’ve nearly pulled the trigger on an online readily-made bed three times this week.
Agree that it is helpful to see how others have closed the loop! was initially concerned that the APM bolsa could might be too soft (and the combizone might be bad for side sleeping). Then I went further down the rabbit hole and learned about TPC coils. There was good video from mattress company on YouTube that offered thoughts about traditional straight line pocket coils and the quad coils being manufactured and sold by TPC. See here:
Once I talked with the company, learned more about the family-run business (and figured out that the cost would be roughly the same as APM), I decided the 15.5 gauge quad coils would be the one I’d buy.
If soft isn’t right for your support needs, then it’s just not right. But, soft can be and is supportive for all kinds of sleepers.