I have a 17 year old mattress from foamsweetfoam. My wife and I were about to replace it with a Helix Midnight Luxe, but then decided to see if the current one can be refreshed. I called FSF yesterday and they confirmed the specs of my current mattress: 3 3" layers- memory foam, medium (28 ILD)and firm (32 ILD) talalay latex. My wife is 5’2" 120lb combo sleeper. I’m 6’5" 195lb, majority back some side sleeper. Most nights we seem fine, but have had some hip / back pain.
The latex seems to be in good shape, but the memory foam seems to beyond its useful life (also no longer under warranty). They currently sell all Dunlop latex layers. I’m considering replacing with 1 3" medium soft (23 ILD) layer, or possibly adding 2 more and getting a new cover. If I add 2, I’d get an extra firm (37 ILD) base layer plus the new top.
Is there a real advantage for going with 12" vs 9"?They seem to indicate that the 12" is their best selling model.
Would be $450 each layer plus $450 for a 4-layer cover. $1350 total. But it would all be final sale since it’s separates. Alternatively I can buy a 3 layer new bed for $1700 with 17, 23, and 37 ILD layers and they’d give me the 4 layer cover. Then I can mix and match with my existing 2, and would be able to at least return the foam. They don’t take covers back.
They suggested I strip off the memory foam and sleep on the medium foam to get a feel for what it’s like.
Wow! 17 years, that is quite the lifespan from your mattress. You’re right that the memory foam is probably well passed its prime and needing replacement.
This really depends on your support needs. To steal some words from Phoenix… There are some comments about thickness and having more layers in post #14 here that should be helpful.
You certainly aren’t anywhere close to a weight range that would “need” more than 9" of latex to sleep well at night but depending on the specific design of the mattress and the layers inside it and where they are in the range between “princess and the pea” and “I can sleep on anything” there may be some people that would notice a difference and may “prefer” a thicker mattress.
This does seem to be an attractive option, given that you would have 2 additional layers to use should you need them and, as you pointed out, ease of returns and exchanges. However, Foamsweetfoam is very knowledgable and would be experts in helping guide you towards a great, new configuration.
But, if you’d like to do some additional looking around I’d say Arizona Premium and Sleep EZ (with their nifty mattress building tool that helps identify an appropriate configuration) would be good places to kick off.
This is a good idea. Dunlop is more dense than Talalay and, of course, has some different properties in comparison to memory foam. If you absolutely hate it, you’ll probably want to avoid 3" of medium Dunlop as your new comfort layer. If you like it, but find it slightly too firm, then the medium-soft you’re considering could be a good direction. Either way, this is a useful data point to have for your semi-DIY toolbox.
I hope I’ve given you some useful information here. Please do ask whatever questions may arise!
Thanks. This is useful info. We visited a showroom yesterday to try out different types of beds. My wife is very partial to memory foam, it turns out. She liked the Tempur-pedic pro-adapt models. I may just get a 3" tempur topper and stick it on top of the existing latex. Or get another brand, high quality memory foam.
Also, took apart my existing mattress to try the foam, we actually have the stiff latex in the middle above the medium. I’m going to flip those around to see how it feels. Found the tags on the sides, they’re 27 and 35 ILD as far as I can see.
It’s great you were able to do some testing. If you want, you can also do a split configuration atop your existing foam base assuming you’d prefer latex while she prefers memory foam. Or, if you’re looking to stick with memory foam, you may find the Alexander Signature or the GhostBedLuxe interesting options to consider.
Looking forward to any additional updates from your testing and troubleshooting.
A much delayed reply / follow up. We wound up purchasing a 3" Tempurpedic Supreme topper on sale for about $250. Replaced the memory foam in the old mattress. Wow, what a difference. Sleeping better since day 1. Firmer, but not in a bad way. We’re both happy with the choice.
