Sleep LIke a Bear and Recommendation for thickness of topper and cover

[phoenix]

Hi adriatic,

I see that under forum posts on latex toppers, you frequently mention Sleep Like a Bear as a site with a return policy (and plenty of choices). Also Brooklyn Bedding (for exchanges) and SleepEZ (returns). Why isn’t Sleep Like a Bear one of the manufacturers/stores listed as approved on your list?

Mainly for two reasons … one is that they don’t sell mattresses (at least yet) and the other is that the subject hasn’t come up in my conversations with Evelyn.

[quote]By the way, I bought a Simmons Beautyrest Black Ella Luxury Firm mattress from USmattress.com (they have an exchange policy minus $100 if you don’t like it after 100 day test). They give it a “4” for comfort level. It feels just a bit too hard for me and I can’t sleep on my side on it at all (only my back). I end up with hurting shoulders. And I’m a side sleeper. The comfort layers are:

Quilt: Top of Mattress
1" Gel Touch
1" Plush Comfort Foam

Comfort - Padding Layers
2" Euro Cool Foam
1/2" AirCool Memory Foam
1/2" Luxury Firm Comfort Foam[/quote]

Unfortunately this is mostly meaningless information (outside of knowing the type of materials in the mattress) because they don’t include any of the quality specs of the mattress.

Hopefully you’ve read the tutorial post here and the information and links inside it which includes the mattress shopping guidelines here which suggests avoiding major brands. I would never buy a mattress where I couldn’t find out the specs to identify any weak links in the mattress and make more meaningful comparisons to other mattresses.

[quote]Quilt - Top of Mattress
1" Gel Touch
1" Plush Comfort Foam

Comfort - Padding Layers
2" Euro Cool Foam
1/2" AirCool Memory Foam
2" Plush Comfort Foam

Correct Back Support System
Coil System: Veriform Advanced Pocketed Coil
1/2" Energy Foam
Coil Gauge: 13.5
Ventilated AirCool Foam Encasement[/quote]

This is also mostly meaningless information. The information you would need to make any meaningful assessments of a mattress is in post #4 here.

He doesn’t think it would cause problems with alignment, but it seems to me from reading all of your posts, that a 3 inch topper with be too thick and far away from the support of my mattress and would give me a back ache (esp. since I weigh 125 pounds).

There are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved to use a formula or “theory” that can predict what will work best for any person with with any certainty and different people will certainly have a different ideas about what may work best for each person. If you talk with many people you will probably get many different suggestions (often centered around what they sell). Your own personal experience is really the only way to know for sure which topper will work best for you in combination with any specific mattress. Thickness and softness also work together and 24 ILD is on the firmer end of the “soft” range particularly for your lower weight so it would be less risky than a 3" layer that had a lower ILD.

Also, I think I’d like to avoid wool for the cover as I tend to get exzema from wool. What material would you otherwise recommend for the cover? I want one that is cool.

A stretch knit cotton or viscose material (such as bamboo) that both wick and breathe well would both be a very popular choice that would have little effect on the feel and response of the latex. Even for those who want it, a wool cover with a topper is a little more difficult to come by … and of course is also more costly … although it would have better temperature regulating properties than a fabric by itself. It would also have a bigger effect on the “feel” and response of the latex than just a stretch fabric cover.

Phoenix