Soften a core from above or below?

Hello,

This is in regards to my dunlop zoned core, which is purportedly 31-35-31 ILD. It seems to have the sensation that the first 1-2 inches are really soft, but beneath that there is a board, or rather, it feels like it is bottoming out. I think this transition happens with a few inches remaining before it actually bottoms out. I tried sleeping on the bare core this way, and even my shoulders can feel this hard transition. Must be the “high compression factor” of the dunlop, or whatever you call it. I notice this hard transition even if there is a 2" 22ILD (probably too soft for me) topper.

My question is how to reduce this transition. One way is to put a thin layer of high ILD foam below the core, like ILD 40. I don’t want this layer to actually compress too much, lest it create a hammock effect. The other idea is to increase the thickness of the comfort layer. Right now, I am planning to get a 2" 28 ILD topper. I suppose I could use 3" of 28 ILD instead. This would actually be similar to Brooklyn Bedding’s #6 firmness for the total latex mattress anyway. My hips don’t stick out that much from my waist, so I don’t want to move too far away from the core. I don’t know if using the firmer 28 ILD topper instead of the 22 ILD will help smooth out this transition.

Hi beanbag,

There are really three ways to reduce the transition.

The first would be first to use a firmer topper with a higher ILD that was closer to the ILD of the core but this would give you a firmer sleeping surface. The second way would be to use a thicker topper of about the same ILD which would compress and contour more before “transitioning” to the firmer core. You could also add an extra inch or two of the same ILD to accomplish the same thing. Finally you could add a transition layer in between both layers with an ILD that was in between the top layer and the firmer support core.

While adding more thickness on the bottom of the mattress would make the support core a little softer … it would probably be the least effective method and would require more thickness to have a significant effect.

This would depend on the type of cover you were using. The Total Latex mattress uses a cover that is quilted with polyfoam and wool which would have a noticeable effect on the firmness/softness of the mattress compared to different types of covers.

Phoenix