Got a very interesting sleeping experience on pocket coils Spinal Care firm mattress while visiting a friend, I think the mattress is called Sierra. First night felt fine, just a very firm mattress, but then after the second night it felt like I was sleeping on the plain rock, especially around the upper stomach (i’m the stomach sleeper), and I could feel each individual coil and all my bones were aching in the morning No back pain though. My friend laid on a mattress topper which she apologized was old and might feel a bit uneven, a regular 2 inch memory foam and what I think was some down layer on top of it, and it felt rather nice to sleep on that bed for two more nights. The shoulder/neck area felt like it can’t relax though, not sure if the age of the topper was an issue because I get that feeling often after sleeping in hotels and often use a towel instead of a pillow.
But after this experience I have a question: if I buy a very firm mattress to use specifically with the memory foam topper, should I avoid that feeling of “sleeping on the rock”, or even look for it to have better support for my back? And then “comfort” my bones with a right mattress topper? I love coils mattresses and initially liked that one, but the overall experience was a bit confusing and I’m not sure what to make of it.
My understanding this particular Spinal care mattress has around 800 pocketed (queen), twi-zone coils and 1.8 density memory foam in the top layer.
One of the challenges of buying a firm mattress and then adding a topper when you can’t test the mattress/topper combination in person is that choosing a suitable topper (or in your case choosing a suitable mattress) that is a good combination for you (different mattresses will affect the choice of topper that works best for a particular person) that can be almost as challenging as choosing a mattress that doesn’t need a topper in the first place because the only way to know whether the combination will be a good “match” for you will be based on your own personal experience (see post #2 here).
It can also be more costly than just buying a mattress which includes the same materials as the topper inside the mattress cover without the additional materials that would be in your base mattress that you may not need or that may be lower quality foam (that can soften or break down more quickly) or that may be softer than what would be ideal for a transition layer under a softer topper. At the very least I would make sure that the topper (or in your case the mattress) has a good exchange or return policy so there would be less risk of buying a mattress that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for in combination with your topper.
Having said that … if you do choose a suitable mattress/topper combination which turns out to be a good “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) then it does have the advantage of being able to replace just the topper without replacing the entire mattress if it softens or breaks down before the upper foam layers in the mattress (which is likely because a sleeping system will tend to soften or break down from the top layers down) or if your needs or preferences change over time and a topper can also help extend the useful life of a mattress underneath it as well.
Overall though … it can be a fairly risky strategy because you may need to make a few exchanges before you find a combination that works well for you.
Just for reference … it’s unlikely that a 1.8 lb foam layer would be memory foam and if the density is correct it’s more likely that it’s polyfoam.
Got it, thank you Phoenix! About memory foam is my mistake, and I’ll make sure to check with Spinal Care before buying anything. And about this feeling of “slipping on the rock”, does it mean that the coil system in the mattress is less responsive and doesn’t contour to my body well, or is it something else entirely?
No back pain though. My friend laid on a mattress topper which she apologized was old and might feel a bit uneven, a regular 2 inch memory foam and what I think was some down layer on top of it, and it felt rather nice to sleep on that bed for two more nights. The shoulder/neck area felt like it can’t relax though, not sure if the age of the topper was an issue because I get that feeling often after sleeping in hotels and often use a towel instead of a pillow.