Stuck in a Rut with Sleepys

[phoenix]

Hi bbmouse,

Challenging, but doable? I want to hit a mix and match homerun!! I would appreciate any recommendations for such toppers based upon the details provided below and where I might locally find and try such a wonderful addition.

It’s certainly challenging but also very “doable”. Post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to should help you choose a topper that works best for both you and the mattress you end up choosing and if you choose a supplier that allows you to either exchange for a different firmness level or return the topper then the risk of making a mistake or the trial and error process would be lower as well.

I note that as I’ve been sleeping on the 2-3" foam topper on my $70 self-inflatable mattress, there are times I wake up in a sweat. Although, I can recall that happening even on my GS Stearns mattress. I guess the older I get, this is happening more often.

There is more about all the variables and the different types of materials that can affect sleeping temperature in post #2 here but in many cases just changing your mattress protector or your sheets and bedding can make “enough” of a difference.

I should also mention that I use a platform (probably made of lacquered ply wood). The slats are very close together (less than an inch apart). It is solid though.

This sounds like it would be suitable for any mattress that is designed to be used on a solid non flexing foundation so you should be fine here.

Here’s my question: Given the direction of mattresses I believe will net me the best long-term results in this given situation: The firmest, no bells and whistles, no frills mattress. Would you stick with a coil mattress as the base to add the latex comfort topper to; or, exchange for a Tempurpedic or some other like foam brand (since they all seem pretty firm to me) as the base to add a better latex topper to? Although, I realize by suggesting any form of foam, Tempurpedic, memory foam, etc. selected from the only store option available, will be most likely be comprised of layer upon layer of inferior materials just waiting to collapse under my weight.

The weak link of a mattress in terms of durability will tend to be the comfort layers and not the support layers of the mattress and the type of support material or component would be more of a preference issue than a durability issue. It would boil down to how you feel about the “feel” of an innerspring vs other types of support cores (such as the polyfoam that is used in most memory foam mattresses). The “feel” of an innerspring is familiar to most people and they can certainly make a good choice but I would also test the mattress for motion isolation if that is an issue for you because some types of innersprings that use helicals to join the coils together can transfer more motion than others and more than pocket coils or foam support cores.

If you decide to consider any of the Tempurpedic mattresses I would choose the one that works best without a topper. Tempurpedic uses good quality materials in their mattresses and their biggest issue with them is not so much the quality/durability of the materials as the fact that they are not good value compared to other mattresses that use the same or better quality materials that sell for much lower prices. They would be an example of the first “exchange” strategy (buying a mattress that is suitable without a topper and uses good quality materials in the comfort layers). Because you are in the 200 lb range … I would tend to minimize the use of 4 lb memory foam which is a suitable density for most people but will be less durable for higher weights. This means that I would tend to look at the firmer mattresses in the Cloud series (which use less 4 lb memory foam) or in the Contour series (which uses 5 lb memory foam or higher which is a more durable material). I would also be aware that memory foam can sleep warmer than polyfoam or latex and while the Tempurpedic Breeze mattresses may sleep a little cooler than their other mattresses … the gel tends to have temporary benefits over the course of the night and once temperature equalize then some people may still have temperature issues if they are closer to the “oven” end of the “oven to iceberg” range. The advantage of a Tempurpedic (if you can call it that) is that you wouldn’t lose much or even any of your credit compared to choosing a less costly mattress.

I would also consider looking at some of their other higher priced mattresses that are closer to your credit to see if you can find out the specifics of the comfort layers because while some of these may be overpriced as well if you were buying new … they may use higher quality materials in the comfort layers and also be worth considering as a “stand alone” option … but only if you can confirm the quality of the materials inside them.

Sleepy’s also sells toppers so you could test specific mattress/topper combinations in person to get a better sense of the type of topper that would work best for you with one of their firmer mattresses or use it as a reference point if you decide to buy a topper somewhere else.

Phoenix