Therapedic Backsense II Sheffield mattress on Wayfair

[phoenix]

Hi faeriefolk,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum!

First, thank you so much for all of the information that is provided here!

You’re very welcome.

We did everything wrong and the mattress quickly developed a dip in the middle and the topper skewed to one side.

The only thing you did “wrong” was purchase the product. The dip and shifting of the pillowtop panel are a result of the poor quality of componentry and construction of the product, and not your fault at all, so please don’t blame yourself. However, you will want to make sure that you have proper center support in your frame, as you mentioned dipping in the center, just to make sure that you have proper support in that area.

This time I am trying to learn as much as I can and maybe not get sold a lemon.

Great plan!

So I have been looking online. None of the out of the box mattresses are making me feel confident that the edges will hold up and the foam will not collapse.

There are some comments about edge support with foam mattresses in post #2 here and the posts it links to. All-latex mattresses will generally not have a firm polyfoam edge system glued around the perimeter, and while the edge will feel softer when seated, the latex will hold shape quite well. Steel spring edge systems are becoming quite a bit more popular in the industry and many manufacturers are going to these in place of the polyfoam edge systems. While an edge system does make the seating surface a bit firmer, the real benefit is to be able to sleep closer to the edge and have minimal roll off, effectively creating a larger usable sleep surface.

I am a plus sized person and I share the bed with my spouse who is also on the heavy side. In addition to that complication, I also have pretty severely arthritic knees.

I’m sorry to hear about your arthritic knees. Your topper hopefully is helpful with that sensitivity, and some people also realize relief with a small pillow being placed between their knees.

Having a higher BMI or weight presents special challenges and generally requires firmer materials (in the support layers especially). This could be firmer latex or innersprings (the type of support component would be a personal preference and in the right design either could be suitable) or even a zoned construction. The same overall guidelines apply with higher weights though that PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) along with using high quality durable materials that will maintain their feel and performance for longer periods of time are the way to make the best choices. Heavier people in general will need firmer and thicker comfort layers and firmer support layers than those who are lighter and because no materials will last as long with much higher weights the quality and durability of the materials and components is even more important than normal. I wouldn’t “rule out” any types of mattress and base your choices on your own personal testing. Post #3 here has more information and suggestions about heavier weights that is worth reading.

The key will be finding componentry that will be of appropriate quality for your specific situation, which will then give you the best chance at have a successful comfort life, so I would always make sure that you find out the information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components. For those in a higher BMI range, there is more information about selecting a mattress in the durability guidelines here. Specifically, if your BMI is 30 or higher:

Higher BMI ranges will need more durable materials and components in a mattress and in a BMI range of 30 or higher I would include any 1.8 lb polyfoam or 4 lb memory foam as a “lower quality/density” material (relative to a higher BMI only) and minimize their use to a total of “about an inch or so or less” in the mattress.

Polyurethane foam: If your mattress is one sided then I would look for 2.0 lb per cubic foot density or higher. If the mattress is two sided then I would use a minimum density of 1.8 lbs per cubic foot or higher.

Memory foam (or gel memory foam): If your mattress is one sided then I would make sure that any memory foam is at least 5 lb per cubic foot. If the mattress is two sided then I would use a minimum density of 4 lbs per cubic foot.

We currently have a 2.5 inch latex topper on our sad old mattress. It is keeping our mattress usable for now. We love the topper and will continue to use it on our new mattress.

Latex toppers can be excellent at pressure point relief and at providing durable surface comfort. There would be nothing wrong with continuing to use this on a new mattress.

I found the Backsense II mattress by Therapedic on Wayfair’s website. It has some of the qualities that I am looking for and the price is reasonable. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any information about this mattress anywhere else on the internet. Wayfair gives some pretty basic stats, but they don’t even seem to be sure if all of the mattresses in the line are flippable or not. They give no details on the density or thickness of the poly foams used. I checked the Therapedic website, and they listed the Backsense, but I couldn’t find anything about the Backsense II. I have asked Wayfair for more information and if they reply with anything useful I will share it. I am wondering if you have heard anything about this mystery line of Therapedic mattresses?

You’re correct, the “specifications” provided on the Wayfair site are anything but specific, and there is no meaningful information provided about these products. Both are two-sided (the information about the Plush not being reversible is incorrect). I checked with Jeff Scheuer at Mattress To Go, who is a large Therapedic dealer, and he confirmed that there are many different Therapedic licensees and they will create specialized lines for larger retailers, such as Wayfair, and these beds will quite often be different from the typical national Therapedic lines, so you won’t generally find these specification on the national Therapedic site. And generally speaking, the only line that Therapedic makes that would have componentry appropriate for people with a larger BMI would be their MediCoil HD line, and even though he isn’t aware of the specifications of this line offered by Wayfair, he doubts that it would contain foams of the appropriate density for your specific needs.

I’ll be interested in learning about any additional information that Wayfair might be able to provide you, but until you can get confirmation of every layer within the mattress and the density of those foams, I would “put on hold” considering this product. I’ll be happy to comment upon anything else you’re able to find out from Wayfair.

Also, will the addition of the latex topper give the foam comfort layer a longer life span?

While the uppermost layers of foam go through the greatest mechanical stress, they won’t make up for lower density foams beneath them, so you’d still want to look for something appropriate for higher BMIs like I linked to earlier in this reply.

One final question. If I buy a mattress from this line, they offer a 13" firm and a 14" plush mattress. I understand that thicker, firmer mattresses are better for plus sized people. The number of coils is the same on both mattresses. (858 on the queen). Would the comfort layers on a plush mattress be more likely to compress or would the thicker mattress be a better choice?

People with higher BMIs often do better with thicker layers of higher density materials, but a higher density foam doesn’t necessarily translate into a specific level of plushness. The level of overall softness would come down to your own personal comfort preference, and the thickness is more a by-product of the overall mattress design and comfort that the mattress company is attempting to achieve with that particular model.

I’ll be interested in learning about any other information you’re provided by Wayfair.

Phoenix