Hi Relaxation,
You have asked questions and I have replied in number of different topics on the forum and it would be helpful if you could keep them all in a single topic so I can find your previous comments and questions and my replies that may be relevant to your questions here more easily.
For the sake of clarifying where you are now …
Based on your posts here and here … I understand that you are currently sleeping on a 25 - 27 two sided year old Aireloom that has an innerspring (probably a pocket coil) and cotton comfort layers. This is on a hand tied box spring. You have also mentioned that the mattress is too heavy for you to flip or rotate. Is this all correct?
Also based on your previous comments … your mattress has developed impressions and you are no longer sleeping comfortably and you are considering a topper to extend the life of your mattress instead of buying a new one. Is this also correct? If it is two sided and you can flip and turn it then this may also make some difference and help even out the impressions in your mattress.
With the type of mattress you have the box spring is generally an important part of the total sleeping system and can make a significant contribution to the feel and performance of the mattress and without it your mattress would feel much firmer (as you have indicated it does when you put it on the floor).
Is your box spring still in good condition and with a flat and evenly supportive across the whole support surface without any obvious soft spots or impressions (see post #2 here) then it would probably be a good idea to keep it.
A platform bed would be very similar to using your mattress on the floor so if you can’t make the mattress work on the floor then it most likely wouldn’t work for you on a platform bed either.
So the options you have are either …
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Adding a topper with your mattress on the box spring.
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Adding a topper with your mattress on a firm non flexing support surface similar to the floor.
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Replacing the mattress completely after 27 years (it may well have reached the end of its useful life)
Which of these would be best for you would depend entirely on the condition of your box spring, the condition of your mattress, on whether either of the first two options would be a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) and on the specific symptoms you are experiencing on your mattress now and how they change (either get better or get worse) with each of the options you try.
Adding a topper is generally only a good idea if your sleeping system (either with the box spring or on a firm non flexing support system) is in relatively good condition and has a reasonably flat surface and doesn’t have any significant impressions or soft spots on the sleeping surface so that the only issue you need to “fix” is that your mattress is too firm and you need to add some additional “comfort” or pressure relief. If you add a topper to a mattress that has either visible or virtual impressions (soft spots) then the topper will only tend to “follow” the impressions underneath it and may not be an effective “fix” for any alignment issues you are having.
Unfortunately you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress/topper combination and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to recommend a specific topper for someone else based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” with any certainty (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here) and it may take some experimentation and trial and error to find the type, thickness, and firmness for a topper that works best for you in combination with the mattress or mattress/box spring that you are using it on (if you use the box spring it may change the firmness or thickness of a topper that works best for you).
Some of the information and forum posts that may also be helpful with some of the “detective work” and trial and error that may be necessary include …
Post #2 here and the other posts it links to which includes more information about the most common symptoms that people may experience on a mattress and the most likely reasons for them.
Post #2 here and in post #4 here has more information about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to each other and to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress that may be helpful in clarifying the different types of “support” and “pressure relief” which are the two main functions of every successful sleeping system.
If your mattress is suitable for a topper then there are some topper guidelines in post #2 here that can help you use your sleeping experience on your mattress as a reference point and guideline to decide on the type, thickness, and firmness of a topper that would have the best chance of success.
If your mattress (with or without the box spring) has visible or virtual impressions then some of the information in post #4 here may be helpful.
It’s possible that you may have both alignment issues (from an uneven sleeping surface or soft spots in the mattress or box spring) and comfort/pressure issues (from comfort layers that are too firm) so you may need to make different types of changes to solve each of them.
There is a lot of information here but I would take a “one step at a time” and incremental approach so that you can use what you “learn” and how your specific symptoms change with each change you make to your sleeping system to help “point to” any additional changes that may be necessary.
Phoenix