Trouble finding a mattress -- where to go from here?

[phoenix]

Hi gu-obos,

Select Foam has foam that looks normal, but states “gel infused”. It’s well above the normal price range for foam, does anyone have any feedback? www.selectfoam.com/cat-Toppers.html

I would keep in mind that there are three types of foam (polyfoam, memory foam, and latex foam) and each one has its own density range. You can read more about some of the characteristics of the different types of gel foams (including gel memory foam) in post #2 here and the links it includes.

4lb Foam seeming too soft has me confused, as I’m pretty sure the foam Gardner is using is 4lb foam, and the Gardner is not nearly as soft. I appreciate that foam will vary and density doesn’t tell you the whole story, but I am also wondering about something else…the foam topper I tried was just raw foam, whereas the Gardner mattress with just foam on top of coils is encased in ticking, has a fire layer, etc…Is it possible that the ticking and whatnot on the finished mattress is just too thick and memory foam in a Gardner mattress just doesn’t feel like normal foam because it’s not getting enough heat to melt and conform?

There are many factors besides density that can affect the softness, feel, and performance of memory foam (see post #9 here and post #8 here). While it’s true that higher density memory foams as a group are usually firmer than lower density memory foams … there are many other ways to make memory foam softer or firmer. The thickness of the memory foam layer will also have a significant effect on softness and how much you will feel the firmness of the layers below the memory foam. For example a mattress with 1" or 2" of a certain memory foam over a firm support core will be considerably firmer than the same support core that has 3" or 4" of the same memory foam above it. Other factors such as temperature and humidity and the response time and temperature sensitivity that has been formulated into the foam will also have a significant effect on how firm a specific memory foam feels. As you also mentioned any layers or materials over the memory foam will also affect it’s feel and performance and how much heat reaches the memory foam. All of these are part of how different mattresses are designed to have a different feel and performance so they are suitable for the needs and preferences of different people.

Density is a good way to compare the durability of different memory foams but it’s not necessarily a good way to compare how they may feel or perform because there are many variations between the properties of memory foam of the same density.

Phoenix