Trying to salvage a too firm latex bed!

[Sensei]

Hey Brenda,

Welcome to the Mattress Underground ! Thanks for your kind words on the site and for your question.

Two years ago, my spouse and I bought a Nature’s Embrace Alto latex mattress (all Dunlop) from a dealer in a mid-size Canadian city. We wanted to buy a natural material mattress and latex sounded great. There was only one local dealer of latex and we did not want to take the risk of purchasing online. Unfortunately, the local dealer was not a specialized furniture store with expertise on the mattresses. This, combined with our own lack of knowledge, limited opportunity to test the mattress in store and no comfort guarantee, meant we were stuck with a mattress that was too firm…After a few months of sleeping on the mattress (which I lovingly refer to as the “block of concrete”) we added a 3" Dunlop soft (ILD 20) topper from an online retailer to try and get me a bit more “distance” from the firmer layers. …It is still much too firm for me and we are in search of a topper to make the bed more comfortable

Sorry to hear about the frustrating experience with your Nature’s Embrace Alto; two years is a long time to endure a too-firm sleeping environment. It does sound as though dunlop latex is a little too firm for your comfort/ support preferences. Also equally frustrating is a lack of a comfort exchange from the dealer, an important policy that should have been explained clearly before your purchase.

While we research toppers, I have been sleeping on 2 old feather duvets folded in half and stacked one on top of the other. It has improved my sleep and provides pressure point relief and more comfort, not my dream topper and only temporary…Since I have been reasonably comfortable…sleeping on a feather topper of sorts with my folded duvets, and wool doesn’t seem to be working out, is a feather topper our best bet? I would expect a high-quality feather topper would be more comfortable than my old, stacked duvets. I do not want another latex layer (and not interested in Talalay) and want only natural materials that provide pressure point relief and nest-like comfort.

I’ve condensed excerpts from you post a bit to get to your question on feather toppers, hope that’s okay. I did some searching here on the forum to see what others’ experience has been with feather toppers, feather beds, etc. and found several posts out there but thought this response by Phoenix on topic “Pros and Cons of a Featherbed” interesting as a discussion of Down vs Feather initially but in the end relating to your question:

[i]"Down lasts longer and is more “comfy” and less “crunchy” but it compresses more; feathers are more resilient and don’t compress down as much (although they don’t retain their loft as well as down in the long term). Both can sleep warm … especially if you have a down comforter as well.

The fabric needs to have a tight enough weave so that any small feather quills don’t poke through the material and the down and feathers needs to be washed in production well enough that there are less issues with smell and allergies from dust mites. Some suppliers have return policies if you discover that you are allergic to their product but most allergies are not to the feathers themselves but to the byproducts of the dust mites that they can contain. An actual feather allergy can be tested with an allergy test.

Both can take some maintenance and need to be protected from any buildup of moisture (which can damage them quickly with mold and mildew) and body oils (which will damage them over a longer period of time). I would also suggest a separate cover that can help with feathers poking through and can also be removed and washed.

Overall they are more for “feel” and outside of cushioning pressure points don’t provide the same level of pressure relief as foams and aren’t nearly as “supportive”.
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With your describing your preferred comfort as “fluffy” and “nest-like”, going with a feather topper over your current dunlop mattress could solve the firmness situation you’re experiencing. You will definitely want to be sure that the manufacturer/ retailer offers an exchange/ return policy that gives you confidence to purchase from them . Looking forward to hearing what you decide and good luck.

Thanks,
Sensei