Lets kick off the new forum!  Nice new look.

I have a quick question about latex toppers.  If you're using a latex topper to soften a mattress that is too firm, is there an ILD that works best to compliment a mattress?  If so, which ILD would this be?

I am working with somebody who is buying a firm mattress and wanting to put a replacable topper on it.  In my mind, too soft an ILD would not even add to comfort and too firm wouldn'tbe comfortable.  So I was thinking medium to medium soft.  Any comments?

Thanks

Andrew

I agree - the 20 ILD toppers are useless. imho, at least a 34 ILD topper for comfort and personally i think 1-1.5" is preferable to 2"+. At 2" I think you start to lose a bit of the feel of the support layers and feel too much like you're just sinking. I'm 6'1" and about 170 lbs and I sunk right down on a 34 ILD 2" topper. Personally I don't really want to sink but to each his/her own of course.

We  had some 1" latex toppers that were 25 and 22 ild - foam by mail I think - they added nice comfort.   I have a  3" 28 ild that we added back when we were trying out latex - still have that sitting on top of the Natura latex bed, it is pretty soft.  Guests say they llike it at first, but by the end of the week's visit, they feel it is too soft for long term sleeping.

I think the teens are considered very soft
lower 20s considered soft
upper twenties and lower thirties considered medium
upper thirties considered firm
lower forties considered very firm

FWIW Latex International makes their blended talalay in a target range of 14-44 ILD  However actual compression results sometimes differ from the target ILDs (I think usually +/-2 ILD).

http://www.latexfoam.com/mattress/mattress_FAQ.htm

I just noticed we're migrating to a new forum. Change can be good, although I miss the ability to actually see all the replies in a thread while we're writing that we had with the old forum. Maybe that feature could be added? Glad to see most of the "regulars" have already signed on. Now to the question at hand...

For a topper, I'd go with 1.5", no more than 2" if the user is over 200 lbs. Anything more and you will lose support. I like 32-34 ILD. That's a nice medium comfort range that should suit the majority of sleepers--except for those who like their beds very soft or very firm. I think most people will find 20 ILD too soft to be comfortable

Boy, I have to say that I've tried the 36 ILD firm base from FBM, and toppers of both 32 and 20 ILD (in both 1" and 2" thickness), so I have tried many combos. 

Pam and I are 130 and 180 lbs,. and I swear we don't sink in enough on the 20 ILDs, I don't know why since FBM seems pretty standard, but we are trying to eventually make 2 beds, and for now we've stacked 6" of 36ILD, 2" of 32 ILD, 4" of 20 ILD, and still needed the "sinkability  " of 2" of healthy foundartions mem foam. 

No we aren't keeping the bed this thick, but for me the sweet spot seems to be aiming toward the bases being the 6" of 36 for 1 bed, add 3" of 32 to the 2" we have for a 5" 32 base for the other bed.  Then 2-3" of 20 latex, then 2" of good mem foam. 

I read all I could here but our bodies must be different, and we definetely don't sink in as much as people say.

There are so many differing answers to this question. Depends on the people sleeping on the bed. There have been several people advising here on this forum that 20 ILD latex is way too soft and useless. But that was for THEM and may not be true for YOU or ME. Personally. I don't think I could make a bed for myself that was too soft on the top 6 inches under my (heavy 275 lb.) body. I am worried that I will find 3"of 20 ILD talalay latex to be too firm for me and I will be sticking an inch or 2 of memory foam on top of that. (A bunch of thin layers is what I am trying to avoid.) But I am a side sleeper exclusively and must do something for my shoulder and hip pain. Websites and dealers selling beds BLAH BLAH BLAH about support and back pain, back pain, back pain. I have NEVER had back pain in my life. They will all say that side sleepers need a softer top layer, but there is very little discussion and recommendations. It's all about backs. BAH! What really matters is individual needs.

I am currently sleeping on a super firm mattress from the good old days when the firmer the better was the mantra. Comfort layer meant tough enough materials to keep the springs from poking you. On top of this I have added several layers of poly foam. Each time I add another layer of cheapo soft foam, I feel BETTER. But nothing stays put and the layers bunch up/shift and I want to get something new. But this experimentation has sold me on the need for SOFT...for ME.

You have to ask "your customer" more about their sleeping habits. Generalities don't work for mattress buying. Or else so many of us wouldn't be here, discussing.