Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who has kindly contributed their input in my previous threads. I've learned quite a bit about mattresses and toppers, what to look for and what to avoid, and I'm certain that right now I'd be 100% happy with my mattress if only I'd heeded *all* of the sage advice I've been given (but sometimes you just have to forge ahead stubbornly and make your own mistakes, none of which I plan to ever repeat). The OMF mattress that felt absolutely perfect in the show room is now causing me grief, mainly in the form of lower back aches. To those of you enamored of the convenience of purchasing an innerspring mattress that feels great in the store, here's what I've learned: if you suffer from any back issues whatsoever, get the firmest model possible with the least amount of PU foam, then craft your own comfort layer using toppers. Or have your bed custom-made by a local mattress maker (this will be the method by which I acquire my next mattress, I hope). I don't care how fabulously comfortable, supportive, etc., that mattress seems during the "test drive", it is not going to feel the same after sleeping on it for several hours.

So now I am planning to exchange my orthopedic ultra plush for either the ortho ultra firm or the ortho extra firm (I haven't tried the ultra firm yet, but both have only 1" of PU padding), and I will need toppers to make it comfy. At this point I'm torn between talalay blended toppers and memory foam, or possibly a combination of both. I need good lower back support, but I crave that "pillow top" feel, so I'm uncertain as to how to best approach this issue. I've had memory foam toppers in the past and loved them, so I thought I might do well with either 2" of Sensus foam, or a layer of "cushion firm" latex and 1" of either Sensus memory foam or 1" of soft latex. I'm a side sleeper, so I don't know if a 2" comfort layer will be enough, but I'm more than willing to start with that and go from there.

So what do you think? 2" of Sensus, or a latex/Sensus combo, or a medium latex/soft latex combo? A combo I haven't thought of? I'm going for softness *and* support here, which I know is a tricky combination to pull off.

Any advice welcome!

jankdc wrote:
Well, I definitely want some give, so it sounds like the extra firm is the right one for me. I thought it odd that they charge more for the ultra firm, since the price generally increases in direct proportion to the cush factor, but maybe people who like sleeping on boards are willing to pay more...who knows. That means I save a few bucks, so I'm not complaining.

Will do on the memory foam topper. I'm going to go ahead and order it in advance of exchanging the mattress so I'll have plenty of time to air it out. I really wish they'd figure out a way to prevent that stinky off-gassing. :-\

I had a difficult time with foam toppers because my issue was shoulder pain.  With inches of memory foam, my shoulders were better, but my hips sunk so low back hurt.  I had a latex mattress and hated it.  I ended up with a polyfill mattress topper which is so far working for me. 
Kait

Kait. Where did you buy the polyfill mattress topper?

A quick answer to your question:  you can go online at HSN.com and just type in fiberbeds.  They have a 2 inch polyfil fiberbed that I purchased last month and I love it.  Very high quality and so far it is holding its shape very well.  It has a $50.  They also have a 4 inch feather bed, but they are much harder and need to much attention.  I have a very firm mattress, and the fiberbed makes a tremendous difference.  I believe Kait is the one who suggested it to me a while back.  Good luck.

Whats the difference b/w a fiber bed and a cuddle bed?

Zzzzzzzspleaze wrote:
Thanks for posting that. I thought about asking for samples from SleepLikeABear; maybe I still will. When I tried out a couple of latex mattresses in the stores (the Prana mattresses at City Mattress, and a latex mattress at Genesee Mattress), they felt great. But that's for a few minutes, and it's hard to guess what just a topper will feel like.

(I didn't want to spend the big bucks to get a full latex mattress, and I wasn't up to trying the Flobeds/SleepEz/FBM DIY mattress-building at this point.)

Last night was my 2nd night on my new mattress -- an extra firm, flippable innerspring mattress (660 Lura-flex coils, 14.5 gauge, with extra layers of the Novabond fiber mats that go directly over the coils). According to the notes I scribbled in the store, there's 3/4" of 1.5 (density?) foam, flat. Genesee Mattress, where I bought this, is owned by Jamestown Mattress, in Jamestown, NY, so all the mattresses they sell are made by Jamestown. I was glad to find that Jamestown still makes the old-fashioned double-sided innerspring mattresses, along with a few other types. I was afraid I was going to have to drive to Pittsburgh (5 hours away) or Cleveland (4.5 hours away) to try out the OMF mattresses before ordering. (Wonder what the delivery charge would have been.)

Zzzzzzspleaze, I understand how you wound up with that plush mattress. I almost bought something similar at Genesee Mattress, even though I went in there resolving to get a minimally padded one. The cushier ones just feel sooooooo nice when you try them out for a few minutes at the store; they are *very* tempting.  (My 18-year-old mattress was so shot, I could feel the coils beneath me.)  But I was really afraid of having the cushier mattress compress too soon, so I managed to stick with my original plan. I'm glad you will be able to exchange your mattress for a less-padded one.

But back to toppers:  First night on my new mattress, I tried it with just a fairly cushy mattress pad (no toppers). My back and hips felt fine, but my shoulders felt a little crunched.

Last night I added an old polyfill fiber-bed -- I think that's what it is, but it's about an inch thick, so I'm not sure if that makes it a really thin fiber-bed or a really thick mattress pad. (Laura Ashley brand, bought a few years ago on sale at Kohl's, I think. Fairly cheap. Looks like the polyfill got a little bunched up in the wash, within in each quilted square.) I put my cushy mattress pad on top of that. That setup was more comfortable for my shoulders. Hips seemed fine this morning; but there's a little bit of low back pain. I'll keep testing this setup for a while, though; I don't want to judge by just one night, especially since I stayed in bed till almost 9 this morning. (Saturday, and ooooh, ahhhh, no more coils digging into me!)


I had emailed SleepLikeABear before my new mattress arrived, and asked what latex topper they might recommend for an extra-firm innerspring mattress and a side sleeper who's about 5'6", 120 pounds. The reply was "Based on the information you have provided us, we would like to recommend our 2" 19 ILD latex topper."  But based on what I've read here in the forum (and because of prices), I'd be more inclined to try a 1" topper, before going to 2", if I need to go that route.  (I'm not interested in memory foam; if I need a topper, I'll probably stick with latex or a fiber-bed.)


(And with all this typing, I think I have not added a single helpful thing to your thread! D'oh!) I will be very interested to find out what you end up with.  Thanks for the info you have posted.

-Catherine

PS: Last337, I think that Cuddle Bed is a brand of fiber-bed.

Marybeth, glad the fiberbed topper is working for you.  Sounds similar to mine.  I am sleeping quite well these days...the foam inside my bed MUST be HD, took 8 months to get softer!  The fiberbed topper is just the ticket for my shoulder area. That and a nice down pillow to adjust to my perfect neck position and I'm good to go.  I sometimes wake up in the am and haven't moved an inch all night.  YAY for feeling good!
Kait

Zzzzzzzspleaze wrote:
Zzzzzzspleaze, have you decided what kind of topper (or topper combo) to get? Or are you still trying to figure that out?  (Did you say elsewhere that you didn't like the latex?)

I'm pondering various possibilities (and I've read and reread and reread bunches of threads here).
I have a new (6 weeks ago), firm, minimally padded innerspring mattress (flippable, 9" total depth), with a 1" 24 ILD Talatech topper from SleepLikeaBear, and a light fiberbed on top of that. My hips & back are pretty happy; my shoulders are not. (Side sleeper, mostly -- though wondering how hard it would be to train myself to sleep on my back; it would really simplify things.)

Tried removing the fiberbed for a night; put it back on this morning 'cause my shoulders hurt quite a bit. Before I remade the bed, I lay on it with just the topper on, to see if I'm bottoming out on the 1" 24 ILD. My hips are not; I think my shoulders are.

I don't think I need something softer (like 19 ILD); I think I just need more cushioning in general -- just a little more stuff for my shoulders to sink into. (I'm 5'6", 120 pounds.)

So now I'm considering adding another 1" topper (either 24 ILD or 28 or 32 ILD; I don't want to lose back/hip support) or adding the 1" Sensus memory foam topper (relatively inexpensive at Overstock). (Foamorder.com also has 5.3 lb density memory foam, available in 1" depths & upward.)

I said before that I don't want memory foam, and I still don't like the idea of dealing with the off-gassing, but a lot of people seem to like the Sensus foam or the combo of latex and memory foam. So I dunno.  (Didn't care for the Dunlop latex, as far as I could tell from the small samples I got from Sleepwarehouse.) 

Pardon me for piggybacking on your thread, but it seemed silly to start yet another thread on picking the right topper.

- Catherine

Catherine,
Good luck with finding the right combination. I too am struggling with finding the perfect toppers for my springs.
Thought I'd give you this promotion code for overstock.com I got in the mail - I assume it will work for anyone who uses it:  144454
I do like the Sensus and I think it's always better to buy 1" and then add another 1" if needed. I made the mistake of buying the 2" and it's just too much for me. Wish I'd have bought 2 x 1".

One thing you might try which I have had some success with is to put the memory foam UNDER the latex or under some other kind of fiber or cushioning. That way you don't sink into it too much, which is what I usually have a problem with. Probably most people WANT to sink into it, which is how it's designed. But sinking in sometimes makes my arm go numb (due to a nerve issue I have at my shoulder/neck).

Jimsocal, thank you for the Overstock code and the other info. I've been following your posts closely, among others. This forum has been such a big help.

My main reservations about memory foam (besides the off-gassing) are the same ones that other people have mentioned: I don't want to sink into a crater or get too hot. (I've seen a few reports online that even the Foamex Aerus foam sleeps hot, and it's supposed to be cooler than other types.) From what I've read here, I'm figuring that I can't crater too much in an inch of foam, nor would that provide too much heat, especially if it's under either the latex or under just the fiberbed.

I looked again at FoamOrder.com's Web site. They also have a promotional code -- recession09 -- for anything on their toppers page (http://www.foamorder.com/foam-toppers.html). Looks like that includes their Dunlop and memory foam toppers. (Does not include anything on the Clearance page.)  Prices for memory foam toppers look pretty reasonable. They kind of diss their own products, though, in a way (talking about all the chemicals in memory foam, and pushing the Dunlop latex), so that's a bit odd.

I don't want to spend a fortune on this stuff or spend oodles of time tweaking, but I'm willing to spend a little bit more, and tweak a little bit more.  I'm still sleeping much more comfortably on this new mattress, with topper & fiberbed, than I was on my 18-year-old mattress, which was so shot that I could feel the coils beneath me. (But hey, I paid $300 for it, so I certainly got my money's worth; it was OK for about 15 years.)

When I was testing my 1" 24 ILD topper this morning, before re-making the bed, did it occur to me to try folding it over to see how 2" of it would feel? No. Duh. (rolls eyes) Guess I'll have to do that at some point.

-Catherine