HI Folks.  Latest update on my saga of one 60 year old 170 lb fart seeks sleep on side, back and dealing with lower back pain.  For those that don't know the rest of the story:  20 mattresses actually bought swapped slept on, 100+ topper combos.   Can't stand Memory foam tempurpedic stuff because it is hot, I sink into it, it does not support my lower back with strain injury so I wake up in agonizing pain.

Latest try was 1 inch of 14 ILD latex from sleeplikebear.com on top, 1 inch of 20 ILD latex next from foambymail.com, and 2 inch latex which I believe to be at least 26 ILD which was supposed to be 20 ILD from foambymail.

I found that combo to sleep fairly well... only woke with minor back pain vs, my usual.  However, the 4 inches vs the 2 inches in various combos before.... slept really hot!  The message is that latex can be warm if you have a whole lot of it.. like a complete mattress "stack" as the DIY mattress crowd is pursuing, or from www.sleepex.com or www.flobeds.com.

And my 4 inch stack felt seriously "jellowy".. ie. jiggly, like a waterbed.  Mine wasn't wrapped in a zipped up case, as the bed DIY crowd would do, but I am leaning away from tall latex.

My next experiment is poly foam from www.foamdistributing.com.   1 inch of supersof feels soft somewhere between 14 ILD from sleeplikeabear and 20 ILD from foambymail.com.. and I have put under that 1 inch of their HD 36 high density.  I suspect that the 36 compares with a 36 ILD.

I hope it works,and even if I have to replace periodically, I'll take it.  Total for both pieces quuen or king size:  about $36.

The last time I slept decently was on a cheap, plush 15 year old simmons beautyrest.  And my trials started with buying firm mattresses for my 115 lb back sleeper bride who likes them rock hard.. but would accommodate a little poly foam on top.

Hopefully a little poly foam on top will be the magic.

shovel99

The more you sink in the more warmth you will feel, because there is more area of contact with your body.  What do you put over the latex?   A mattress pad filled with wool can moderate the temperature a bit and make it feel a bit firmer.  

 

I am finding that a wool topper and a wool mattress pad make it feel almost too "hard" (for lack of better word) on my hip bone, and I cannot feel the foam as much as I would like.  I am going to try a little more minimalist with just thinner cotton mattress pad.  Even that adds a bit of firmness.  I will see tonight if it is too warm.

I am surprised at the difference in feel from laying directly on the foam compared to laying on it with a 1" wool topper + mattress pad + sheet.