Mattress Forum

About me:

 - 6'3"

 - 320lbs

 - very muscular; not much "natural padding"

 - wide shoulders compared to waist

 - tend to be warm all the time

 - mostly back sleeper but like to start off on my side for the first 30 minutes to 1 hour

I've been sleeping happily on a Comfortaire (Sleep Number clone) for the past 12 years.  Sadly, my beloved Comfortaire has sprung a leak.  They want $130 for a new air bladder and it isn't even the right height.  Apparently, they stopped making 9" tall mattresses some time ago.  They want me to take a 6" air bladder and a 3" slab of foam as replacement.  Somehow that doesn't seem like the right thing to do so I've been scouring this forum for the past couple of weeks trying to come up with a better option.

My goal is to replicate the feel of my Comfortaire (Sleep Number clone) air bed.  My Confortaire is basically a 9" thick heavy duty air bladder made of rubber with cotton fabric bonded to the outside.  There's a thin quilted pillowtop above the air bladder and that's it.  I have always kept the bed inflated to very close to 100% pressure.  I inflate to 100% and then bleed out just enough air to get full mattress contact along my whole body.

It would be great if I could duplicate the feeling of the Confortaire bed.  I'm open to using foam, latex, or memory foam in any combination.  I don't have a fixed budget but I am very cheap and proud to say it! : )  I would prefer to go with an all-conventional foam mattress (no memory or latex) if I can get away with it.  I expect to sleep on this for only 1-2 years so I don't want to spend more than I need to.  However, I do need to get good rest for the next 1-2 years.

Here's what I'm thinking (from bottom to top):

6" LUX-HQ (ILD 50) from FBM

2" HD36-HQ (ILD 35) from FBM

1" Super Soft (ILD 12) from FBM

Walmart Cuddle Bed Topper http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cuddle-Bed-400-Thread-Count-Mattress-Topper/15034400

Or would this be better?

6" LUX-HQ (ILD 50) from FBM

3" HD36-HQ (ILD 35) from FBM

Walmart Cuddle Bed Topper http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cuddle-Bed-400-Thread-Count-Mattress-Topper/15034400

So am I crazy to think about trying a bed that's 100% conventional foam with no memory foam or latex?

I would actually be ok ordering one of the 6" thick latex matresses from FBM (one 6" thick slab with uniform ILD) if I knew that was the right thing for me.  I'm just too afraid that I would pick the wrong ILD and flush $400 down the drain.  Maybe FBM's firmest latex (36ILD) isn't even high enough for me at 320lbs.

Also, is conventional foam "hotter" than latex?  I know that memory foam is "hot" and latex is comparitively "cool."  Where does conventioal foam belong in the comparison?