Mattress Forum

 Are there any  differences (advantages/disadvantages) in feel, support  and comfort between 2 piece adjustable mattresses (6" core 2" topper) vs 3 - 2" layers pieces? I have tried only the two piece mattress set ups and I know you have tried both.

Thanks!

                             sy

In general 2 pieces of latex of the same ILD will be slightly softer and have a little more give than the same thickness in one piece of the same ILD. The thinner the layers, the more noticeable this may be.

In a support layer (deeper layer) of normal thickness, this could make a very small difference in the alignment of your spine in theory since the two pieces could allow you to sink in very slightly more. I really doubt this would be noticeable in any real terms in a support layer though in the thickness of layers that are usually used. Of course with 2 pieces you could have different ILD's as well which can make a bigger difference and allow you to customize different feels and how far you sink in to a greater degree. How important this was would depend on an individual, weight distribution, sensitivity, and personal preference and how suitable a particular ILD in a single layer was for your circumstances.

So having the ability to choose support layers in different ILD's can be an advantage if no single ILD seems to work or if you want to "experiment" to get from 90% to 100% perfection. I think in general terms though ... in a support layer it is less important and can create a degree of complexity that can cause as much confusion as it can help in some cases. Support is really the ability of the support layers to keep your spine aligned through the range of your sleeping positions. If you have the "correct for you" ILD and thickness in a single support layer, then there would be no advantage and even a disadvantage to splitting it in two.

In the upper (comfort) layers, thickness and splitting layers can make a bigger difference in my experience. Both I and my other half like a soft "feel" and are sensitive to pressure (her more than me). What we noticed was that for example 3 x 1" layers on the top of a mattress felt much more like 2" than a single 3" piece. In both of our cases, we noticed that a 2" piece (or the equivalent) on top would allow us to sink in and feel the "transition" (on our sides) from one ILD to the next in the mattress. If the next ILD was a fairly big difference and not "gradual" enough ... we didn't like the feel and could sense pressure on our hips if we "bounced" a little bit. This indicated to us that we would be happier with a 3" layer on top (or at least 2.5"). I doubt that the majority of people would have noticed this as much as we did because we were specifically testing for this "transition effect" and paid a lot of attention to it. We knew for example that we could feel this effect in a mattress that had 3 one inch layers of 19 ILD on top of 28 ild since one mattress we tested had that specific combination. It probably would have been fine if the top was say 22 ILD with 28 as the next layer as it was right on the edge of our ability to feel it. Other mattresses that had 2" on top of the mattress had this same "transition" effect for us but again we were looking and testing for it. 3" in the correct (for us) combination didn't have this effect. Our body makeup probably makes a difference here since both of us have fairly small waists and have hips and shoulders that are quite a bit wider than our waist.

The final solution for us was to go with both 3" on top and a more gradual transition in a "soft/medium" ild range. Others (as you can see from the wide variety on the forum) would probably be happier with a different combination.

Hope this helps

Phoenix

Spent a good 30 minutes on the telephone with Bob from Custom Sleep Design. Provided a good overview of his mattress design and based on our sizes/shoulder/back issues he sent a break down of each layer of the 3 layers with zoned areas for hip and shoulder support. The core was 6" (40 ILD on my side 36 ILD on my wife's side) the next 3" layer was zoned  34" (measured from the top of the mattress toward the foot of the bed)  of 32 ILD top part / the remaining 46" of the mattress was 36 ILD for me and my wife's was zoned 32" of  28 ILD for the top part and 32 ILD for the bottom 48". The final 2" layer was zoned 31" of 19 ILd on the top part and the remaining 49" bottom was 28 for me and my wife's side was 29" of 14ILD on the top part and 28 ILD on the bottom 51".  Will be talking with him tomorrow concerning firmness, exchanges, layout of the zoned layers and of course pricing. He will do blended or natural latex. I know some people have had good overall experiences with him. Need to know how this zoning works.

Are you familiar with it? Sounds like a good way to maintain support and comfort.

                                              sy

This is the basic idea and I believe it is a very good method of customizing a mattress.

Phoenix

PS: Cazual in this thread http://www.whatsthebest-mattress.com/forum/dr-breus-bed-talalay-latex/16100-0-1.html just got a mattress there and could give you more real life impressions and feedback

The search has ended. Today my wife and I ordered our latex mattress from Custom Sleep Design. After numerous discussions on the phone and sending pictures, Bob and his staff designed a bed that will hopefully meet our needs. I feel comfortable with the decision and now will be anixously awaiting its arrival in three weeks. I really appreciate your assistance and input the past weeks. I do like the option of changing the layers if necessary and the split zones to provide support and comfort. In reading a thread from the lady who resides in the Quad cities which is about 180 miles from us you may recommend this company. Their prices with a foundation are reasonable. Will let you know how things work out once our mattress arrvies. Again, many thanks!   God bless and have a blessed Thanksgiving!!

If you are happy then I am happy. :)

Let us know how it is when it arrives.

Phoenix

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Thought I would drop you a note on our mattress. Arrived one week before Christmas and we found the mattress was too firm. Spoke wiith Bob yesterday and he will be adjusting our two top layers to make it softer and they will ship the two layers next week. I think once we make the right adjustments the bed will be great.

                                                                                           sy

I'm curious because the 19 and 14 ILD part of the top layer zoning is pretty soft already so I'm guessing that the 28 ILD in the upper layer is too firm for your hips?

I'd also be curious what you are exchanging for as every piece of feedback is really helpful to  help someone else in a similar position to you to "get it right".

Thanks again for your feedback

Phoenix

Here is a break down of our layers:

Peg's initial specs

top layer 2" zoned   ILD 28/24   

middle layer 3"  ILD 32

core 6" 36

Bob's recommendations to soften

top layer 2" zoned 14/24

middle layer 3" ILD 28

core 6" 36

Steve initial specs

top layer 2" zoned   ILD 19/28   

middle layer 3" zoned  ILD  32/36

core 6" 40

Bob's recommendations to soften

top layer 2" zoned  ILD 19/24

middle layer 3" zoned  ILD   24/32

core 6" 40

Bob will exchange both layers and make additional corrections as needed. One thing I've learned is the different combinations make a hugh difference. It is too bad there was nothing in our immediate area to try the various thickness layers and ILD's. I would have liked to go to his store and eliminate the guess work. Bob has been very informative and helpful. He is willing to go out of his way to ensure the product is right.

                                                                                                 sy