| Overstock has a Serta 2-inch 4lb density memory foam topper that is billed as a 'cool' memory foam. Does anyone know if this is any different from other MF toppers, if it's any cooler? I was all set to buy the Serta 3-inch 4lb that is *not* listed as being 'cool' but the possibility of a truly cooler foam topper has me second guessing my decision. Does anyone know if this 'cooler' topper is formulated differently, or if it's supposed to be cooler just because it has an inch less depth to it? |
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Hi Sandman, I know you've tried lots of things for the heat issue, but I can't remember if you've tried a THICK wool topper, i.e. not a fleece pad such as snugfleece but the type that has several layers of wool fleece encased in a cotton shell, so the whole thing is 3-4". In my experience that type feels very different than the wool fleece pad. It would affect the feeling of the latex though. As you may know from my posts, I find even the fleece pad makes the latex feel firmer, so I have taken mine off, as I prefer the feel of the latex without it. I've never used the thick wool topper on my Flobed; it came with my old bed which had a very thin piece of latex and then the wool pad. But it was interesting that that bed never felt hot (but it was way too firm for me). Good luck with your decision-making. I was relieved to finally be done with it when I decided to keep my Flobed! When I was away for a week, I slept on a very firm innerspring mattress (old, flipable kind with no extra padding) on which I put my convoluted latex topper (doubled) and my wool fleece pad in order to even be able to sleep at all (bed was way to firm for me). I think it felt cooler than my Flobed but far less comfortable. It's hard to really assess temp temp-wise as it's all so subjective, and undoubtedly depends also on the weather/temp in the room/bedding, etc. I probably won't be back on this forum much, but still hope to check in now and then. And if anything changes significantly in my experience, I'll post then. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. It's a great resource, and I hope my posts have also been of benefit to some people. Linda |
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Thanks Linda. I have not tried a thick wool pad. I did try a snugfleece, and that did not seem to make any difference. I think you are right that there is a tradeoff between comfort and warmth. A firm innerspring with minimal padding will be cooler, but not that comfortable. I went and tried a few innerspring today, and I don't like them as much. If I add more comfortable layers, latex or memory foam, I may be back to where I am right now heat wise. The last few nights I wake up around 1-2am and feel a bit warm, but then I go back to sleep and I am fine. Even with my old bed I would probably would wake up around the same time. So, I am not sure if the innerspring will make much difference, except possibly in summer. I am going to add a thicker mattress pad this week to see if that changes things at all. Also, there is something called a bedfan, which blows some air under the sheets to keep you cooler. Sounds kind of weird, but it does work for some people. In summer that might be something I could use. |
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Sandman: after having read all your trials and tribulations with heat problems vis-à-vis matters, it just seems to me that you need a waterbed so that you can control the temperature with a thermostat. I know you say where you currently live that this is not acceptable. Then I would seriously consider moving somewhere that would allow a waterbed since you're having so much trouble getting to sleep due to heat build up. There are some very good waterbeds on the market that will sleep very comfortably. It is true you need a very firm foundation under them because water weight is 8 pounds per gallon, so in my California King soft sided waterbed, with me in it, there was approximately 800+ pounds to contend with. But one thing's for sure, you can turn down the thermostat and make the mattress quite cool! Think about it!  This message was modified Dec 13, 2009 by eagle2
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sandman wrote: What kind of mattress do you have?
but if i had the budget, it would easily be a p-grade stearns & foster in ultra firm. their lowest model that has the dual spring setup- smaller tighter coils within larger taller coils, so dual action shock absorption & 2x as many in the same area. all marvelux & high performance/high density foam on top & more of it than the sealys. just too expensive & too beautiful to butcher now or later for any reason. unless a toddler were somehow trapped in there or something else highly unlikely. they do feel incredible though. i just have to wait until the costco sale is over or runs o.o.s. because it's hard to buy anything else while that's an option. you can hardly buy 6" of raw dunlop latex without a cover for what they're charging for their 10" queen. |
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That's intersting because I was/am considering the cushion firm of of the Sealy Reserve line. Probably my favorite thing I tried for $1500 or less was the firm S&F estate (no pillowtop). I have read about problems form S&F with sagging, etc., so that scares me a bit. Yes, I would hate to cut into it (at least for many years). I also saw that foamsweetfoam has 3" strips of 100% natural talalay latex for $400 (queen). No cover though (you can buy a cheap terry cloth at sleeplikeabear), so if you don't want dunlop they are not a bad way to go. Can't compete with the Costco price though. From what I can tell the Celsion does not seem to be any cooler than the Talatech. Maybe in summer it would make a difference, but I am skeptical at this point. |
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o.k. i've found it close to that- $1529 but not sure if it included shipping (& extra for split queen for me). i agree they feel better than anything near that price, even sealy's springfree firm latex. so i went to the roomstore this week. they had both that one at $1629 but with "unconditional price match guarantee" (we'll see, they match internet prices just not 'direct from warehouse' type sellers), and they also had the sealy signature firm. the latter was a special designation of the signature line called "rejuvinate" (?), which is the same, just with some special covering ("aloe treated"). but i matched up all the layers in his paperwork on it, & except for the case & tag, layer for layer it's the exact same thing as the signature greenhurst firm for $909. roomstore has it for $1099, & they will not price match that much. anyway, the whole point is for me, BOTH of those models feel so nice out of the box, that it would be hard for me to put any topper over them in the first place. even if it helped long-term protect the layers of foam in the mattress itslelf. so i think i'm looking at an either0-or situation. all foam, the costco latex or d.i.y.- OR -a good spring mattress. the most expensive i've found that i'd evne consider cutting into for surgery are the sam's serta firm sets for ~$700 (only ~500 13ga coils), but they felt less supportive to me vs. even the sealy. much less the s&f- everything about that thing is awesome though. much more impressive box springs, dual coil system, all quality foams etc. |
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Jason, the S&F I looked at was the luxury firm estate. At the time it was $1500 at Macy's plus 10% off plus $100 of if you signed up for their credit card. So, $1250 plus tax. I think that actually was a pretty good deal, which is probably no longer is available. I am a bit worried about the longevity though, since the foams are probably just the higher end sealy foams. If I was going to do surgery, I think I would get one of the Sealy Reserves for about $720 from US mattress. The cushion firm might be sleepable for me for a few years (possibly with 1" topper). I have configured my flobed a bit firmer and put on a thick poly filled mattress pad. That seems to have made it slightly cooler. Last night I had F over XF over XF with no convoluted cover. Probably a bit firm, but still okay. Next I am going to try XF/F/XF and with the convoluted cover flipped over (for you flobed people, I think flipping over the convoluted layer makes it a bit firmer feel if that what you are looking for). I may also try my wool mattress pad over the the thick poly one to see what that is like (heat wise). However, I will be out of town for the next 10 nights, so not sure what I will be sleeping on. Happy Holidays to all of you out there! This message was modified Dec 18, 2009 by sandman
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i don't want the s.&f.'s that have any m.f. at all. & actually all of the sealy reserves & signatures have a little bit of it (in their x3 or x7 respectively), but that's barely 1/.2". the estate ULTRA FIRM doesn't have anything but marvelux, high performance/high density sealyfoam, & .79" latex (no sealyfoam, super soft sealyfoam, no m.f. or any other p.u. foams etc.). now one of the other s&f.'s ultra firms, the queensgate at sears, it's less but has an inch of m.f. in it that i personally don't care for. but the "rejuvinate" series. although it has a layer of sealyfoam 1/4" that i'd rather not be there, it just felt so awesome,comforting, supportive, VERY firm. i'm thinking if it's worth $1100 considering convenience- assuming he can throw in a split/queen box for that price & it's something i can drive out of there (instead of meeting a delivery TRUCK b/t 8a-5p). but that's $191 MORE than the factory ships direct from warehouse intereb price (& no TAX there), but i've read horror stories of ripped mattresses & "well if the side's ripped, it doesn't affect how it sleeps deal with it", "ou signed for it too late"(& of course the delivery men pressure you to sign it a.s.a.p.), "call sealy not our problem", denial of exchange or refund, & getting "substituted" downgraded foundations (not the actual Abzzorber box springs). now this was only a handful of reviews vs. 100's of positive ones, so il.d.k. either way, i liked htis one salesmaN & kind of want to give him my business anyway because he was cool, the only one to show me his literature (models with layers listed so icould match them up), & just be cool & not be DICK like some guys who will just not onlytel you "b.s." but also straight up LIES to get you to buy whatever they have in stock. otherwise, if i weren't scared of those pitfalls, i'd get the sealy signature greenhrust firm in q. for $909 from u.s. mattress. i bet those guys would get the s/queen foundation for me. i just hate to meet a truck. i'd rather truck it myself. i'd have to stay awake all day. unless they could guarantee 8a-12p delivery (which would turn out to be 3pm anyway), i'll just have to pay $200 more & deliver it myself (but also get the rejuvinate aloe encasement which i won't lie feels great). you know split queen foundations are going to be TINY. narrower than twin/1/2king etc. so considering the above, maybe i should spurge on the s&f estate u.f., & see if he'll price match $1539 for a s/queen (from $16xx somethign) & f. latex altogether. because the only type of sealy foam i want is the h.d./h.p. sealy foam or marvelux. no "sealy foam", "super soft sealy foam", "convoluted sealy foam" etc. & for only $200 more this has no mf. (vs. sears S.& F.). the s&f. that would rock is the lucas park/deacon ridge/maribel(?) at r.s. well wroth $1500+ if you can swing it. f. toppers or latex in that case. i don't want to interfere iwth such perfect finishing on the mattress of either that or a signature/rejuvinate with any type of topper. so it's either my recipe for a foam bed or an o.o.b. sealy that i know will work. <$1200. easy decision. |
 well i thought about getting a serta for cheap, at sam's who will always back you up for years. even if the company warranty doesn't. they're getting abused in that regard now, so they are getting more strict (no more 3 years on televisions- people were just upgrading t.v.'s every three years!). but their serta mattresses' springs feel too WEAK even though their coil gauge is heavier (13 /14 vs. 14 in sealy). i guess that many fewer springs make a bigger diffrence (530 vs. 782). but i'd rather have sealy's cheapest than the particular $645 serta firm i tried. i sink right through those springs. but the difference between $1100 & $1550 from the sealy rejuvinate signature & s&f u.f. i.d.k. Not in feel, only in other measures of quality. the double springs. higher quality box spring. i.d.k. but it looked like hardwood framed box springs. very nice anyway. very firm comfort layers. & beautiful embroidery, encasement, carry handles!, piping, heavy soft cotton sleeping surface etc. very nice. so maybe it is worth it. i have to think seriously about making that happen. i'd do it if they match with brady & verns or something furniture (ie. NOT a mattress "factory direct" shipper which rooms store will NOT match), for $1529 for a split queen, & it's that much less more that will be hard to deny. & hard to TOP with raw foam... dfs |
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Jason, the number of coils definetly makes a difference. On the Sealy's, I found the most support on the ones with the highest # of coils, even if they were a bitter thinner gauge. So, I am not totally clear on what you are trying to get? The ultra firm S&F estate? I agree that they is very firm and supportive, but too firm for me. I was not able to find out all of the foams in the S&F estates, since I cannot find info. online about exactly what is in them. I would have to call back a salesmen to get the info. |