Mattress Forum

Finally, on Nov. 17/2011,  I ordered what I thought would be the perfect mattress after hours of reading based on what others are finding comfortable.  I called Foam by Mail and spoke with Connie.  She was great in all aspects in dealing with FBM via e-mail or phone, providing multiple quotes based on sudden changes and additional items.

In the end I decided on the follow:

‎3" 5LB ViscoMAX memory foam (top layer)

1" Soft 20 ILD Talalay Latex

5" HD36-HQ(High Quality) medium density base layer including terrycloth cover.

I did order a 2" 5lb memory foam topper for my parents also.  I received 3 packages in total, my latex topper was bundled with theirs.  They arrived exactly as expected based on other photos posted with FBM orders but I wouldn't call them beat up, it's how it was packaged.  No complaints there, everything was in perfect condition.  The foam arrives tied up with nylon/polyester rope then placed in a large bag, air removed, tired and wrapped multiple times with packaging film which is then wound and tied around the outside.  I was wary at first that the string/rope would leave permanent marks in the foam considering how much it was compressed for 10 days during shipping but as soon as everything was opened they were gone.  I'm highly impressed with the quality of foam I received; I see no irregularities and all measurements are nearly exact except with a 9.25" height vs 9" - I won't complain.  The latex is certainly softer than I had thought it would be so I should have ordered a 2" layer instead of 1".  Regarding the 5lb memory foam, it was a dense lump of what felt like rubberized foam that I had to peel apart.  It definitely didn't want to put on a show by its own.  Smell, nothing life altering.  Yeah, it smelled like new foam off gasing but it certainly wasn't as strong or lingering as I expected it would be.

Unwrapped for several minutes at this point.

Tearing the foam apart.

Setup in the livingroom to let it air out for a few hours before moving it to the bedroom.

So, where's the problem?  Well, I've never suffered such intense back pain in my life from simply sleeping and I've slept on a cement floor once with just a blanket.  I know a lot of people comment that their memory foam mattress felt firm at first but now it's great or it just feels firm in general based on a similar setup.  The second night was a little better but I'm dealing with all day lower and upper back pain between my shoulder blades.  My futon was killing me but not this bad.  Even with 9" I can feel close to bottoming out sitting up.  My first thought is that everything was simply too soft providing no support.  3" of 5lb memory foam seemed like a lot after all and most say that 4" is overkill causing some people back pain.  I find my hips and shoulders sink down a lot causing my back to arch which is the cause to the pain.  I doubt this due to a correction to my posture for sleeping on such bad beds before but rather compressing the discs in my back.  

Here we are Day 3 and I've decided to do a little mattress surgery.  I unzipped the terry cover and mattress encasement, peeled back the memory foam and latex layer just to see how it feels lying on the base layer.  It's certainly firm with mild compression.  My back arches a lot and it's painful from the other 2 nights sleep.  Rolling out the latex layer provides light cushioning but does very little in resolving the pain or providing support to my back as it's too thin.  With the memory foam back in place it offers mild support to my lower back as I can only assume I've bottomed out to the top of the base layer.

Possibly solution!  I doubled up the memory foam to 6" and I would have to say it's acceptably comfortable.  My lower back feels better supported, not perfect, and I'm compressing the whole 6" layer at my hips.  I tried 2 and 4" of latex only with little benefit.  2" and 4" of latex with 6" of memory foam didn't feel much different than just the 6" ontop of the 5" based and 1" latex.  I just switched the latex layer to the top, trying both 1" and 2" and I must say it's probably the best combination yet.  I'm glad when I placed my order for the FBM 5lb Queen mattress that I was able to have the layers not glued together so I could try different combinations.  I thought a latex middle layer would have worked best, perhaps not... we shall see.  Also, for anyone looking to place an order with FBM/FoamFactory it's cheaper to get the precut mattresses unglued rather than ordering a precut topper + custom cut foam base in 5" if you want the ability to move things around, you just need to request for unglued when ordering.  As for the LUX Foam-HQ, since I was set on using 3" of it and 3" of HD36-HQ for a base, I see no purpose for it rather than adding height or perhaps a solid core over slats or additional cushioning from bottoming out for those heavier. If I lay flat on my back my shoulders and/or hips barely compress into the HD36-HQ.

For now I'm going to zip everything back together and try it for round 3.  Hopefully tonight will be better.  If not I may order a 2" layer of Super Soft Foam or source out something locally.  The other option is a 2-4" 4lb memory foam topper from Costco to place under the latex.  In the mean time I'll report back and test out a few innerspring mattresses and Tempur-Pedic at Sears again to see how it compares.

-Greg