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I wanted to post a quick update. I ordered the SleepEZ special (8"). It arrived yesterday. First impression, after one night, is amazing. I don't want to say too much till I have had more time to try it and see how it does longer term. Assembly was fairly easy. The bottom layer was a little tricky getting it to line up in the cover, but the other layers went quick. X-firm base, firm middle, medium top. I will update again soon. Mike |
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Well Phoenix, as you suspected adding 3" medium to the middle wouldn't solve the problem. I have it set up 3" firm on bottom, 3" medium in the middle, and 2" medium on top.....and I still have the 3" extra firm as well. After a week, it is hard to explain, but we still have the pressure point pain from the top still being a little too firm, but at the same time it feels like the extra firm should be underneath......but I can't really easily explain that. I called Shawn at Sleepez......and he will send what ever I want. I started off saying that I think we might need to go with the 2" soft on top. I would then go back to extra firm on the bottom.....either firm or medium in the middle and soft on top. Shawn said we won't notice much of a difference between the 2" soft and the 2" medium. He said we would be better off with a 3" soft on top and move the 2" medium to the middle and then put the extra firm in the bottom. My concern is this will end up too soft, but he said we could even put the extra firm in the middle.....that would give us 2" medium on the bottom, 3" extra firm in the middle, and 3" soft on top........? I think I just confused myself. Mike |
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I think in all this time I haven't asked you about your height/weight/general proportions which could have a bearing on what will work best for you. In general, people use the word "soft" to describe 3 different things. One is the initial feel of a mattress or it's "hand" feel ... nice soft fluffy wool for example feels soft. One is the feeling that comes from having the correct comfort layers (the cradle relieves pressure) and one comes from a feeling connected with how far you sink down into a mattress. This means that in some cases such as yours a mattress can feel both too firm and too soft at the same time and I think this may be happening with you. Too firm to relieve pressure but a feeling you may be "sinking down" too far which also "translates" into softness. These are sometimes difficult to describe. While I tend to agree with Shawn about using a 3" comfort layer because you may go through 2" too much and feel a firmer layer underneath it ... there may be a few other considerations which I will add once I know your "stats" :). Phoenix |
| I'm 5'4" and about 155 lbs, and wife is 5'6" and about 160 lbs. Both normal build. |
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OK. While I can't know how sensitive you may be to pressure for sure ... I suspect that you may need a softer and or thicker comfort layer given what you have posted in the past. Part of the problem here is that the "firm" mattresses you preferred in your past posts were all softer on top than what you have now while like yours they were firmer underneath. Your Englander had probably 2" of soft poly over something firmer, The Pure latex bliss pamper had 1" of soft latex over a firmer core, and the embody had 3" of softer latex over a firmer core. The softest latex that sleepez sells is 22-24 which is on the soft side but may not be soft enough for you. Don't forget that many "very firm" mattresses have a couple of inches of soft stuff on top (softer than what you have now) and the firmness comes from what is under a very soft comfort layer. A couple of inches of 14-19 ILD over something firmer may be closer to mattresses you have preferred before and could feel firmer to you as well even though the top is softer. Given your previous posts and your stats (you don't weigh a lot), 3" of soft on top would probably be ok with the X firm or Firm under it however this is a little thicker and firmer version of "soft" than what you have preferred before with the possible exception of the embody. 2" of soft may also work well but may need a slightly "less firm" layer underneath it than with 3" on top to give you a little bit more softness and so you don't go through 2" and feel something really firm underneath. How does your wife feel about the versions you have tried ... she may need a thicker layer under her hips as women in general can be more sensitive and carry more of their weight around their hips while men are a little more evenly distributed with more weight in their shoulders. Phoenix PS: if you are up to it and think it would help ... you could try laying on the Pure Latex bliss pamper with a 2" topper (this would be 2" of 14 ILD latex and 1" of probably 19 or slightly higher latex over a firmer core) and then compare it to laying on the PLB Nature with no topper (this would be 2" of soft latex probably @ 19 or slightly higher latex over 1" of very firm over the firm core). This would give you a chance to test 2" of soft over firmer and 3" of soft over firmer to see which one worked best ... although the soft in all of them would be softer than what you now have. If you do this I would spend some time relaxed on each of them. Are you and your wife side, back, stomach, or combination sleepers as this too will determine how thick your comfort layer should be and will affect your perception of firmness. Phoenix This message was modified Jan 14, 2011 by Phoenix
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I had hoped the fine tuning of this wouldn't be so tough. But I can't say enough for Sleepez customer service. Shawn is so easy to work with and just seems to want to make sure we are happy. I would say both of us were very happy for the 1st month or so with the x-firm, firm, medium. But after that, we both started to feel the pressure points, although I would say my wife more so...which goes along with what you are saying. She also is going through a rough time with some middle back issues with a protruding disk....which complicates this whole thing. We switched to the Firm, medium, medium combo for a little over a week now. She is still having pressure point issues and for me it is like I described in my earlier post tonight.....very hard to explain. You gave 3 different descriptions of soft......i guess the correct comfort layer soft is what we are trying to achive. Definately not looking for a sinking in feeling, just soft enough to relieve pressure points, but supportive. Mike |
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I have also found that Shawn is great in his efforts to help people find what is best for them. Sometimes though we disagree on mattress construction it seems :). What are your normal sleeping positions (you and your wife) Phoenix |
| Combination of side and back for both of us. It was more side sleeping before this mattress, but since we have had this mattress, it is a combination. |
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OK that makes sense (especially that you are now more on your back) since this mattress is firmer on top than the others you have tried and there would be less pressure on your back. Based on all of this I would suggest either 3" of soft over something quite firm (this would be a little different from your "past" but may work well especially considering that you would have a little firmer top layer than the "soft stuff" you have had before so it would be more supportive) or 2" of soft over something still firm but a little less so (so the "transition between the softer top and firmer middle isn't quite so "abrupt). The reason for this is I suspect you may need 3" of "pressure relieving material" given your side sleeping and your wife's sensitivity and this could either come mostly from a 3" top layer or a 2" top layer with a little "help" from a middle layer. The only thing I would be worried about is that 3" of 22-24 ILD may be either a little too thick (sinking down too much) or a little too firm (not quite enough pressure relief) given your preferences in the past and your wife's experiences but it would likely be fine. Overall though I would say that a 3" soft layer over firm or even x firm would be your best choice. Testing the two PLB models I mentioned before may help you decide. What you would be looking for is which one gave you the best combination of "pressure relief" while still feeling like you weren't sinking down too far. Phoenix |
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Ordered 3" soft today. The first configuration I plan on trying is 3" soft on top, 3" extra-firm in the middle, and 2" medium on the bottom and then go from there. I hope this works. It takes a week for it to get here from Arizona, so I will update sometime next week. Mike |