we found a great mattress - but we hate it
Aug 30, 2011 12:26 AM
Joined: Jan 10, 2010
Points: 42
A year ago we bought a Flobeds zoned latex mattress (king).   My side is the zoned layer over firm over extra firm, my husband's side is a combination of extra firm and superfirm (not zoned).  After playing around with it for quite some time I finally got the zones and layers right, and for the first time in 30 years I wake up without pain.  Which is a dream come true.

 

But we both hate the way it feels.  Both of us prefer a firm feeling mattress, and the egg crate layer on top is so mushy it feels like a pillowtop.  Flobeds doesn't offer any alternative for the "comfort" layer (we call it the discomfort layer).  At one point we removed it entirely; my husband liked the resulting mattress better but I can't sleep directly on the support layers.  

My husband is so miserable about this mattress he wants another bed.  I'm out of pain - I can't walk away from that.  But I don't find the bed comfortable either - in fact I find it so difficult to fall asleep that sometimes I prefer to start off on the floor, and move to the bed later. Latex mattresses in stores usually feel wonderful to both of us.  We're convinced the problem is the mushy egg crate foam.  We just want a nice, firm, smooth surface to lie down on and not sink into.

What are our options?  How can we find a "comfort layer" that feels firm when we lie down on it, yet still allows the support layers to do their job?  We don't use a mattress pad (since the darn thing is already way too gushy.)

This message was modified Aug 30, 2011 by lnkholder
Re: great mattress - we hate it
Reply #1 Aug 30, 2011 2:18 AM
Joined: Aug 29, 2011
Points: 6
Ome option would be to get a 1" or 2" of soft latex (20 ild or so) and use as your comfort layer rather than the convoluted latex. You can get this from foambymail.com  or you could just send it back and go with a good quality latex/spring bed.
Re: great mattress - we hate it
Reply #2 Aug 30, 2011 3:44 PM
Joined: Aug 5, 2010
Points: 227
Scott1258 wrote:

Ome option would be to get a 1" or 2" of soft latex (20 ild or so) and use as your comfort layer rather than the convoluted latex. You can get this from foambymail.com  or you could just send it back and go with a good quality latex/spring bed.


I agree, there are many different "softer" toppers from 14 to 28 ILD that could be used as comfort layers from a number of different vendors, including Sleepez and Sleeps Like a Bear who has one of the most variety of toppers that I have seen.  Flobed probably also has them and maybe they would exchange it or give you a discount.

I wouldn't throw out a good mattress when you can easily swap out the comfort layer.

Re: we found a great mattress - but we hate it
Reply #3 Aug 30, 2011 5:13 PM
Joined: Oct 15, 2009
Points: 966
I agree with the others.  You might want to try 1-2" of regular latex instead of the egg crate.  Not sure what firmness though, because it sounds like you want it fairly firm.  That might be around 28 ILD, possibly even firmer (especially for your husband).   You may also find that what you and your husband want is different.  It is possible you will want 2 different toppers (for a king you can get 2 twin XLs).

Sleep like a bear has a wide variety and you can return them within in 30 days for most of your money back.

Have you asked Flobeds directly about trying something else?  Usually they are pretty accomdiative, and they might be be able to send you 2" of something.  You probably can return the eggcrate for some money back.

Is it too firm for your husband without the egg crate?  Or what doesn't he like about it without it?

Re: we found a great mattress - but we hate it
Reply #4 Aug 30, 2011 5:19 PM
Joined: Jun 16, 2011
Points: 171
I'm using an egg crate foam under my fiberbed topper, and when it was egg crate side up, I also found it too "mushy". Does yours have a smooth side as well as the egg crate side? I turned mine over to the firmer smooth side, and have found that to be perfect for me and it totally alleviated my back pain.
Re: we found a great mattress - but we hate it
Reply #5 Aug 30, 2011 7:29 PM
Joined: Jan 10, 2010
Points: 42
sandman wrote:

I agree with the others.  You might want to try 1-2" of regular latex instead of the egg crate.  Not sure what firmness though, because it sounds like you want it fairly firm.  That might be around 28 ILD, possibly even firmer (especially for your husband).   You may also find that what you and your husband want is different.  It is possible you will want 2 different toppers (for a king you can get 2 twin XLs).

 

Sleep like a bear has a wide variety and you can return them within in 30 days for most of your money back.

Have you asked Flobeds directly about trying something else?  Usually they are pretty accomdiative, and they might be be able to send you 2" of something.  You probably can return the eggcrate for some money back.

Is it too firm for your husband without the egg crate?  Or what doesn't he like about it without it?

Flobeds didn't have anything else of the right thickness, at least not as of last year when we bought it.  The bed is better for my husband without the topper, but too firm for me.  And the topper is the only layer that joins the two halves of the king bed.  What happens if we use a different topper on each side?

Right now I have a medium zone under my shoulders, topped by the eggcrate foam.  When I had a firm piece in that position my arms fell asleep.  If I switch to a 28 ILD, should I also put a softer piece under my shoulders to compensate for the increased firmness of the top layer?

Re: we found a great mattress - but we hate it
Reply #6 Aug 30, 2011 7:30 PM
Joined: Jan 10, 2010
Points: 42
DoreenA wrote:

I'm using an egg crate foam under my fiberbed topper, and when it was egg crate side up, I also found it too "mushy". Does yours have a smooth side as well as the egg crate side? I turned mine over to the firmer smooth side, and have found that to be perfect for me and it totally alleviated my back pain.

We did try flipping the eggcrate, but it didn't help - it's still too pillowtoppy.
 

Re: we found a great mattress - but we hate it
Reply #7 Aug 30, 2011 9:13 PM
Joined: Aug 5, 2010
Points: 227
lnkholder wrote:

 

Flobeds didn't have anything else of the right thickness, at least not as of last year when we bought it.  The bed is better for my husband without the topper, but too firm for me.  And the topper is the only layer that joins the two halves of the king bed.  What happens if we use a different topper on each side?

Right now I have a medium zone under my shoulders, topped by the eggcrate foam.  When I had a firm piece in that position my arms fell asleep.  If I switch to a 28 ILD, should I also put a softer piece under my shoulders to compensate for the increased firmness of the top layer?


Personally, I would try something softer than 28 under my shoulders but, yes, softer under the shoulders would alleviate the pressure.  Here is a thread on what Custom Sleep Design recommended for this guy in a zoned mattress:  http://www.whatsthebest-mattress.com/forum/my-design-custom-sleep-design/16344-0-1.html

Re: we found a great mattress - but we hate it
Reply #8 Aug 30, 2011 11:33 PM
Joined: Apr 15, 2011
Points: 163
lnkholder wrote:

A year ago we bought a Flobeds zoned latex mattress (king).   My side is the zoned layer over firm over extra firm, my husband's side is a combination of extra firm and superfirm (not zoned).  After playing around with it for quite some time I finally got the zones and layers right, and for the first time in 30 years I wake up without pain.  Which is a dream come true.

 

 

But we both hate the way it feels.  Both of us prefer a firm feeling mattress, and the egg crate layer on top is so mushy it feels like a pillowtop.  Flobeds doesn't offer any alternative for the "comfort" layer (we call it the discomfort layer).  At one point we removed it entirely; my husband liked the resulting mattress better but I can't sleep directly on the support layers.  

My husband is so miserable about this mattress he wants another bed.  I'm out of pain - I can't walk away from that.  But I don't find the bed comfortable either - in fact I find it so difficult to fall asleep that sometimes I prefer to start off on the floor, and move to the bed later. Latex mattresses in stores usually feel wonderful to both of us.  We're convinced the problem is the mushy egg crate foam.  We just want a nice, firm, smooth surface to lie down on and not sink into.

What are our options?  How can we find a "comfort layer" that feels firm when we lie down on it, yet still allows the support layers to do their job?  We don't use a mattress pad (since the darn thing is already way too gushy.)


Maybe you would want to consider a wool topper. They feel somewhat firm but are resilient. I'd call it supportive but not hard. I have a 3" topper right now and it has made my very aging spring mattress tolerable while I figure out what to do next. You can fluff it up from time to time. I kind of like how it develops an impression around my body, sort of cradling it, so I don't have pressure points. Just a thought. Wool toppers aren't cheap, and most if not all are not returnable, so you'd want to consider carefully. For my money, I like wool. It's breathable, hypoalergenic, reasonably resilient but quite supportive. I've read other posts on this forum from people who found putting a wool topper on top of latex mattress layers made them feel consideably firmer and reduced or eliminated the spongy feeling of latex or other foams underneath..

Re: we found a great mattress - but we hate it
Reply #9 Aug 31, 2011 12:25 AM
Joined: Aug 31, 2007
Points: 793
I love my FloBeds Queen Latex mattress BUT I also did not like hte convoluted latex topper that came with the bed since it was to thick for me making the bed too soft but the bed was not comfortable without a topper since if I went softer on the latex layers my back hurt and I needed very firm latex layers.  Hence, despite Dave trying to help me by sending me other toppers, I found my own natural latex topper that is 1" thick from Bylane Homes and is around a 28 ILD. My bed is now perfect for me.  I really love the way it feels but the right topper makes all the difference.  Brylane Homes is now only selling this topper in a 1.5" thickness.  I would look around for a 1" thick latex topper.
Re: we found a great mattress - but we hate it
Reply #10 Aug 31, 2011 10:55 AM
Joined: Oct 15, 2009
Points: 966
lnkholder wrote:

 

 

Flobeds didn't have anything else of the right thickness, at least not as of last year when we bought it.  The bed is better for my husband without the topper, but too firm for me.  And the topper is the only layer that joins the two halves of the king bed.  What happens if we use a different topper on each side?

Right now I have a medium zone under my shoulders, topped by the eggcrate foam.  When I had a firm piece in that position my arms fell asleep.  If I switch to a 28 ILD, should I also put a softer piece under my shoulders to compensate for the increased firmness of the top layer?

Yes, I would put softer under the shoulders if you have a firmer topper on top.  At least try it, that is what the flexibilty of the vzone is all about. 

If you use different toppers, then the seam down the middle might be more noticable.  Not sure if that would bother you or not. You can get a sense of what it would be like when you are not using the eggcrate.  It would be nicer to have one piece, but the problem may be making both of you happy with it.  Of course you can try to adjust the lower support levels to compensate.

As Lynn is suggesting, you may want to start with adding just 1".  You can then try folding that in half to see what adding another inch will be like (obviously you can only do that on 1 half at a time). 

Trying a wool topper is also a good idea.  You might be surprised that adding a wool topper or a mattress pad can actually make it feel slightly firmer, especially if it fits tightly.  So, you might want to try putting on a mattress pad if you haven't already.  

Most of us have found that a lot of trial and error is required to get the right combination.



 

This message was modified Aug 31, 2011 by sandman