Hi akilkris,
I am a male, 6'1" tall, about 180 lbs, and like to sleep on my back most of the times, but also roll on the sides during my sleep. At the Nest store today, I found that the medium Love bed was a bit too soft with more sinkage than I would have liked, and the firm one was a little too hard for me with extra support for the back but not as much comfort for my side.. So the nice store sales rep asked me to try a 2 inch bamboo foam topper on the firm mattress, and I found that to be a really good fit for both my back support and side comfort. I really liked everything about it and how it felt, but the topper adds up to a $100 to the price of the Love bed queen mattress. And then towards the end, I tried their Alexander medium mattress and absolutely loved it! It was the perfect balance of support and comfort and I just didnt feel any discomfort at all. But obviously it was over my price range at $1200.
I am now stuck in this dilemma if I should give the Brooklyn bed a try with medium firmness as this is well within my budget. Based on my experience with the Nest Firm Love bed + 2 inch bamboo topper, do you think I should do the same thing with the BME as well? Or should I just get the medium BME, try it out during the trial window?
Please let me know your suggestions.
There are also no "standard" definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like "medium" for someone else or even "soft" for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they "rate" a mattress as well (see
post #15 here
) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness as well and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science.
I would also keep in mind that latex is a completely different material than memory foam and while I can't speak to how any mattress will "feel" for someone else because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances ... outside of PPP the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability and assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the
guidelines here
... the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses (see
this article
) are more of a preference and a budget choice than a "better/worse" choice. There is more about how latex and memory foam compare in
post #2 here
.
While your own careful testing or personal experience is the most reliable way to know whether a mattress is a good "match" for you in terms of comfort and PPP ... when you can't test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart (which would certainly include Brooklyn Bedding) and who can help "talk you through" the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and "feel" of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best "match" for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the "averages" of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about "matching" their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
I would probably start with just a mattress by itself because it may be all you need and there is no reason to go to the extra expense of adding a topper if you don't need it. You can always add a topper afterwards if your sleeping experience indicates that you need to.
Phoenix