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Toppers / Pads Ratings and Reviews
Based On Data From Over 270 Owners This section rates memory foam (visco elastic) mattress toppers / pads. Memory foam is made up of millions of spherical shaped, open cells that are temperature and weight sensitive. As a result, the toppers have strong contouring properties and provide good support without significant pressure points. What You Need To Know Memory foam toppers are currently the most popular type of mattress topper / pad. This is largely because of their high customer satisfaction (see comfort rating and advantages below) and generally reasonable price. Why Or Why Not a Mattress Topper? Bed toppers / pads (memory foam or otherwise) have important advantages and disadvantages you should know. Our Research Our mattress topper research is based on reviews / comments from 271 memory foam bed topper owners collected from dozens of online message boards. For information on our research methodology and why it is highly credible, click here. To know more about why we conduct our research, click here. We do not provide ratings for each individual topper brand for a couple of reasons. First, there are several different brands and no one has a large enough sample size to properly stand alone. Second, the brands tend to have very similar, if not indistinguishable, customer satisfaction levels as well as pros and cons, based on our data. As a result, there is a little, if any, value to differentiate based on brand, at least at this time. Brands included in our research include Serta, Isoform, Sleep Better, Novaform Elite / Sleep Innovations from Costco, generic brand(s) from Overstock.com, Sensus, Spa Sensations from Wal-mart, TempSoma from Sam's Club and others. Comfort Rating Based on data from 271 memory foam bed topper owners, 253 find their toppers to be comfortable and 34 find them uncomfortable. This means that 93% of owners find their topper comfortable. (Interestingly, this comfort rating is higher than the overall comfort rating for memory foam mattresses.) Price The overwhelming majority of owners included in our data paid between $50 and $190 for their topper. The large price range is mainly due to differences in topper thickness. (The thicker the topper the more expensive it is.) Higher priced memory foam toppers are available, such as those from Tempur-pedic®. However, based on the high owner satisfaction that we have uncovered with discount toppers and what we learned from our memory foam mattress research, there is seemingly limited benefit in paying a higher price, at least in terms of comfort. However, a higher priced brand, such as Tempurpedic, will probably have less off gassing and be less likely to sleep hot. Thickness The clear majority of owners included in our data had either the 2 inch or 3 inch thickness. Fewer had the 4 inch and even fewer had the 1 inch. A good test for how thick of a topper you personally need is to place something hard yet fairly small (such as legos, kid's matchbox car, etc.) under the topper and then lay on it. The topper with enough thickness to keep you from feeling the object under the topper is likely a good choice for you. There is little point in paying for a thicker topper than you need. Positives of Memory Foam Toppers / Pads This section lists and describes seven positives of memory foam bed toppers / pads, according to 271 owners.
Better sleep The topper allows better and more efficient sleep.
Reduced tossing and turning The sleeper moves around less during sleep and often wakes up in the same position he or she fell asleep in. Reduced pain The topper relieves or even eliminates pain, especially back, shoulder and hip pain. Not hot The pad does not "sleep hot". In other words, it does not absorb the sleeper's body heat and then fail to release it. Little or no motion transfer The mattress topper localizes or absorbs motion. In other words, it absorbs the movement of one person on the bed so that the other person does not notice the movement much or at all. Typically, the thicker the topper, the less motion transfer. Want to stay in bed The mattress topper makes the sleeper not want to get out of bed. This may be due to the memory foam's temperature sensitivity which can discourage body movement. No odor There is little, if any, off gassing or chemical-like smell caused by the manufacturing and/or packaging process. For related information, see advantages of a memory foam mattress. Negatives of Memory Foam Toppers / Pads This section lists and describes 11 negatives of memory foam bed toppers / pads, according to 271 owners.
Off gassing The memory foam mattress topper gives off a chemical-like odor for the first days, weeks and, in some cases, months. Poor fit It can be difficult to fit the topper properly to the mattress. For example, buying a queen size topper does not necessarily ensure that it will fit the dimensions of a queen size bed. Sleeps hot The product captures body heat and does not efficiently release it causing the surface to be unnaturally warm. Does not fully expand The topper does not decompress fully when removed from vacuum-sealed packaging. Takes getting used to The mattress topper is different enough from the surface of what the sleeper is used to that getting acclimated to it often requires several days, perhaps even weeks. Difficult to move on Moving on the product, such as tossing and turning, can be difficult. The thicker the topper the more difficult moving on it will likely be. The temperature-sensitive aspect of the foam causes it to contour around one’s body. This means that moving into a new position often requires more effort than is the case with other types of toppers. Slides around The product does not securely attach to the mattress, causing the pad to move around on the bed during the night. Causes pain The bed topper causes pain, especially back, shoulder and hip pain, or makes existing pain worse. Heavy The product is heavy which makes moving or transporting it difficult. Premature sagging In three years or less the topper sags, loses much support and leaves significant body impressions which undermined comfort. Dislike other beds as result of sleeping on topper After becoming used to sleeping on the memory foam topper, the sleeper has difficulty sleeping and finding comfort on other beds, such as those they use when traveling. For related information, see disadvantages of a memory foam mattress.
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