Support foam? Reflex foam? Sinking in latex!

Hi Mario,

Good to hear from you again. Sorry to hear you’re still struggling with your latex mattress. It really does sound like its just too soft for you. Forgive me, but I can’t recall your weight and height but from what I remember it sounds like you’re not getting enough support with the particular latex model you’re using.

To quickly answer your questions the difference between support foam and Reflex foam is simple.  Reflex is the original name given by British Vita originally if I remember correctly, for their own support foam. Other companies have adopted Reflex as a standard name for this foam. Support foam is just another name for this, however you would need to know the exact density and hardness rating of the support foam against Reflex foams.  We have a page on Reflex foam and its density here. 

To be honest though at that price point, you’re not going to be getting anything of super high quality, which I think from your email you’re aware of, and I would always use caution when trying to fix a bad mattress with another mattress. I can understand that price is the driving issue. It may be better to look at a solid foam mattress for this price point rather than a cheap springs/” title=”pocket spring”>pocket spring model. This is because it’s likely to provide better support at that price point than a cheaper spring unit.

My other warning would be against rolled FEPS (foam encapsulated pocket spring) mattresses. This is because springs by their very nature don’t like to be compressed and rolled. It puts them under immense strain and in my experience is usually only possible for a few weeks before they start to degrade and warp. Secondly to this, some manufacturers sometimes roll them as soon as they have been glued together for speed, which can mean that the support foam gets stuck to the springs if too much adhesive has been used and it starts to dip and sag really quickly. If you’re looking for FEPS then I would always advise you buy one that is not rolled and delivered at full size to avoid this.

I can’t remember if I advised of this a year ago, but have you got the latex on a platform top base. If it’s on slats or a sprung edge base you can add a layer of MDF or plywood on top of this base under the mattress to firm up the feel of the mattress, however, this is only a minor tweak and won’t turn a super soft mattress into a super firm one.

If money was no object I would suggest you to consider a new mattress that is more suitable for your weight / height and preferences. As for a quick fix, I would look at the solid foam mattress containing Reflex or support foam. It may be worthwhile having a look at our Outlet section to see what else is available for your budget. As always Mario, if you have any further questions please get back in touch.

Kind regards Julie