Note: memoryfoam.com went out of business.
7/7/2008: Memoryfoam.com is back in business, but they seem completely commercialized now. Their original "pink sensus 5ld" foam is looks like its called Sunset foam now. Might not be the same stuff and their prices are really jacked up now.

You don't need to be old or have back or physical problems to need to sleep on one.

A memory foam topped mattress will probably, someday be the industry standard for beds, as MP3 players have made record albums & portable cd players obsolete.

If you go to any mattress store, you will notice that most of them now have a memory foam topper sewn on top of their innerspring mattresses for mega-hundreds of $$$. That's because people still fear getting rid of the innerspring part of the mattresses completely. So it is being added on top of innerspring sets. They can't believe "foam" can now be made in a way to really support AND cusion you. They are thinking of foam rubber or the foam pads in couch cushions - either too soft & no support, OR too hard & ungiving.

The "Cheaper-pedic combo mattress" most of us on FW came up with is a combination of both:

A FIRM base 5" -6"(without the innersprings or extra boxspring.)
Many people have bought the 5" Thick Extra-firm Support Foam Topper- Queen, 60x80" (Item# RN725-5805A) from JCPenney.com. Wait & buy it with a 30% off coupon. Brings the price down to about $90/queen. Use a free shipping coupon instead.
It's called a Topper at JCPenney, but many people are using it for the BASE of our mattress.)That's where most of the confusion is in this thread - people keep asking what are you using for a bottom. The JCPenney "topper" IS our "bottom" of the whole "mattress".

Edited on 4/8/08 by Imzadi (who wrote most of this summary): After having the JC Penney 5" Thick Extra-firm Support Foam Topper as my base for about 2 1/2 years now, it is NOT good to be using this as a BASE. It is advertised as a topper, and yes, that's really all it should be used for. It breaks down really quickly, becoming way too soft, with no inner core of support, especially in the center, that a BASE needs. Buy ANYTHING else for you base, then continue with the rest of the directions in this summary.

Edited 7/27/08 by Drogean: Stay away from Jc Penney 5"inch support foam topper base. Same happened to me as above. I recommend WalMart's own 8 inch Spa Sensations complete foam mattress as a BASE and putting some better quality memory foam over it. This is the current cheapest combo I've found.

Then add a 3"- 4" thick, 4 lb. or 5 lb. density memory foam topper from a store/outlet of your choice. This is placed directly on top as a real "topper" on our mattress. The 5 lb. density will be firmer. (Many reviews on other forums for the Tempurpedic Brand memory foam mattress have found their use of 5.5 lb. density to be TOO firm.) Many people here have been choosing Overstock.com or eBay or WalMart for their memory foam topper. 3.5 lb. desity is for pillows.

Loderunner: This 'high density = firmer' stuff is very misleading, if not downright incorrect. It is widely spoken that higher density foam is generally firmer, but I've laid on a 7 pound density Tempurpedic mattress that was considerably softer than a generic 5 pound density mattress. The ILD rating--which is another measurement of pounds, but it is NOT the same thing as the density rating--is supposed to provide an objective measurement of firmness, but I'm not even sure you can trust those. I ordered samples from foambymail.com, and received a white piece of 4.3 pound density, ILD 12 foam and a pink piece of 5.3 pound density, ILD 15 foam. The higher ILD number for the pink foam meant that it should have been firmer, but it was not. I set a heavy coffee mug on both pieces of foam, and pink foam was compressed at least 3x farther than the white foam was compressed--and both pieces of foam were room temperature (When heated by body heat, the pink stuff should theoretically become even softer.) On the whole I've found that higher density foam is generally nicer feeling than lower density foam (it's "creamier", if that makes any sense), but if at all possible you should try to feel before you buy. Whatever you do, don't fall blindly into the "denser = firmer" myth--in my experience, it's so often untrue that it's not even useful as a rough guideline.

Toss on a mattress pad or zippered cover to:
A) Stop the heat build up a memory foam pad seems to generate/store from body heat during sleeping.
B)To keep the combo from shifting apart - if you get a zippered topper.
Member: PoisonZ said: "Target has 12" mattress cover zippered for $39.99. Its costly but it really works well."

(edit 11/1) www.shopsatin.com has zippered mattress covers. I got a King size for $16 and am happy with it.

THAT is the bare minimum necessary for the "Cheaper-pedic mattress combo."
(I have only this combo & it works great for me.)
Other people have been tweaking & adding Sensus pads & other extras as they want/need. (See last several posts, dates starting since Dec 15th-ish on.)

You can place this combo on top of an existing boxspring. Some have added a plywood board between the combo & boxspring for even more support.
Or you can get rid of your boxspring & place it on a platform bed, directly on the floor, or place on plywood inserted for a the floor in a metal bedframe. Raise the legs of the frame up with "bed risers" from Bed, Bath & Beyond." They are made to raise up the bed (to create extra storage underneath) & come in different heights.

Things to keep in mind:
* Member: ChicagoBent pointed out,"You can soften up a too firm bed, but it is difficult if not impossible to firm up a too soft bed. A topper will not solve your problem if your bed is too soft."

* You CAN simply add a 3"- 4" memory foam topper onto a decent - to great mattress or futon that you already have. It will only feel better. However, a memory foam topper will NOT fix a crappy/saggy mattress.

* You will probably need deep-sided, fitted sheets with any combo you make.Make sure they cover the whole depth of the sides.

* Quite a few Fatwalleters are having problems with memory foam from Overstock.com that are advertised as 5lb density but are actually 3lb density. FWers report being satisfied with: foambymail.com, sleep shop on Amazon.com, and completesleepshop on eBay. Caveat emptor.

Fixed JC Penney Topper Link

For those looking for a decent but cheap zippered cover. Bed bath and beyond has one for $24.99. I would suggest going to B&M to pick it up but here is the link:

* 9" Zippered Cover for Matress *

Increase JCPenny Topper Size
I figured out a way to make the JCPenny topper expand fully (mine went from 56x75 to 59z79).This made mine almost a full queen!
1. Allowing topper to expand on its own for 12 hours or so.
2. Place topper on the floor.
3. In sox, slowly walk back and forth along the longest axis, move over 12" each time you complete a lap.
4. Repeat several times if needed, it seems to help the foam finally stretch out properly