Memory Foam Grades

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is not a medical site. You should always discuss medical matters with your doctor.

Memory foam is no longer the rare item it once was - today you can buy a bewildering array of brands and products at prices ranging from "bargain" to "ouch!". How do you compare different offerings and decide which really is the best buy for you?

Unfortunately there seems to be no universally accepted method of grading memory foam for the consumer. This means that reputation of the manufacturer, personal recommendation and independent reviews remain important. That said, there are a couple of things you can look for.

Product Comparison

Thickness

There are two basic measures that can be used when comparing memory foam products. The first is the thickness of the foam. This is probably of most importance when buying a topper or pad. A pad that is very thin is unlikely to give much support, a pad that is very thick is unlikely to be providing enough extra benefit to justify the cost. Most people find a thickness of two or three inches seems to work best.

Density

The other objective comparison is the density of the foam. This affects the amount of support given by the product. In general, denser foam will be firmer than the less dense variety. However foams of different densities from different manufactureres can have different levels of firmness (is there a word for that? firminosity perhaps?). In the US, foam density is usually described in terms of pounds per cubic foot. Common densities are 3, 4 and 5lb.

Premium

Some manufacturers describe their products as being of premium quality. There's no real definition of this term, in general it refers to the denser foams.

So at the end of the day there's no clear method of comparing the quality of different memory foam products. The advice remains to shop around and remember that what's right for someone else might not be right for you.