The firmer the mattress, the better it is for your posture and general wellbeing.

I don't know how true it is but somewhere I read that you can expect about 1 year of good use for every $150 you spend on any mattress.

I have purchased a memory foam topper - will see how that goes and if it is ok to sleep on can get a full mattress later on,

Foans tend to make you sleep hot and aren't all that good for you.

Ticking is far better as it's a far more natural marterial.

The firmer the mattress, the better it is for your posture and general wellbeing.

i absolutely agree and having a 'bad back' really need one.  Only as someone said trying them 

in the store for a few minutes doesn't give a good guide to what they're like. I bought one

recently after checking it in the store and it was the firmest they had, but now I find

there's still a slight sag in it.  Maybe I need a new base. 

Otherwise sorry rosieglen I can't help you there.  

I sympathise with the non sleepers. I actually 'slept' in two beds last night. My own, and the bed in the spare room, trying to get comfortable. I have an expensive bed plus a memory foam topper. I have come to the conclusion that no bed will ever really suit me. 😞

It is the foam in the toppers that can be hot

I saved up for a latex mattress because they are so good.  Not hot at all.  The problem is deciding between soft, medium and firm.

Choosing a mattress is a horrible job, and so expensive.

For years and years and years, I slept on a foam mattress ... one of those cheap ones .... and I loved them.  I had to conquer the feeling of going to a mattress place where most prices started at $1500 and asking to see the foam ones for around $100 and feeling like a cheapskate, but really, I found them so comfortable.  

I sympathise with the non sleepers. I actually 'slept' in two beds last night. My own, and the bed in the spare room, trying to get comfortable. I have an expensive bed plus a memory foam topper. I have come to the conclusion that no bed will ever really suit me. 😞

It may not be any bed that is at fault for you, perhaps some other underlying reason is responsible, just as I discovered when trying to get to the bottom of why I sleep so little.

We love ours. The downside though is it weighs an absolute ton. I can't lift it enough to get a fitted sheet on, let alone rotate it. I have to get my husband to help. 

It was a bed with a latex mattress that a couple I know bought, and one of them found it too hot to sleep on.

Living in a hot climate wouldn't help either. Personally I will take that about latex matresses into consideration myself when the time comes to get a new mattress/bed.

I had a foam mattress topper on a hotel bed where I stayed in in Melbourne during a heat wave. It reflected the heat (or whatever it does) and was too hot to sleep on. It got taken off.

What's the difference between Memory Foam and Latex Foam? 

Visco Elastic Memory foam is a temperature sensitive form of polyurethane foam that has special additives that create a self-adhesion property for a few seconds after being exposed to a heat source (your body). Over time, the adhesive slowly releases, allowing the foam to return to its original shape. This conforming property is very popular to thousands of sleepers worldwide.

Latex foam is a natural product that is derived from the latex rubber extracted from rubber trees. It is not temperature sensitive, as memory foam is. It is available in numerous different densities (rated by ILD from 14 to 44), is extremely comfortable and supportive, and is considered the premimum sleep surface by most European sleepers. While not as well known in the United States as Memroy Foam, Latex Foam Beds are becoming more and more popular.

Just a tip--never try and turn the mattress over on a water bed--Richo.