Furniture and Furnishings - Lets talk about weight ( heavy ) and getting a new mattress

I am a big guy, 6'04" almost 400 +/- and need a new mattress, now I have a Calif King and the wife will no longer sleep in the same bed with me.....I would like to purchase just a Claif King mattress or 2 extra long twins and just put on top of recent new box springs

about 9 months ago we spent almost $ 3000 on a Sterns and Foster, I have hated it from day one, now it has a huge crater in the middle of the matterss from both of us, its one of those with a pillow top that you can only rotate and not flip over..:thumbdn:

forget the sleep number and the posturpedic, just don't link them we went thru that 9 months ago before we bought this mattress..:madhell:

my questions, anyone else a bigger person and have a mattress they like or recommend, soft or firm for heavy people ????...I have a soft now ( hate it ) arms keep falling asleep as I am a stomache/side sleeper

thanks Mark

still looking, all I found out was an extra long twin is the same length as a queen....

anyone ?

I might have it mixed up, but I thought they recommend a firm for a back-sleeper, a medium for side and a soft for tummy. Im (only ?) 260, and I find our "medium" too soft.. I get a backache from the thing unless i manage to shove and save (thru the night) the spare pillow under my midsection. Our 'spare bedroom' has the old "soft" mattress and it does feel great when I first lie on it.. but Ive had a few naps and it seems to make my back feel even worse.

My next mattress is going to be firm as possible.. I had some great sleeps on firms .. but that was when I was prob 220. My general structure hasnt changed too much.. just a little extra tire..
I had thought about a sleep-number type air bed.. and going with it in the firm mode.. but read that they have problems with bacteria buildup in the air cavity. Did you actually try one out.. and did you try with the firm mode for a night or two ? You state you like side/tummy.. but from what Ive read, a heavier person should be side or back. The tummy thing just makes too much of a concave for your spine.

I think I am in a similar spot as Mark here. I also have not found a bed that is good enough. Since I am single still, I do not share my bed. However, I am/was over 310lbs and have never really felt a great nights sleep. I have also heard what Dave C said about heavy people wanting to avoid belly sleeping if at all possible, but if you are like me Mark, that just doesn't work. If I can manage to fall asleep on my back, I wake up on my belly. But I will agree that sleeping on a hard surface, sometimes the floor, feels much better than a soft one. Sadly, the floor is just a bit too hard. As for the air mattress idea, every single one I've slept on slowly loses air over the night, and since you are even larger than I am, you have probably felt the same. You mentioned the posturpedic, and I wonder if you tried the tempurpedic. It's the one I look to try next, I've laid down on a few and they have always been the most comfortable during the 5 minute tests. I went looking around to see what I could find and I found a nice mattress review that I want to share with you. It might have some info you could find useful.
Mattresses Reviews: Foam Mattresses, Best Mattress (http://www.consumersearch.com/mattress-reviews/review)

Good luck in your quest, Mark.

-Dave