<p>We buy the egg crate kind and throw them out at the end of the year. As much time as the kids spend on their beds, I don’t want to reuse them. Actually, we usually rip the thing up and wrap breakable stuff in it for the drive home and then pitch it. Our school’s mattresses are plastic-encased so fumigating, etc. is not an issue.</p>
<p>I bought a 2-inch (maybe actually like 2.5 iinches?) Isotonic memory foam topper at BB&B in 2005. It was a Twin-XL and came together with a very nice quality mattress pad in a big blue storage bag. At the time, it was probably $150 and seemed pretty expensive. However, it has held up really well and is being used by the second kid. They both say that it is extremely comfortable. It refolds - I fold it in half down the long axis and then roll it like a sleeping bag to fit in the duffle-shaped storage bag. Neither of my kids has complained of it feeling too warm.</p>
<p>I lysol the dorm mattress, cover that mattress with a zippered mattress cover, add the foam and cover it all with the mattresss pad. Good as home (maybe better!)</p>
<p>We bought the kids memory foam toppers from Overstock.com. At the end of the year we refold and roll them (like lkf725) inside the mattress pad and stuff them inside a garbage bag. My kids have never complained of being too hot and one is very heat sensitive.</p>
<p>We went with the layered approach, in the hopes of providing DS with comfort and protection. The dorm mattress was abysmal - probably about 3 inches thick.</p>
<p>Layers (from bottom to top)</p>
<p>1) Mattress cover (zip-up “anti-bedbug” type from BB&B that encloses the entire mattress.)
2) Memory foam from Costco- twin size that we purchased several years ago for bunkbed. It has held up well. (I remember we had to air it out overnight to allow the odor to disperse.) Memory foam pad is really heavy, but it fit into a rolling suitcase which made it easy to transport.
3) Plush mattress pad/cover purchased from BB&B
4) Twin X-L sheets (2 sets) Good quality (high thread count - nice, soft well-made) cotton purchased from BB&B.( DS actually used both sets because it allowed him to put off doing laundry!)
5) Twin comforter purchased from Mervyn’s several years ago for bunkbed.</p>
<p>DS said his bed was extremely comfortable. Just finished washing everything (except the memory foam), packed it up in a zipped under-the-bag storage bag, and he should be good-to-go in the fall.</p>
<p>We have the Ultimate Cuddle Bed Mattress Topper from Costco on our King sized bed and absolutely LOVE it! I notice they have it in XL Twin. We’ve had it for years and it’s as nice as the day I bought it.</p>
<p>[Costco</a> - Ultimate Cuddle Bed® Plus Mattress Topper](<a href=“http://www.costco.com/Browse/Productgroup.aspx?Prodid=11189730&search=ultimate%20mattress%20topper&topnav=&Mo=0&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&N=4047322&whse=BC&Dx=mode%20matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=ultimate%20mattress%20topper&eCat=BC|90608&Ntt=ultimate%20mattress%20topper&No=0&Nty=1&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial]Costco”>http://www.costco.com/Browse/Productgroup.aspx?Prodid=11189730&search=ultimate%20mattress%20topper&topnav=&Mo=0&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&N=4047322&whse=BC&Dx=mode%20matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=ultimate%20mattress%20topper&eCat=BC|90608&Ntt=ultimate%20mattress%20topper&No=0&Nty=1&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial)</p>
<p>We purchased a Spa Sensations topper, after reading positive reviews, through Wal-Mart and had it delivered to a store near the college. Thicker toppers are more comfortable, but also more difficult to compress and store.</p>
<p>I am going to buy a mattress topper online at Kohl’s.com since I have a bunch of Kohl’s cash coming to me next week. The one I’m getting for son is “Perfect Comfort 7 Zone Memory Foam Mattress Topper”. They have twin but not twinXL so I think I am going to buy it in King and cut it in half. 1 King=2 TwinXLs.</p>
<p>If one’s not soft enough, son can stack both halves and if one is good, I’ll save it for another 2 years for son #2. The king is on sale for $89.99 but I have the 30% off coupon bringing it down to $63. Plus that Kohl’s cash. </p>
<p>Winning!</p>
<p>Concerns about bedbugs are reasonable and the advice given above by kjcphmom was very sound. Don’t worry about head lice. They aren’t very hearty and don’t live long without a food source. It is highly unlikely anyone would “catch” head lice from a mattress.</p>
<p>My son gets hot easily so we’ve avoided foam toppers. He gets a fiberbed from Bed, Bath and Beyond each year which he finds extremely comfortable. He also has a really thick mattress pad we bought there. I believe it was the Laura Ashley brand. He misses his dorm bed when he comes home.</p>
<p>2blue - I saw those fiber beds last year and wondered about how they work. Was is more or less a really dense feather bed?</p>
<p>D used fiber bed from BB and B for dorm bed.Liked it so much that we got one for her bed at home last week on sale at BB and B.She also used mattress cover and bought memory foam. Guess she liked it all.</p>
<p>The first egg crate topper we bought for S1 had such a toxic-smelling odor that we sent it back. Forget the brand, but after more than a week of off-gassing and airing-out it still reeked. Back it went :(</p>
<p>The mattress pad types seemed a bit less offensive.</p>
<p>Kajon, I think a dense feather bed would be a good way to describe the fiberbed. He really loves his plus we didn’t have to worry about whether a roommate might be allergic to feathers.</p>
<p>We did a 2 inch memory foam last year. It had holes in it for ventilation (also cut down on the weight) and was made of 4 lb density and was a dream to lay on. After it came home and I was getting ready to roll it up for the summer, I decided to lay down on it. I really think it lost quite a bit of the “cush factor”. I bought it a Overstock because of the free shipping policy.</p>
<p>D2 got a twin XL memory foam top from target (cheap) and a XL faux feather topper from BB& B. Her bed was the most comfortable in the dorm. So she was told. </p>
<p>Luckily, she is an RA and will be in the dorms for 4r year, so she can reuse her freshman bedding.</p>
<p>2blue – why does he get one every year? does it not last?</p>
<p>After a year he says they aren’t as poofy as originally. He really values his sleep (he’s probably one of the few college students who averages more than eight hours of sleep a night) so feels it is worth it to replace it. </p>
<p>He also loves the bamboo sheets that BB&B sells. I got him a set of those and a set of cotton knit sheets from Penney’s his freshman year. He says the bamboo ones are really soft and comfortable. They are the only set he uses.</p>
<p>The bamboo sheets are really soft, but do they hold up as well as cotton does?</p>
<p>Does anyone have any advice for a tall freshman with a standard twin bed? Is there any way to make the bed seem longer so his feet will not be hanging over the end of the bed?</p>
<p>Moonshadow, I’d suggest he email the housing department at his school, tell them how tall he is, and ask if they have any extra-long twins for tall kids like him. It’s worth a shot. I can’t imagine they let their basketball players deal with feet hanging over the edge of the bed.</p>