Featherbed in Vietnam? Good idea?

September 27, 2012 11:34 AM

Should I get a feather bed mattress topper? Twist: Vietnam.

Recently, my company opened an office in Ho Chi Minh city. For the first few business trips that we took over there we stayed at a nearby hotel but as the trips got longer and more frequent, it made more financial sense to get a corporate apartment.

I haven't been there since they got the apartment, but my boyfriend (we work at the same company) said that the bed is hard (as beds typically are in Asia). I'm wondering if it makes sense to bring a featherbed topper with me on my next trip over and keep it there.

So here's my questions:

How is a featherbed going to fare with humidity?
Today its at 80% humidity. There's air conditioning indoors, but its only on when people are home (about 10 - 12 hours a day) I don't want mold to become a problem.

Am I going to be able to travel with a featherbed? I'll need to get on a plane with it. Is it possible?

Does sleeping on a featherbed make it warmer than not sleeping on one? Again, back to the weather...

Should I just buy it in Vietnam? Would I be able to find it at a reasonable price?
In my experience, I had trouble finding things that I otherwise thought would be easy to find (contact lens fluid) or they're really expensive (iPhone 5 is $1,000! Okay, that's an extreme)

Are there alternatives to featherbeds that I should consider?


Thanks for reading and your comments!

posted by p1nkdaisy to home & garden (5 answers total)

Sleeping on a featherbed topper is WAY WAY warmer than a non-featherbeded mattress.
posted by mollymayhem at 11:39 AM on September 27, 2012 [3 favorites]

Besides the extra warmth a featherbed holds, does anyone who would be using it have allergies? A lot of people who are allergic to animal dander are also affected by featherbeds or feather-filled pillows.
posted by easily confused at 12:12 PM on September 27, 2012

Have you ever owned a featherbed topper before? I slept on one at a hotel, and fell madly in love with it. I was thinking of buying one, but when I read about the care details, it seemed that the effectiveness dropped way off if you didn't pick it up off the bed and shake/fluff it every day, or at least every couple of days. (i.e. it gets all lumpy, and all the fluff migrates away from the location your pressure points lie on) That's waaaay too much work for me; it only makes sense in a hotel setting where they're changing the sheets every day.
Foam type toppers don't have that fluff-migration issue and are less likely to have permanent dents under where your hips go.
posted by aimedwander at 12:16 PM on September 27, 2012

I would recommend a foam mattress pad over a featherbed. It will not increase the temperature as much, and will hold its shape.
posted by capricorn at 3:18 PM on September 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Get a wool filled mattress pad. So much better than feathers and helps regulate body temperature.
posted by ephemerista at 6:57 PM on September 27, 2012 [1 favorite]