Shikibuton + mattress topper -- one cover, or two?

April 7, 2019 5:43 PM

I recently got a 3" shikibuton mattress and a 3" wool mattress topper for a sleeping setup in my small camper trailer. This will be my sleeping quarters for an extended sabbatical / camping trip. My question: Should I get one zippered cotton cover and put both the shikibuton and the wool topper inside of it? Or should I put each item in its own separate zippered cover?

I plan to fold up the shikibuton daily into thirds. I also plan to roll up the wool topper as well.

Should I get one 5" (largest available on JLife) shikibuton cover and put both of them inside of it, and fold them up as a unit? Or should I get two separate 3" shikibuton covers and put a separate cover on each? Or, should I get one 3" shikibuton cover and one duvet cover for the mattress topper?

I'm worried that folding up the two mattresses together might not be good for them for some reason, since they have very different weight and loft. But I'm also concerned that separate cotton covers will make them slide and separate while I'm sleeping.

I have thought of putting separate covers on and then throwing a fitted sheet over the top to hold them together, but this solution feels a bit clumsy for the daily rolling-up process, and so I'd like to avoid it if I can.

posted by octopodiatrist to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

I feel like wrangling the two items in and out of a shared cover in a trailer might be a bit maddening. I’d go for the two covers. Cotton shouldn’t be too slippery and the wool mattress topper probably has some heft to it. Worse comes to worse, you later buy something to put them in together and the individual covers work as spares.
posted by amanda at 7:16 PM on April 7, 2019

Definitely get two. You don't want to compress the wool, and the two together will not fold well, if at all. They are not going to separate while you sleep.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:09 AM on April 8, 2019

If needed, you can glue velcro to the corners to help them stay together.
posted by theora55 at 6:37 AM on April 8, 2019

Another vote for two covers. The cover will definitely bunch up somehow if they're together, and it will definitely happen when you want nothing more than an extremely quick roll-out-and-sleep process, which will be absolutely infuriating.

Also wanted to add, if you've got some time to test these out (and have not tried them before) you may want to try just the shiki alone. You might be surprised how comfortable it is even without the topper.
posted by Urban Winter at 10:53 AM on April 8, 2019