I have been sleeping on a Japanese Futon for the past two years and was hesitant to go back to using a traditional mattress: local spiders forced this decision. I ordered a queen sized mattress, but even being 13" + pillow-top + quilted pad: regular queen sheets are a little baggy, so the mattress is smaller than expected. (loss of 1 star). It is a nice combination between soft pillow-top and firm mattress. I'm not waking up with any aches/pains, but felt it provided a really comfortable sleep... enough so that I don't have not one complaint about this mattress. I would recommend to anyone looking for a firm/comfortable quality mattress.