Hi thefussys,
Unfortunately if your budget is lower then you may have to compromise the types of materials that you use and this is just part of the tradeoffs that are involved in a mattress purchase with a lower budget. A $500 budget 15 years ago would buy much more than even $800 will today.
The reality is that good quality specialty foams such as memory foam and latex are just more expensive and if you buy a mattress that uses them and choose low quality materials it won’t last as long as a more traditional mattress that uses more durable materials that costs less. This is especially true when your husband weighs well over 200 lbs. 3 lb memory foam or other lower quality materials just won’t last and will end up being poor value if you have to replace it more often because it loses its comfort and support much too quickly.
When you have a lower budget and want high quality and more durable materials then something has to give and what may have to give is either the type of materials that you choose so you can still have good quality in a lower budget with a traditional mattress similar to what you purchased previously or you may need to consider an online order where there are mattresses available that have reasonable quality and good value in your budget range but carry a bit more risk in terms of making a choice that is more suitable for your needs and preferences.
Beside the online lists that I linked to earlier and the Minneapolis list that I also linked to (which may have the best value available within a reasonable driving distance) … I had a chance to do a bit of looking in the Saint Cloud area and some of the options you may want to consider are listed at the end of this post. Keep in mind that these are not researched other than looking at websites so you will need to make sure that any of these will disclose the materials that are in their mattresses so that you can confirm that what you are buying is reasonable quality because I haven’t had the chance to have a conversation with any of these retailers. I would also suggest that you call them first before you spend any time visiting them to make sure that they carry some mattresses that have a latex comfort layer or a memory foam comfort layer that is at least 4 lbs density and that the support layers use at least 1.8 lb polyfoam that is in your budget. The more you do on the phone the less you will end up driving everywhere only to find that you may have wasted your time. This way you can make sure that you are getting the best possible quality that may be available to you locally. I’ve listed the manufacturers that I would consider on a “mattress by mattress” basis with each retailer but again you will need to make sure that any of the specific mattresses you are considering have good quality materials and are within your budget because many of these may not be in the models that they carry.
http://www.cloud9furnitureinc.com/ Saint Cloud, MN Anatomic Global
http://mattressoutletstcloudmn.com/
stcloudclearancecenter.com Saint Cloud, MN. Restonic.
http://www.happysleeperfurniture.com/ Waite Park, MN. Ecosleep, Englander, Restonic.
http://www.customcomfortbeds.com/main/index.php/beds Waite Park, MN. Cool Contour (Ecosleep?), Custom Comfort.
http://www.beckerfurnitureworld.com/ Becker, MN. Sleep Harmony (call to make sure they carry these).
http://www.mattressdepotmn.com/ Albertville, MN Therapedic, Superpedic? (check specs and manufacturer).
Rocky Ridge Outlet - Home Albany, MN. Symbol.
When you are looking at “possibilities” for retail stores … then it’s important to make sure that they are willing and able to provide you with the quality details of all the layers of a mattress you are considering (see this article) so that you can make a reasonable assessment of the quality and durability of a mattress and meaningful comparisons with other similar mattresses.
With an $800 budget then you are also in the range of some of the online options I mentioned earlier in post #12 here and hopefully there may also be some reasonable quality local options in this range as well.
Hope this helps.
Phoenix