Hi choosey,
Post #2 here lists the better options in and around the Houston area which would be closest to Katy, TX. There are some good options on the list.
The Sleep Science black Diamond mattress is made by Southbay International which is a Chinese manufacturer that sells primarily memory foam mattresses. While on the surface it appears to use high quality materials (5 lb memory foam and a 2" layer of latex over the polyfoam support base) … sometimes the “devil is in the details”.
As you can see they use bamboo charcoal in the memory foam which is a filler (which can reduce the durability of the memory foam) so this would be the “filled density” of the foam rather than the polymer density (which is what determines the quality and longevity of the foam). In other words “filled memory foam” could actually be the equivalent of a lower density memory foam in terms of durability than the 5 lb spec that is listed but I would guess this is a good quality material. The 5 lb layer of memory foam underneath this would also be good quality. When I talked with them they wouldn’t provide any details of any testing for VOC’s and harmful substances that had been done on their foams and just said “it’s the same as everyone else” but no specifics. They are not listed on the CertiPur site or on any other certification site so they are not the “same as everyone else” and there is no way to know for sure about any harmful chemicals in the mattress or any offgassing issues. I would tend to be cautious when purchasing mattresses made in Asia if there is no certification for harmful substances or VOC’s that are publicly available.
It has 2" total of memory foam with 2" of latex under that but they also don’t say the type or blend of latex they are using so there is no way to know the quality of the material (unless they provide the information) although it is probably natural Dunlop made by Latex Systems in Thailand which would be a good quality material. While 2" of memory foam is not “bad” … and I actually prefer thinner layers of memory foam (it’s less risky and softening will have less of an effect) … it also means that the memory foam would be less costly than a mattress that uses thicker layers of a similar quality material. This is of course made up by the 2" latex layer which is also a more costly material but if the latex is synthetic or blended Dunlop … then it would not have the same quality and durability as 100% natural Dunlop latex. They also don’t list the density/quality of their polyfoam base layer although I would guess that it’s at least 1.8 lbs and probably higher which would certainly be suitable for a base layer in this price range.
In other words … it’s not really possible to know the specific quality of all the materials in this mattress unless they provide you with more specific information but on the surface they appear to be good. My biggest concern would be the lack of certification for the polyfoam and memory foam in the mattress. A secondary concern would be whether the mattress has been compressed for long periods of time which can lower the durability of the foams (see post #6 here). It may have a nice feel when it is new (which is when most reviews are written) because even lower quality foams can feel good at first but there is no way to know the durability of the materials for certain and foam softening and the loss of comfort and support is not covered by warranty. In essence … it’s a roll of the dice although I don’t think it’s as “risky” in terms of quality as some of the Costco mattresses that clearly use lower quality materials. If you are looking to purchase a memory foam mattress online … some of the better options I’m aware of are listed in post #12 here.
I don’t recommend one material over another because this is really a matter of personal preference and they are very different in performance and feel. My own personal preference is latex but this is a preference only based on how it feels and the other qualities of latex which I prefer. I also like combinations of the two materials in certain layers. Latex is a more instant response material and has many advantages, not the least of which is it’s greater durability, and memory foam is a slower response material but only your own personal experience can tell which you prefer. What I do recommend however is that regardless of which material you choose in a mattress that you know the quality of the material because both of them have lower quality and higher quality versions.You can read about some of pros and cons of memory foam here and the pros and cons of latex here. While there is a wide variety of different “versions” of each in both quality characteristics … they both have a distinctive feel and I generally recommend testing both in a showroom so you can know which of the two categories of foam you prefer.
Hope this helps.
Phoenix