Hi Gman,
Kingsdown avoids giving the specifics of what is in their mattresses (they will tell you it’s “proprietary” which is one of the reasons I would avoid them unless the manufacturer or the outlet you are buying from is willing or even able to give you the specifics). Of course they may make a mattress that works well in terms of PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Preferences) for a particular person but there is no way to make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses in terms of value or to know the likely durability of a mattress without the specs that they are usually not so willing to provide.
There is lots of “marketing hyperbole” in their descriptions (what I call stories) and they do use some good quality materials in their lineup but the “devil is in the details” which they don’t provide. This would particularly apply to the type of latex they are using and the density of any polyfoam (by whatever name they use) in their mattress. If you are are able to track down this information (which is unlikely) … then it would be possible to provide a reasonable analysis and make some meaningful value comparisons. Unfortunately that is not what they “encourage” and most of the larger manufacturers like Comfort solutions are more interested in making meaningful comparisons difficult if not impossible.
There are certainly better alternatives but most of them would involve somewhat of a drive. Most of the local outlets that are near you in Fredericksburg or close by would involve a much greater level of knowledge and “work and effort” to make good choices and this is a very difficult and time consuming way to find a high quality and value mattress.
Post #9 here has a list of the better choices in Fredericksburg and links to the better choices around Richmond and Washington, DC.
Hope this helps
Phoenix
PS: Just to give you a sense of some of the outlets I’ve looked at in your area other than the ones in the post I linked that are close to you and some of the alternative brands they carry that may be worth some further research (but would require phone calls and/or some research to find out how transparent they are about the layering and materials in their mattresses along the lines of this article) are listed here. This can be a more difficult way to go because most of the outlets likely wouldn’t know or be willing to help with this and you may end up doing the job of the salespeople in terms of researching the materials in their mattresses.
http://www.mattressdiscounters.com/ Englander E-Gel, Classic Brands Space Age, Technogel (unusual but very expensive)
http://www.virginiamattressdirect.com/Default.asp Park Place
http://www.rappahannockmattress.com/home.html Symbol
http://www.mattressoutletva.com/index.html Boyd, Symbol (their staff has little knowledge)
Shop Affordable Home Furnishings & Home Goods - IKEA Woodbridge. See post #3 here for the better possibilities here.
http://mattressforyouva.com/ Woodbridge. Therapedic, United sleep, Eclipse
http://www1.macys.com/ I wouldn’t include anything here in your research
http://www.sleepys.com/ I wouldn’t include anything here in your research
www.vcf.com/ I wouldn’t include anything here in your research
http://www.hhgregg.com/ I wouldn’t include anything here in your research
http://www.ashleyfurniturehomestore.com/ I wouldn’t include anything here in your research
http://www.havertys.com/ Woodbridge. I wouldn’t include anything here in your research
http://www.bettermattressforless.com/ Woodbridge. I wouldn’t include anything here in your research
http://www.roomstore.com/ I wouldn’t include anything here in your research