Hi plasticpitchfork
A few comments about your comments 
I would keep in mind that for most people specs are overwhelming and for those that do know a little bit about foam specs they can often tend to make choices based on specs alone or believe that they know more than they really do (for example making choices based on foam density or ILD alone when these are just two of many variables in a mattress purchase). Too much information and too little information can both result in poor choices. Mattress manufacturers are well aware of the risk of putting too much information on their sites for the vast majority of their customers just for the sake of a tiny minority of customers that may want it and that putting such technical information on their site will often be more misleading than helpful.
Posting ILD’s are an example of this. While for some people that have a great deal of experience in the industry or who design mattresses it can be helpful, the ILD of a material is only one of many variables that determines how soft or firm it may feel (see here) and ILD numbers are not comparable between different materials or in many cases between different versions of the same material. If you post ILD numbers then a more “technically” oriented customer may believe that they can predict what a mattress will feel like based on these numbers alone and then will make a purchase that may not work out as well as they hoped no matter what an experienced manufacturer does to “warn” them that the choice they are insisting on may not be in their best interests. They will often believe that they know better than a manufacturer with years of experience. Overall … the best approach is to have the numbers available for those who want them but not to overwhelm the majority of customers with too much technical information that may not be relevant or even meaningful for the large majority of customers (which is the majority of their business) and would do more to mislead them than help them.
[quote]Christeli:
Clearance item is:
Madeline - 4" 5lb memory foam with a nice flippable base foam layer with a 2" section of foam on each with different firmnesses(don’t know specs on those layers). 2lb base foam inside that. I called for the ILD, they said 24lb. $650 from $949 “sale” price. Their 10" is $650(sale) with no flippable base, which is the closest in “regular” price(sale price)
Madeline[/quote]
ILD numbers with memory foam is mostly meaningless because the ILD of memory foam will change with temperature, humidity, and the length of time it is compressed. I would also doubt that knowing the ILD of the base foam would have any relevance for you unless you know what a 24 ILD layer of a specific type, with a specific thickness, and with specific layers on top of it feels like. Don’t forget that layer thickness along with other specs of the layer (such as compression modulus) along with what is over and under a layer will all affect how the layer feels inside the mattress. One polyfoam layer of a specific ILD may be firmer or softer than another layer of polyfoam with different specs that has the same ILD. You can’t feel the ILD of individual layers … only how the mattress feels “as a whole”.
[quote]This is why I asked which makes the most difference in support; The Density or the ILD of base foam. I know “feel” is much harder to speculate on.
Casper: 1.8lb 30ILD (with 3" of topper 4lb MF, 14ILD Dunlop)
Christeli 2.0lb 24ILD. (with 4" of topper 5.3lb MF)
Splitting hairs? I know you say the top layer is more important than the base, can you elaborate, or link to more on that?[/quote]
This is an impossible question to answer because support has too many different meanings and variables. A mattress needs to keep you in alignment which means that it needs less support under some areas of the body and more support in other areas of the body. The word “support” is another term that is mostly meaningless unless it is applied to specific situations and body types and is used in a specific context. There is more about primary support, secondary support, and their relationship to pressure relief in post #4 here and in post #2 here. These are questions that can only be answered with any certainty based on experience … not on specs.
There would be no reason to avoid any manufacturer if you can find out the information you need to make meaningful comparisons. Verlo would be a “better than average” choice for most people compared to most mainstream choices but you would need to make “mattress to mattress” comparisons between specific mattresses to know which one was the best “value” for you. There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here. I think in the large majority of cases most people would consider that Quality Sleep Shop would be a better quality/value choice but value is always relative to the specific mattresses you are comparing and the criteria of the specific person that is comparing them.
As you probably know I think highly of Beloit as well and they are also a member of this site and they would be well worth considering for those that are in reasonable driving distance. Once again though … the “value” of any of their mattresses (or any mattress) would depend on what you were comparing them to and the criteria of the person that was doing the comparing.
[quote]Another option I was considering was Tuft n Needle 5" with a 3" topper like this:
Dreamfoam 4lb 3" Topper
That would make a 5-$550 8" 4lb MF - 2lb base bed that would probably be transportable in my Toyota. Can you see downside in this? poor edge support maybe? Sliding around? Also, what is the member promo, 6.5% and 60 days? Are you sure they are still doing that(discount)? I know they stopped doing referral discounts because it’s “not who they are.”[/quote]
This would be a viable option if the combination was a good match for you in terms of PPP, if it compared well to the other options you are considering, and and if you were comfortable with the uncertainty of buying a topper that you haven’t tested in person on the specific mattress you are using it on (see post #2 here). Tuft and Needle still provides the TMU discount and extended trial period to the members of this forum yes.
Again … this would depend on what you are comparing it to. If this seems logical to you or “works” for you then it would be part of your “personal value equation” regardless of whether the same logic would “work” for anyone else. These are just individual choices or criteria that each person can decide based on their own circumstances or preferences and I don’t think that there are any “rights or wrongs” here … although you are putting more “value” on marketing than I would.
Phoenix