Hi chav,
If being used quite a bit by smaller children, a “firmer” mattress would certainly be a good choice.
I don’t have a listing of mattresses based upon thickness, but post #4 here and the posts it links to includes many of the better lower budget online options of which I am aware, and it might be a good place for you to begin your search.
As for edge reinforcement systems, there are some comments about edge support with latex or other foam mattresses in post #2 here and the posts it links to. Especially with a thinner mattress, there will tend to be an absence of a specific foam edge reinforcement system, and in many designs it really isn’t necessary, as the polyfoam base would be taking the place of a typical edge support system.
As for Cloud 9, this appears to be a different “cloud 9” from what was previously discussed here on the forum a few years ago, and you are correct that there is very little meaningful information provided about their products, so without complete details I would consider this a very risky purchase. If you are able to acquire more complete details, feel free to post them back here and I’ll be happy to comment upon them. The latex would be a good quality material, but you’d want find out the production process, blend, and possibly ILD. Also, it’s interesting to note that while the majority of the mattress industry is going toward more open-cell foam for breathability and temperature regulation, they are going in a different direction and touting more closed cells in their foam. While it can make a foam feel “firmer”, over time as the closed cells open there can be a dramatic change in some foams with more cells becoming open, especially if the foam is lower density / lower quality.
As for the Arctic Dreams, it does represent one of the better values for budget-priced mattresses. Dreamfoam is a site member here, and I do think highly of them. Regarding “reviews”, I would put very little stock in them, either positive or negative. While other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful … I would always keep in mind that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and I would be cautious about using anyone else’s suggestions, experiences or reviews on a specific mattress (either positive or negative) or review sites in general as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you. In many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range). In other words … reviews or other people’s experiences in general won’t tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).
The Ikea Matrand uses a little under 5" of synthetic latex on top of about 2" of 1.7 lb polyfoam so there are no obvious weak links that would compromise the durability or useful life of the mattress relative to more “average” weight ranges (lower 200’s or less). As you mentioned, I have received feedback recently on the inconsistency and poor quality of assembly of many Ikea mattresses.
Phoenix