Hello Phoenix,
In researching my mattress purchase I found your website and have read many of your posts. I know you are not a fan of the national brands due to the value as compared to smaller manufacturers but I am looking to purchase a Comforpedic mattress to take advantage of a long ago purchased DirectBuy membership.
I have narrowed my mattress selection down to 2 Comforpedic models - Legendary Comfort and Elite Comfort. They both feel great with the Legendary having a slight edge for me. As far as I can tell from the specs in the attached brochure, the only difference between the 2 is that the Legendary has an additional 1" of AirCool memory foam with “Geltouch” in the center third. From your perspective is there any real advantage to that extra layer with the “Geltouch”?
I appreciate your thoughts.
Hi txdreamer,
The specs they list for the two mattresses are as follows …
Legendary Comfort:
•14" profile height
•2" Aircool Memory Foam with TruTemp Gel
•1" Aircool Memory Foam with Geltouch (in center third)
•3" luxury Aircool Memory Foam
•2" Multi-Action support layer
•Aircool Transflexion core
•Aircool edge support
•Aircool Mesh Border Fabric
Elite Comfort:
•13½" profile height
•2" Aircool Memory Foam with TruTemp Gel
•3" luxury Aircool Memory Foam
•2" Multi-Action support layer
•Aircool Transflexion core
•Aircool edge support
•Aircool Mesh Border Fabric
As you mentioned the only difference appears to be the 1" zoning layer in the middle third of the Legenedary comfort.
Unfortunately these specs don’t list any of the details you need about the quality of any of the materials. This means that there is no way for you to know the relative quality or value of either mattress compared to any others that may be available to you and there is no way to assess any potential weak links in either mattress.
Because it’s not possible to know the quality/durability or the relative value of either mattress … then the only remaining way to make a choice would be based strictly on careful and objective testing of the comfort and suitability of each mattress in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). I would also keep in mind that the “value” of a mattress is more about how it compares to other similar mattresses not how it compares to a “regular” price which may be poor value or inflated to make a sale price look good.
If either mattress has lower quality materials in the upper layers then what it feels like in the showroom may last only a few years or in some worst cases only a few months before the loss of comfort and support that goes with foam softening (which isn’t warranty covered) may make the mattress unsuitable for you to sleep on and at this point it may need replacing so I would ask yourself if this is a risk that you are willing to take.
If you are making a completely blind purchase then the only way you have to choose is based on the showroom feel and performance of the mattress because quality, durability, and value can’t be part of your purchase decision.
Phoenix