Hi himawari8,
Yes … I would certainly include them as an option. I have talked with Springwall (in Canada) and confirmed that they will disclose the specifics of all the materials and components of their mattresses (even to consumers not just retailers) which means that you can make meaningful quality and value comparisons with other mattresses. The retailer should provide this information to you but if for some reason they aren’t willing or able to then it’s nice to know that a mid size manufacturer like Springwall will provide it to consumers.
I would tend to avoid thinking of different types of innersprings in terms of “better or worse” and think in terms of "more or less suitable. They are different but one is not better than another. They each have different strengths and weaknesses that may be more suitable for one person and not another. For example… a pocket coil may be a good choice for someone where motion isolation was a primary consideration while a low gauge Bonnell coil or Offset coil may be a more suitable choice for someone who was very heavy and durability and strength was the primary consideration. An innerspring is generally not the weak link of a mattress regardless of type and in a design that is suitable for a specific person … any good quality innerspring can work well. There is more about innersprings in this article and in post #10 here. Your careful and objective testing will identify which innerspring in which mattress is most suitable for you.
That would depend on how you felt about your local choices and their quality, value, and suitability vs the time you would spend taking the trip. I would certainly talk to the retailers you were considering in Terrace to see if they appeared to be knowledgeable and transparent had a selection of mattresses on their floor that would make the trip worthwhile compared to what was available locally. I probably wouldn’t go there just to test a single mattress or two but if there were several stores or mattresses I was particularly interested in testing I would certainly consider it if my phone call with the retailer(s) indicated they were knowledgeable and open and were likely to put your interests above your own.
That was “another lifetime” ago in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I worked as a bank accountant and then at the grain elevator (before the new one) as a house inspector.
Phoenix
PS: I’m still scanning websites in the area and when I have the chance to make a few calls as time permits I will post what I find in this thread.