We are in the market for a new mattress, and I have read through the intro/tutorial posts. My question is that I am looking for a TP Contour Elite alternative, but most of the recommended sellers are using the Rhapsody as a comparison. Unfortunately, I need a mattress ASAP (sleeping on the floor!) and cannot find a Rhapsody locally to try out. So, can anyone provide some suggestions.
Also, I cannot abide a soft mattress (I like some “give,” but hate sinking into a mattress). For those that have broken in a memory foam mattress, does it become “soft” as the years progress, or broadly, how do they age?
If you are comparing mattresses at local retailers or manufacturers then the most effective way would be to use your own careful and objective testing to see whether a mattress is worse than, the same as, or better than the Contour Elite in terms of PPP.
If you are looking at some of the online memory foam providers that are linked in the tutorial post then you would need to talk with the ones that have a “match” for similar Tempurpedic mattresses about which of their current lineup would be closest to the Contour Elite. The Contour Elite is a new mattress so many of the online manufacturers haven’t changed their mattress lineup to “match” the current Tempurpedic lineup but they would still be familiar with the new Tempurpedic models and be able to tell you which of their mattresses would be closest. There is also more about “matching” one mattress to another in post #9 here that may be a useful reference point in your conversations.
Memory foam … like all foam materials … will soften over time and they will soften more under the heavier areas of your body (such as the hips and pelvis) than the lighter parts of your body. Higher density memory foam will be more durable than lower density memory foam and they will soften more slowly over time but foam softening and the loss or comfort and/or support that goes with it is the biggest reason that people will need to replace their mattress. As you can see in post #174 here, the loss of comfort and support isn’t covered under warranty so I would make sure that you don’t use the length of a warranty as a good indication of the useful life of a mattress since it only covers manufacturing defects. There is more in post #4 here and the posts it links to about the many variables that are part of the durability and the useful life of a mattress relative to each person.