Hi Undecided,
As you probably know … both CozyPure and Foam Sweet Foam/Urban Mattress are members of this site which means that I think very highly of both of them and I believe that they both compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency. You are certainly looking at two great quality/value choices!
I’m assuming that you are looking at the 12" Organic Comfort Zone mattress with Cozy Pure and the 13" 4 layer mattress with Foam Sweet Foam/Urban Green. Some of the differences between them include …
The Cozy Pure Organic Comfort Zone mattresses use 100% natural Dunlop that is GOLS certified organic and is made in a 5 zoned mold. Various zoning systems can be very useful and worth considering for people who have more challenging circumstances or sensitivities, body types that are more difficult to “match” to a mattress, or who have a history of having more difficulty in finding a mattress that works well for them. There is more about zoning in this article and in post #11 here.
They also have a cover that has mild zoning and that is quilted on both sides so the mattress can be flipped for those that wish to sleep on a firmer sleeping surface without rearranging layers inside the cover.
They also offer different components inside the mattress such as their convoluted layer so their mattresses can be customized in different ways than rearranging or exchanging 3" layers. There is more about convoluted layers in post #2 here.
While it doesn’t affect the feel or performance of their mattress … they also use solar, geothermal, and wind power in their factory so they are one of the greenest manufacturers in the country for those where this is more important for personal reasons.
Foam Sweet Foam / Urban Green provides a choice between 100% natural Dunlop that is GOLS certified organic but their layers don’t have zoning.
They also have the option for 100% natural Talalay (non organic) for any of their layers as well for those who prefer Talalay latex in one or more layers. There is more about the pros and cons of Dunlop vs Talalay in post #7 here.
Their mattresses are made from 3" layers which can be rearranged or exchanged so there are more options to customize the mattress either before or after a purchase. There is more about the pros and cons of having two 3" layers in a support core vs a single 6" core in post #13 here and there is also more about the pros and cons of more layers in post #2 here
General comments:
Both of them offer side to side split firmness options.
Both of them offer different discounts or bonuses as well and have different prices (depending on the options you choose).
They also have different return, exchange, or customization options as well so I would make sure you are completely familiar with the options each of them have available and how they work both before and after a purchase and are comfortable with any costs involved. Cozy Pure doesn’t allow mattress returns once they have been opened or used (except for the hotel collection which has a 100 night trial) and Foam Sweet Foam has a 90 day trial and has a restocking charge for mattress returns.
There may be other differences between them that I’ve missed so I would make sure that you talk with both of the manufacturers you are considering on the phone before making your purchase.
The 1.5" exclusion with Cozy Pure is for the complete mattress and the .5" with Foam Sweet Foam /Urban Mattress is per layer.
Having said that … I would also keep in mind that the length of a warranty of a mattress has very little to do with the useful life of a mattress and how long it may be before you need to replace it. Warranties only cover defects in a mattress and not the gradual (or rapid in the case of lower quality materials) loss of comfort and support that is the main reason people will need to replace their mattress. There is more about mattress warranties in post #174 here.
While there is no way to quantify how long any mattress will last for a specific person or predict exactly when you will decide to replace it because it is no longer suitable or comfortable for you (because this is the only real measure of durability or the useful life of a mattress that really matters) because there are too many unknowns and variables involved that are unique to each person … if a mattress is well inside a suitable comfort/support range and isn’t close to the edge of being too soft when it is new (see post #2 here) and meets the minimum quality/durability specs that are suggested in the guidelines here then it would be reasonable to expect a useful lifetime in the range of 7 - 10 years and with higher quality and more durable materials like latex (in the comfort layers especially) it would likely be in the higher end of the range or in the case of the mattresses you are considering the chances that you would have additional “bonus time” would be higher as well.
There is also more detailed information about the many variables that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress relative to different people in post #4 here and the posts it links to.
Component mattresses with zip covers also have the advantage of being able to replace individual layers if one of the layers softens or breaks down before the others (usually one of the softer upper layers) or if your needs or preferences change over time because you can just replace a single layer or component instead of replacing the whole mattress.
Since both of the mattresses you are considering use the same or very similar materials … they would be closely comparable in terms of the durability and useful life of the mattress.
There is no such thing as a mattress that is :best" for back support in general … only a mattress that is “best” for your back (regardless of how suitable it may be for anyone else’s back).
“Support” is often misunderstood and many people believe incorrectly that “firmer is better” or “more supportive” when the real goal is to keep the spine in good alignment and this requires the type of contouring support that allows some parts of the body to sink in more and some parts of the body to sink in less and this will vary on an individual basis. There is more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between “support/alignment” and “comfort/pressure relief” and “feel” and how they interact together.
I would always keep in mind that the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
While your own careful testing or personal experience is the most reliable way to know whether a mattress is a good “match” for you in terms of comfort and PPP … when you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart (which would include Foam Sweet Foam and CozyPure) and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
You are certainly looking at some great choices but once you have narrowed down your options to a list of finalists that are all choices between “good and good” (which you have) and none of them have any lower quality materials or “weak links” in their design (which they don’t) and if there are no clear winners between them (which is usually a good indication that you have done some very good research) then you are in the fortunate position that either of them would likely be a suitable choice and post #2 here can help you make a final choice based on your local testing or mattresses you have slept well on, your more detailed conversations with each of them, your confidence about PPP and the suitability of each one, their prices, your preferences for different types of materials, the options you have after a purchase to fine tune the mattress or exchange or return the mattress or individual layers, any additional extras that are part of each purchase, and on “informed best judgement” based on all the other objective, subjective, and intangible parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Phoenix