Hi h_er_b,
[quote]I went to Sleep Country and tried the Cloud Primia since they said the CLoud Luxe is no longer available and this one is the replacement. I really liked the mattress and was offered it at $1200 and bought it. I have until tomorrow so decide to get a refund and get the one Dreamfoam or keep the Tepur-Pedic one.
My question is, what are the differences in the mattresses in regards to materials, firmness,[/quote]
The materials in the Cloud Prima as far as I’m aware (Tempurpedic isn’t fully transparent about the materials in their mattresses and there are some indications that they are now using lower density base foam) are as follows …
Cover
Easy Refresh Stretch Knit Cover
Smart Climate System, moisture-wicking,
Cool to the touch
Comfort Layers
1.2" Tempur-ES 4.1LB
2" Tempur Material 5.3LB
Support System
2.75" Poly foam Base 2.0LB
4.5" Poly foam Base 2.0LB
And the specifics of the old Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe were …
Cover
Stretch Knit Cotton with Suede Sides
FR Sock
Comfort Layers
2.75" 4.1LB Tempur ES Comfort Layer
2" 7.1 LB Tempur HD Support Layer
Support System
Dual Airflow System
4" 2.2 LB Convoluted Base Foam
4" 2.2 LB Convoluted Base Foam
While there are no standard definitions for firmness levels and they can vary between different manufacturers and even different people (a mattress that feels firm to one person can feel soft to another depending on body type, sleeping positions, individual preferences and sensitivities, and the specifics of the mattress) … Tempurpedic lists the Cloud Prima mattress as “medium soft” and “less adaptive” and it includes a combination of 4 lb and 5.3 lb memory foam while they listed the Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe as being “ultra soft” and more adaptive and it used a combination of 4.1 lb and 7. lb memory foam. They also have very different thicknesses of memory foam in each of them and they are clearly different mattresses.
In the US … there is a new version of the Cloud Luxe with the following specs …
Cover
Easy Refresh Stretch Knit Cover
Smart Climate System, moisture-wicking,
Cool to the touch
Comfort Layers
3.5" Tempur-ES 4.1LB
2" Tempur HD 7.1LB
Support System
Dual Airflow System
4" Airflow Base Layer 2.0LB
4" Airflow Base Layer 2.0LB
Based on the specs this would likely be a little softer (the top layer of memory foam is a little thicker) but it’s also listed as “ultra soft” and “more adaptive” and uses the same density of memory foam as the old Cloud Luxe but it’s not listed on the Canadian Tempurpedic website.
The specs of the DreamFoam Mattress Ultimate Dreams 13-Inch Gel Memory Foam Mattress are …
Knit cover
3" of 4 lb gel memory foam
2" of 5 lb memory foam
8" of 1.5 lb polyfoam base layer.
Based on Dreamfoams comments and most of the feedback on the forum … this would have a similar firmness level to the old Cloud Luxe but possibly just a little firmer (although it’s not likely to be as firm for most people as the Cloud Prima).
In other words … I don’t think that the Prima is comparable to the old Cloud Luxe or the new Cloud Luxe and uses less memory foam in a lower density range than either version of the Cloud Luxe and uses less memory foam in a similar density range than the Dreamfoam 13" gel memory foam mattress. Any difference in materials between the Prima and the Dreamfoam 13" gel memory foam certainly wouldn’t justify the difference in cost since the Prima is $1200 in a twin XL and the Dreamfoam is $499 in a twin XL (which is almost two and a half times the cost and if you take any exchange or shipping into account it would still be in the range of twice the cost).
While there is no way to accurately predict the useful life of any mattress for any specific person because of all the many variables involved (see post #2 here and the posts it links to for more information about durability and the useful life of a mattress) … for most people that are in an average weight range where the base layers weren’t compressed more than normal they would be roughly comparable in terms of durability. For higher weight ranges (low 200’s and higher) … and assuming that the specs of the Prima are accurate (and again there is some evidence that they are now using 1.5 lb base layers as well) … then the Prima may have a slight edge in durability. If it does use 1.5 lb polyfoam then because the comfort layers are thinner and the support layers would be compressed more then the Prima would probably be less durable than the Dreamfoam.
While I can’t tell you what you “should do” … Tempurpedic is not good value compared to many other mattresses (including the Dreamfoam 13" gel memory foam mattress) that use the same or similar quality materials which is the reason that I normally suggest avoiding them (see the guidelines here) and there is no reason I can think of that I would pay more double the price for a mattress that uses less memory foam (which is a more costly material than polyfoam) and that wouldn’t be likely to have any significant advantages in terms of it’s likely durability and useful life for most people unless I had a very specific and very compelling reason to do so.
Phoenix