found 2 mattresses that work well in all aspects but construction so different

so. I thought I had this mattress things all figured out :frowning: I guess I don’t. so I went mattress shopping just looking at the factors that I have read here. I landed with two mattresses. both were pocket coils. interesting that one was all polyfoam in the comfort layer. the second as polyfoam and some latex. such different materials but they felt so similar.

so my question. I need to reset and start from the beginning.

when going shopping should I even care about what is “in the mattress” until I have found the mattress that works for me in terms of ppp? I have been so focused on “what is inside” I may have forgotten what exactly I need in a mattress

so what is the best approach?

Hi domiagnew,

Both polyfoam and latex are fast response and resilient materials and depending on the specific type of latex and polyfoam and on the design of the mattress and the thickness and firmness of the layers they can sometimes have a similar “feel”. Both of them are very different from memory foam which is a slow response and temperature sensitive foam.

There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses.

The type of material is always a preference choice (each person may have different preferences for different materials or types of mattresses) but the most important part of “value” is how well a mattress matches your specific needs and preferences in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) regardless of the type of mattress or materials that are inside it.

After PPP … the most important part of a mattress purchase is the quality and durability of the materials because there are lower quality and less durable and higher quality and more durable versions of most materials that are used in a mattress. For this part I would make sure that you are working with retailers or manufacturers that are completely transparent about the quality of the materials in their mattresses (see this article) and that you are confident will only guide you towards mattresses that use high quality and durable materials so that you don’t end up testing mattresses that are a great match for you in terms of PPP only to find out when you move to the next part of choosing your finalists (checking for the quality of the materials) that it uses lower quality and less durable materials or that you can’t find out the information you need about the quality of the materials to make an informed choice. If this happens then all the time you spent testing the mattress will have been wasted because it’s never a good idea to purchase a mattress that will soften or break down too quickly relative to the price you paid no matter how good a match it may be or how comfortable it feels in a showroom or when it is new.

I would use the “step by step” approach outlined in the mattress shopping tutorial which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice regardless of your budget range or the types of materials or mattresses you tend to prefer.

Phoenix