Hi psyclonejack,
I’m sorry to hear that you were led to believe that the mattress you were testing and purchased was different from the one you ended up receiving.
It’s difficult to provide advice to someone about what they “should do” in situations like this because different people may have different criteria and different risk tolerances that could affect their decision but I can certainly make some comments that may be helpful.
- As you know the 4th generation contained lower density polyfoam layers on top of the mattress that I would consider to be a weak link in the mattress in terms of durability and the useful life of the mattress regardless of how it may feel when it is new. Lower density and less durable foams have a much higher risk of softening and breaking down much more quickly than higher quality and more durable foams and this can lead to the premature loss of the comfort and/or support which which is the reason you purchased the mattress in the first place. Unfortunately foam softening and the loss of comfort/support isn’t considered to be a manufacturing defect in a mattress (unless there are actual visible impressions that are deeper than the warranty exclusion which is very often not the case) so it isn’t covered by the mattress warranty even though if you aren’t sleeping “well enough” on the mattress that you may need to buy a new one much more quickly than you expected (see post #174 here for more about mattress warranties).
While there are many variables involved that can affect the durability and the useful life of a mattress outside of just foam density/durability (see post #4 here) … the density of polyfoam is the single biggest factor in durability and the risks of using lower quality polyfoam in the top layers of a mattress would be much higher in the version 4 than the version 5.
- The version 5 that uses higher quality and more durable polyfoam (and that doesn’t have a “weak link” in the mattress) may be more costly than the version 4 (if you are hoping to exchange one for the other) but both of them are in higher budget ranges relative to other mattresses that use similar materials although they may not “feel” the same in terms of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) which is also important. When you are considering a mattress in a budget range such as the Prana I would certainly want the risks of the loss of comfort/support to be very low and even with the version 5 where the risks are much lower I would suggest making some careful “value” comparisons with other latex mattresses that use the same or similar materials and are in lower budget ranges that are as “objective” as possible.
How well you sleep on a mattress (PPP) and how long you will sleep well (durability and the useful life of a mattress) are the two most important parts of “value” and while there are certainly some cases where a more costly mattress that is very similar to others in a lower budget range may be “worth it” for a particular person that isn’t price sensitive and that has specific criteria, needs, or preferences that aren’t available or that they aren’t able to find in lower budget ranges and in some cases like this a mattress that is in a much higher budget range could still be a good “value” choice for some people … in general I would need a compelling reason that clearly indicated there was “enough” of a difference in “real life” between the Prana and other mattresses that may also be suitable in terms of comfort and PPP and would be just as or more durable to satisfy yourself that any higher cost for the version 5 was justifiable and that you weren’t being “influenced” by marketing stories or the belief that higher prices mean a “better” mattress.
- If you were specifically told in writing that the mattress you were testing and purchasing was a version 5 with the higher quality/density polyfoam then I certainly wouldn’t be happy with being “influenced” to purchase a mattress that was different from what I was led to believe I was purchasing and this along with any additional cost would also factor into whether I decided to exchange it for the version 5 or return it for a refund as well.
Overall … if it was me I wouldn’t be comfortable with the longer term risks involved with version 4 of their mattresses and at a minimum would want a version 5 (hopefully at the same price) but of course you may have a different "risk tolerance"than I do so this is only what I would do.
Phoenix