Hi RJ29,
[quote]Two are very similar:
Nest Love Bed
Brooklyn Bedding #BestMattressEver
While the third is a little different:
Nest Alexander Select
I’ve tried the Alexander in store (when I was on vacation, no less!) and quite liked it. I’m not sure it’s worth the extra 40% cost, however.
Before I go ahead and make my purchase – and I don’t feel like I can make a bad decision here – are there any latex mattresses made by larger retailers that might be similar to the Love Bed or the #BestMattressEver for an in-person point of comparison? I realize this might be hard to approximate, but any input is welcomed![/quote]
There is more about the 3 most important parts of “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price or course and the options you have available after a purchase)
You can see some comments about the about the Love Bed and the Best Mattress Ever and the Alexander in post #2 here that may be helpful and a forum search on best mattress ever alexander love bed (you can just click the link) will bring up all the forum posts that mention all three of them as well.
There is more information in post #9 here about the different ways that one mattress can “match” or “approximate” another one. Every layer and component in a mattress (including the cover) will affect the feel and performance of every other layer and component and the mattress “as a whole” so unless you are able to find another mattress that uses exactly the same materials, components, and design (which would be very unlikely) then there really isn’t a way to match one mattress to another one in terms of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) based on the specifications of the mattress.
Mattress manufacturers generally try to differentiate their mattress from the mattresses made by other manufacturers and don’t normally try to “match” another mattress that is made by a different manufacturer so while you may find similar mattresses that use “similar” materials or designs … it’s very unlikely that you will find another mattress that is specifically designed to “match” or “approximate” either one of the mattresses you mentioned in terms of PPP so the only way to know how two mattresses compare for you in terms of how it “feels” or in terms of firmness or PPP would be based on your own careful testing or actual sleeping experience on both of them.
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 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.
I’m not so sure that the thickness of the quilting layer will have the effect you think it will since all the layers and components of a mattress (including the cover) will affect the feel and performance of all the other layers and the mattress “as a whole” so unless you have a great deal of knowledge and experience in the industry about how different types and combinations of materials feel to you in “real life” it’s unlikely that you will be able to predict how a particular combination of materials that are similar to each other will feel to you or which of them would be better than the other in terms of motion separation than the other. Both the Best Mattress Ever and the Love Bed have a cover that is quilted with polyfoam and latex comfort layers (which will have a bigger effect on motion isolation than the cover).
Latex is very point elastic and is “good” for motion isolation so it’s unlikely this would be an issue for most people with a mattress that uses latex comfort layers but memory foam is also better at motion isolation than latex so a mattress like the Alexander has memory foam comfort layers would probably be better at motion isolation than a mattress that has latex comfort layers. Of course it would also be a less durable choice and would have a less resilient sleeping surface and “feel” than a latex/polyfoam hybrid as well. There is more about how latex compares to memory foam in post #2 here.
Phoenix