Hi suspent,
The first place I would start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that you will need to make the best possible choice … and most importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
One of the links in the tutorial are the guidelines here and as you can see I would avoid the major brands and chain stores like Sleep Country or any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the quality and durability of the materials inside it.
[quote]1’ OptiCool Gel memory foam.
3" StayTrue high density medium firm StayTrue foam 1.35 lb to 1.8 lb
8.5" OptiCore Plus with CoreSupport
Price: $928 CAD or $737 US
www.sleepcountry.ca/products/tabid/131/p…luxuria/default.aspx[/quote]
Unfortunately the specs you were given are incomplete and I would want to know the type and density of all the layers in any mattress I was considering. 1.35 lb polyfoam is a low quality material that won’t hold up over time and would be a weak link in this mattress in terms of durability. When you see a density range like you were given (1.35 lb to 1.8 lb) it’s always safer to assume that the foam is at the lower end of the range than the higher end of the range and it would be unlikely that the foam is 1.8 lbs (it would be unlikely to find 3" of 1.8 lb polyfoam in the comfort layers of a Sealy mattress). I would also want to know the density of the other layers as well (see this article).
There is more about the three most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here.
The most important part of “value” is comfort and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). The most reliable way to know this would be careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post). There would be little value in a mattress that you don’t sleep well on.
Outside of PPP though … a mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality and durability of the materials inside it and the durability and useful lifetime of a mattress is also a key part of the value of a mattress. No matter how it may feel in a showroom … there would be little value in buying a mattress where the use of lower quality and less durable materials leads to foam softening and the loss of comfort and support much too quickly after a purchase and foam softening and the loss of comfort and support isn’t considered to be a defect and isn’t covered by a mattress warranty (see post #174 here).
Unless you can confirm that there isn’t more than about an inch or so of lower quality and less durable materials in this or any mattress (using the foam quality/density guidelines here) I would avoid it completely.
[quote]2’ OptiCool Gel memory foam with Outlast
1’ OptiSense Gel memory foam
7’OptiCore Gel
Price: $1,266 CAD or $1,006 US
www.sleepcountry.ca/products/tabid/131/p…ny-gold/default.aspx[/quote]
The same comments would apply here because the information you listed doesn’t include the foam quality/density information would need to make an informed choice and without this information I would avoid this mattress completely as well because it would be a very risky purchase.
You are much “safer” avoiding major brands and chain stores completely.
If you let me know your city or postal code I’d be happy to let you know any of the better options or possibilities I’m ware of in your area.
Phoenix