Hi Kiana Clare,
If I was forced to make a “blind” purchase … I would choose any of the Island dreams over a Serta but none of the descriptions they provided are complete enough to make any meaningful assessment of their relative quality, value, or durability.
In order to do this … they need to provide you with the information that is on their spec sheets which shows the details of every layer in the mattress and perhaps even more than this (if it doesn’t include specific information about the quality of each layer).
Here is what you would need …
The details of the innersprings that are in two of the mattresses. At a bare minimum this should include the type of innerspring and the number of coils. while there is much more involved in an innerspring, this is not likely to be the weak link of a mattress and in most cases your personal testing for PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences … see post #46 here) will tell you if the innerspring is suitable for you.
The details of any polyfoam that is used as a base layer (two of the mattresses have this). This needs to include the thickness of the layers and most imortantly the density of the polyfoam which determines the quality and cost of the material. they say it is HR which is a specific grade of polyfoam but it’s unlikely that it actually is (most places use this term incorrectly) and they need to provide the actual density of the polyfoam. Density is expressed as a certain number of lbs per cubic foot.
Above these support components there will be various layers of foam or other materials. You will need to know the thickness and type of all the layers above the support components.
If any of these layers are memory foam … you need to know the density (which is the most important part of quality anddurability)
If any of these layers are polyfoam … you need to know the density (just like the base layers)
If any of these layers are latex … you need to know the type of latex (either Talalay or Dunlop) and whether it is blended (natural and synthetic latex) or 100% natural latex (the density of latex is not as imortant as it is with memory foam or polyfoam).
I would also want to know the details of the cover material and what (if anything) it has in the quilting.
Once you know this … you are in a position that you can make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses in terms of quality, durability, and relative value. It will help you know what the “weak link” of the mattress might be. This weak link is the layer or layers which will likely soften or degrade the fastest and lead to the loss of comfort and support (which aren’t warranty issues) that would mean you would have to replace the mattress.
The choice between different types of materials (either a pocket coil or polyaofm in the support layers and the choices between polyfoam, latex, or memory foam in the comfort layers is strictly based on your personal preferences and which one feels and performs best for you when you are testing them. Regardless of which type of material that is in your mattress though … all of them have lower quality and higher quality versions and this is what will determine their cost, value, and durability … not so much the type itself. also every material has firmer and softer versions which have nothing to do with quality but are an imortant part of which mattress may be most suitable for your needs and preferences.
So the spec sheets and additional information along with what you feel when you test for pressure relief, alignment, and your personal preferences on each of the 4 mattresses would be what is necessary to decide which of the 4 is “best” for you and give yu a way to make good comparisons with any other mattresses at other merchants that you may want to test (and where you would need the same information).
Hope this helps
Phoenix