Hi Lisa ann,
The first step to finding what you need is to find the best manufacturers or outlets in your area. These are either factory direct manufacturers or better sleep shops that carry smaller independent or local brands. These types of outlets have the knowledge and experience to educate you about mattresses and which materials wold be most suitable for what you are looking for. They will either make or sell mattresses that use much higher quality materials at lower prices than anything you would find in a major brand or in a chain store or types of outlets you have been looking at. This article will give you some guidelines that will help you avoid most of the traps and pitfalls of mattress shopping.
In your case … you are fortunate because you have a couple of very good choices near you and one of the members of this site (and the members here were invited because I believe they have among the best quality and value in the country) is very close to you.
Post #2 here has the details.
If I was in your shoes … I would go to My Green Mattress / Quality Sleep and talk to Tim or one of his assistants and tell them what you said here and what you are looking for. They will give you great information about their mattresses and they make gel foam, latex mattresses, and others that are cooler sleeping options. They will tell you the differences between them and help you test to see which mattress that they carry will suit you best. Anything you buy there will be better value than anything even close in the brands or types of stores you have been looking at.
If you first find a manufacturer who “knows their stuff”, makes great value mattresses, and is committed to helping you make your best choices … then 90% of your work and research is done and it’s just a matter of finding the best option among what they carry. In addition to that if you tell them you are a member here they will give you an additional 5% off the cost of your mattress.
There is more about them in the forum and a search on “mygreenmattress” and "qualitysleep (you can just click the links) will bring up lots more comments and feedback.
Phoenix