Given that Serta is rather coy about their mattress specs, I’m wondering how to go about shopping for comparable mattresses. We really liked the iComfort Directions Reinvention queen mattress. I’ve asked the salesperson and was greeted with a blank look and contacted Serta directly to ask about the density of their poly core as well as the composition of their latex layer. I’m not getting a lot of good information about this nor the thickness (is that the right way to measure?) of each of their layers.
The layers of the iComfort Directions Reinvention are described in their literature & website as follows:
Thermo°Cool™ yarn fabric cover with TENCEL® fibers
Comfort Last® Foam Core with Ultimate Edge® Support
So, how do I sort this all out and have an intelligent conversation with a non-big brand store (Mattress Factory is one I’m considering) to look for a comparable mattress?
I wouldn’t suggest using any mattress (especially a major brand mattress) as a reference point. The goal of any mattress purchase is to compare every mattress you are testing against a common set of criteria in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences), the quality of the materials, and the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you rather than using another mattress as the “target”. You would be limiting your options far too much by looking for a “comparable” to another mattress if what you are using as a reference point isn’t a great choice in the first place.
Unfortunately … this description doesn’t include the information you would need to assess a mattress, identify any weak links in its construction, or make any meaningful comparisons to other mattresses in terms of quality or value. The information you would need about any mattress you are considering is in this article and I would pass any mattress by where this information wasn’t available to you.
Your highest chance of choosing a mattress that is “best for you” is to follow the steps in the tutorial post one by one and I wouldn’t get distracted by mattresses where you know ahead of time that the information you need to make an informed choice isn’t likely to be available. There are too many good options available that can “match” all your criteria as well or better to spend a lot of time looking at the worst ones.