Hi bcsteve,
Latex is certainly a much higher quality and more durable material than the polyfoam that you will find in most “S” brands. If you are making comparisons with “S” brands however then I would make more “apples to apples” comparisons and compare them to other similar mattresses that use similar materials and have better quality and value rather rather than to mattresses that have a completely different design and use different higher quality materials that are not anything close to “apples to apples” comparisons. No matter what type of major brand mattresses you are considering then the odds are very high that you will find better value in similar mattresses made by smaller independent manufacturers. I would always compare mattresses based on the type and quality of materials and design not just by price (lower quality/durability materials cost less).
I would also make sure that you test each mattress carefully and objectively by more than just feel alone using the testing guidelines in the earlier post I linked. the goal of a mattress is to provide you with PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) and this is what will “translate” into higher sleeping quality. Durability is the major part of why some materials cost more than others. If there are low quality foams or other materials in the comfort layers of a mattress then the mattress won’t last nearly as long and depending on the suitability of your choice in terms of PPP … in some cases even the initial foam softening can put you over the edge in terms of comfort and support and even though the materials won’t be “worn out” … the mattress may no longer be suitable for you. You can read more about the factors involved in the durability of a mattress in post #4 here.
You can also read about some of the qualities of “your perfect mattress” in post #2 here. A mattress is not supposed to “wow” you but to “disappear” underneath you so that you can sleep in good alignment, without pressure points, with good temperature and moisture regulation, and without restricting movement when you change position along with other preferences that are important to you. Other than these you want the mattress to keep doing what it’s supposed to do for as long as possible and durability is a big part of higher prices (at least in mattresses where higher prices are justified by higher quality materials which is not the case with major manufacturers). These are what lead to healthy sleep because when you are asleep you can’t feel the “wow” … and what your body needs to for deeper more healthy sleep is what is most important.
Subjective “feelings” of comfort are very subjective and choosing the most suitable mattress based on comfort alone has less than even odds of choosing a suitable mattress (hopefully you read the study I linked earlier). This would be much like choosing foods based on taste alone regardless of their nutritional content.
While I would also question more extreme claims about mattresses in most cases because most of them are just “stories” … there is some legitimacy to their claims about Celliant. You can read a little more about the Celliant material in post #9 here. Of course I would question the “value” of the benefits and whether for you they they were worth the more premium price they incur for the mattress because without the specific benefits the mattress wouldn’t be in the best value range. There is also a Celliant mattress protector although it probably doesn’t have the same amount of the Celliant fibers in the fabric.
Value is really a combination of the objective, subjective, and intangible benefits that are part of every mattress purchase. There really isn’t a formula that can calculate 'value" for each person. Having said that … there are many benefits to a mattress that has a layered approach where you can choose the layers that are most suitable for you and if you make the wrong choice you can either re-arrange the layers or exchange them for a firmer or softer layer to fine tune your mattress before or after a purchase. They also have the benefit of being able to replace just a single layer that softens or breaks down faster than the rest or if your needs change down the road so instead of replacing the whole mattress you can just exchange a single layer. Post #21 here includes several of the manufacturing members of the site that also make a similar design of mattress using the same or similar materials that you can use as a pricing reference for “good value”. Value is also relative to where you live and what else is available in your area and your comfort level in purchasing a mattress online where any lower cost of a similar mattress online offsets the additional risk involved in an online purchase that you can’t test ahead of time vs a local purchase. Of course any additional charges across the border or the extra costs in exchanging a layer would also play a role in the pricing if you order from the US and I would also make sure that you are comparing mattress only prices to mattress only prices. Foundations are widely available andcan be compared separately. (Post #21 here has a list of some of the online sources that are either in Canada or ship to Canada and some of these make similar mattresses. Post #46 here will also be helpful in figuring out how to compare mattresses based on the criteria of your own personal value equation that are most important to you.
Phoenix