Hi wolper,
As you probably know … Gardner uses all high quality materials and there are no weak links or lower quality less durable materials in any of their mattresses.
The 2" of 1.35 lb polyfoam would certainly be a weak link in this mattress … especially with only 2" of latex above it and with a higher body weight sleeping on the mattress that would compress and break down the foam much more quickly. Lower quality/density materials will soften and break down under the heavier parts of the body much more quickly than higher quality/density materials and when this happens you can lose the comfort and support/alignment that was the reason that you purchased the mattress in the first place and you may no longer be able to sleep well on the mattress. While how long this would take will depend on individual circumstances (see post #2 here) … it can happen as quickly as a few months or if you are more tolerant to foam softening then perhaps a few years. There is also more information about all the variables that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress relative to different people in post #4 here and the posts it links to but the short version is I would characterize the risk of this mattress developing soft spots or sagging as “significant” (for you especially). The worst part is that it’s quite likely that there won’t be deep enough impressions to trigger a warranty claim and foam softening or “virtual impressions” that have “visible impressions” that are less than the warranty exclusion isn’t considered to be a defect so when this happens you would likely have no recourse other than to buy a new mattress much sooner than you expected. I would avoid it.
The Cover Hill is even worse with only an inch of latex in the comfort layers (I wouldn’t even call this a “latex hybrid”) and 2" of even lower quality/density polyfoam below it.
No … if it was me this would already be enough information to avoid both of them.
The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Boston area are listed in post #2 here. While I don’t keep records of individual mattresses at each retailer or manufacturer in the hundreds of lists throughout the forum (the mattresses that each retailer or manufacturer has on their floor change too often for any one person to keep up with) … if you call them they will be able to tell you whether they carry any latex hybrids on their floor. I would also be aware that the “feel” of only one latex mattress out of hundreds of different designs that are available in the “all latex” category wouldn’t represent the feel of other latex mattresses that use different types of latex in different firmness levels or with different designs.
There are also some sources for other latex/innerspring mattresses in post #2 here and the post it links to and while many of these aren’t available in the Boston area or can only be purchased online … some may have Boston dealers that carry some of their mattresses that I didn’t see when I was last researching the Boston area.
Phoenix