Hi debating,
It sounds like you’ve read this already but just in case you haven’t … there are some comments about Essentia and some of the misleading claims they make and some forum discussions with them (as well as some of the FTC issues they have had about their claims) in this thread and this thread and posts #3 and #4 here). I certainly wouldn’t treat the information on their website as a reliable source of “fact based” information. I would also make some very careful “value” comparisons before considering any Essentia mattress because they tend to be in a much higher budget range than other mattresses that use similar materials as well.
There is more information about the 3 most important parts of “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
I would also keep in mind that even if you are considering several mattresses that contain similar materials (in this case a latex support core and a memory foam top layer) … they can still be very different from each other since they may contain different types or blends of latex, different formulations of memory foam that have different properties, different layer thicknesses, or different firmness levels in each layer that will have a significant effect on the feel and performance of a mattress or how it will compare to another mattress or how well it will match your specific needs and preferences in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences). In other words … one mattress that uses a certain combination of materials may be a good match for you in terms of PPP while another mattress that uses the same or similar materials but has a different design or firmness level may be completely unsuitable for you to sleep on.
The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Vancouver, BC area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines I linked earlier in this reply) are listed in post #2 here.
I don’t keep a record of the individual mattresses or their specs that the retailers and manufacturers in the hundreds of forum lists throughout the forum carry on their floor or have available online (it would be a bigger job than anyone could keep up with in a constantly changing market) but checking their websites and making some preliminary phone calls to the retailers/manufacturers that are on the lists is always a good idea before you decide on which retailers or manufacturers you wish to deal with anyway. This will tell you which of them carry mattresses that would meet your specific criteria, are transparent about the materials in their mattresses, and that carry the type of mattresses that you are interested in that are also in the budget range you are comfortable with. Once you have checked their websites and/or talked with the ones that interest you then you will be in a much better position to decide on the ones that you are most interested in considering or visiting based on the results of your preliminary research and conversations.
Assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the quality/durability guidelines here … the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses are more of a preference and a budget choice than a “better/worse” choice (see this article). I would be cautious about excluding any type of mattress based on “theory” or assuming that one type of mattress or combination of materials will be better for you than another unless you have tried a range of different types of mattresses and confirmed that you tend to prefer them based on your own personal experience on a range of different mattresses.
While you didn’t mention which of the Essentia mattresses you are considering … as a reference you can see an example here of a mattress that uses a latex support core and memory foam comfort layers (although I don’t believe that they ship to Canada). SleepEZ (which ships to Canada) also has the option of using memory foam as the top layer of their component latex mattress here.
As another example of something “similar” in terms of materials … you could also purchase a mattress that uses 6" of Dunlop latex and then add a memory foam topper on top of it although depending on the specifics of the latex and the memory foam it may feel and perform very differently from the specific Essentia mattress you are considering.
It would depend entirely on the specifics of the mattress design because in some cases the answer would be yes and in other cases the answer would be no. The first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
I or some of the more knowledgeable members of the site can certainly help you to narrow down your options, help you focus on better quality/value choices that are available to you either locally or online, help you identify any lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress relative to your weight that you may be considering, act as a fact check, answer many of the specific questions you may have along the way that don’t involve what you will “feel” on a mattress, and help with “how” to choose but only you can decide which specific mattress, manufacturer, or combination of materials is “best for you” regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label or whether anyone else would have the same criteria or circumstances or would make the same choice.
Phoenix