Hi metsfan,
Gardners doesn’t carry any memory foam mattresses so as you discovered, they would have nothing close to the slow response feel of memory foam.
Jordans does have some memory foam mattresses but their base foam is only 1.5 - 1.6 lb density (lower than average quality/density for a base foam) and they don’t list the layers or the specs of their memory foam so without finding this out first … there is no way to make a meaningful comparison with the Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme in terms of materials (although the feel may still be different). They are not the typical quality/value that you would normally find at a factory direct manufacturer although I would still rate them above average in comparison to most major brands in value terms.
The Cloud Supreme uses good quality base foam (2.2 lbs or higher was what they listed at one time before they removed this information from their site) and their 5.3 lb memory foam is high quality. Their 4 lb foam is softer and would be less durable (like all 4 lb memory foams) but for many people the softer feel and faster response means lower durability is a tradeoff they are willing to make. I would start to be cautious with the Cloud line at weights above about 200 lbs or more.
There is also a danger in using another mattress and it’s subjective feel or “comfort” as a “target” rather than more specific and objective testing for pressure relief, posture and alignment, and personal preferences. There’s more about this in post #2 here.
Overall though … both the Tempurpedic and the Prana you mentioned earlier use good (or in the case of 4 lb memory foam medium) quality materials but are poor value compared to other mattresses with similar materials.
The goal is to make more “apples to apples” comparisons which in the case of the Cloud Supreme would involve testing mattresses that used a mix of 4 and 5 lb memory foams over a high quality base foam or at the very least that the outlet knew was roughly comparable in feel and quality to the Supreme. As a matter of course … I would never visit any outlet when I was mattress shopping until I had done some preliminary research on the phone to get a sense of what to expect when I went there and in your case asked about mattresses they have that may be roughly comparable so that if you go there you will either know you are testing completely different types of mattresses or know which ones may be reasonably close to the one you are using as a reference (again … a mix of 4 and 5 lb memory foam over a high quality base polyfoam).
For example … there are some memory foam options listed in post #21 here which would be roughly or even very comparable to the Tempurpedics. The Select Foam lineup is even manufactured and tested in terms of both quality of materials and feel to compare closely to the Tempurpedic models (they have them side by side with the Tempur in their store and use customer feedback and their own testing to “match” them). Their Cirrus Supreme for example is “matched” to the Cloud Supreme in quality and feel and is close to half the price (less with the Mattress underground 5% discount).
NOTE ADDED: Select foam used to be a member of this site but because of ongoing customer service issues and delays their membership was terminated and I would read the warning here before considering them.
You can also see similar quality memory foam mattresses at Rocky Mountain such as this one which also uses 4 and 5lb memory foam although the base layers are a little lower density. They also have the option of being able to re-arrange the memory foam layers and the base layers to customize the feel after you get it home.
These are just a few examples of much better value in similar quality mattresses and there are many more. the key again is to do the research that makes sure you are comparing apples to apples.
Having said that … if the Cloud Supreme is the only one that will do and you have tested it for pressure relief, posture and alignment, and your personal preferences (and not just subjective comfort) … then the substantial premium involved for the label may still be part of your personal “value equation”.
Phoenix