Hi gehinpa,
Restonic is a licensee group which is manufactured by different licensee factories in different areas of the country. Because of this … they make mattresses with different specs in different areas of the country and it’s important to check the specs to make sure what is in the mattress because it may be different than another mattress made in a different area. Sleeprite as you mentioned is a the local Restonic (and Therapedic) licensee factory. Licensee groups often don’t agree and aren’t consistent across the country on which of the “branded” mattresses they decide to make and as you also mentioned they will often make custom variations.
In terms of which mattress best matches your body weight and sleeping style and specific needs and preferences … your own personal testing (with some good in store guidance) would be more accurate than any “theory at a distance”.
I talked with Howard today (while you were in the store co-incidentally :)) because I wanted to confirm the specs of the Lacuna you are looking at (and we also had an unfinished conversation). It apparently has 2" of soft Talalay over 2" of medium Talalay over 6" of firmer Dunlop over 3" of firm polyfoam used as a base stabilization layer (to make up the 13" thickness of the mattress). Howard thought (based on a conversation with Sleeprite) that the racetrack around the Dunlop core was a firmer version of Dunlop latex to add edge firmness to the mattress but the law tag says that the polyfoam percentage is 20%. Because the law tag lists the contents by weight and polyfoam is much lighter than latex … if there was only 3" of polyfoam in the bottom layer then this would be closer to 10% of the total weight so this could indicate that the racetrack is also polyfoam. I told Howard that I would phone Sleeprite to confirm but they aren’t open today.
The bottom 3" layer of firm polyfoam used as a stabilization layer on the bottom wouldn’t concern me but of course it would mean that you were comparing a mattress with 10" of latex with other mattresses in terms of value.
You didn’t mention the size you are looking at or what else is included in the purchase (foundation, any extras etc) or which PLB model you were comparing it to so it wouldn’t be possible to make a value comparison.
I personally wouldn’t try to mimic the subjective feel of another mattress or go to BayBed with any preconceptions because subjective memory is not accurate unless you are comparing two mattresses side by side in real time. Almost everyone has had the experience of testing many mattresses over a few hours and forgetting exactly how the first mattresses you tried felt. I would just use a common set of standards to measure every mattress you are testing and “rate” each on the things that are most important to you (see post #46 here). This way you can focus on which model here is the best “fit” for you and work with the strengths of each manufacturer and mattress design and the knowledge of each retailer or manufacturer rather than taking on the almost impossible job of “matching subjective feels” between mattresses that use different materials and trying to turn subjective perceptions into a “measurement” that you can objectively measure. There are some good options here … especially with their innerpring/latex hybrids.
As you know … SleepEz is also a good quality/value option but an online purchase is more “risky” than a local purchase that you can test. While it’s true of course that you can re-arrange layers and exchange them … the layer thicknesses you are working with are not changeable and this can also have a significant effect on the feel and performance of the mattress and may make it very difficult to “mimic” another mattress if that is your goal. I would tend to use a 20% price difference between a local purchase and a less expensive online purchase as being “equivalent value” to make up for the added risk of an online purchase but of course each person may have a different percentage that reflects their own risk tolerance and the value “they” add for the ability to test a mattress in person.
They are also a good quality/value option but are in a completely different category than a latex mattress or a latex hybrid (memory foam vs latex) so this choice would be a matter of personal preference of one type of mattress vs another that was completely different and not really comparable (except with other mattresses of a similar type). I would also of course add “risk premium” compared to a local purchase because it would also be an online order that you couldn’t test in person (although they do give you a comparable mattress that would be a close approximation in the perception of most people).
As far as customer service … when a company does a lot of business there is a tendency to hear from customers that have various issues that can happen rather than the satisfied customers and how they deal with and respond to these issues often says more than the issues themselves. While of course it’s never great that there are any problems at all … and sometimes there is a need to change something in the customer service, supply or delivery system itself … they have always been very responsive when I have mentioned any issues that appeared on the forum and if you use the telephone rather than email to deal with more complex issues and questions then things can get resolved much more quickly and effectively. What I know for certain is that the intent and commitment to to resolve issues and learn from any patterns that are repeating is a particular focus from the ownership down. Of course each person needs to decide on a “gut level” how comfortable they are in dealing with any manufacturer or retailer and there is no “right or wrong” in any personal choices along these lines.
Latex in general is the most durable type of foam but the durability will vary based on the softness of the top material, its thickness, and on the amount of stress that it is subject to (your height, weight, sleeping positions, and sleeping style). You are not particularly heavy for your height and don’t appear to carry a disproportionate amount of your weight in certain areas so with only 2" of super soft on top (which I’m assuming is 14 ILD) then I would have less concern about foam softening and its effect on the overall feel and performance of your mattress because this layer is more about surface feel but it is true that this layer will be subject to foam softening more than firmer latex even though the softening itself will have less effect than if the layer was thicker or over softer or less durable layers.
I would have some concern in the case of Tempurpedic because they don’t disclose the specs of the materials in their new mattresses except for the top layer of memory foam (not the more resilient “tempur weightless” material underneath it). In the case of the Select Foam versions though … I wouldn’t have the same concerns because they list or will disclose the type and quality of the layers.
So overall IMO … you have narrowed down your options to choices between “good and good” and eliminated all the worst options (which includes the mattresses that the majority of consumers end up buying) and there are just a few more information gaps and one local manufacturer left to complete your comparisons. This is the place where it’s time for me to step out of the way (except for any more questions you may have that I’m able to answer of course or helping to fill in the gaps of any missing information) so you can make your final choices based on what is most important to you and your own personal “value equation”.
Thanks too for your feedback about the various choices you are considering.
Phoenix