Hi ekrolik,
Your area was one of the few that didn’t have a forum list with some of the better options that are in a reasonable driving distance so hopefully it will also help others that find us and are in the same general area as well.
While I do recommend the members here “as a group”, there are also many other retailers/manufacturers across the country that are transparent about the materials they use in their mattresses and make some good quality/value mattresses that aren’t members of the site (at least yet) that may also be well worth considering if they compare well to the other finalists you are looking at.
Having said that … you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are always too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion about which mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own personal testing or sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
Most manufacturers make a wide range of mattresses that can vary from very low quality that in some cases may only last you for weeks or months to much more premium mattresses that use higher quality and more durable materials that will have a much longer useable life. In terms of quality and durability … a mattress is only as good as it’s construction and the type and quality/durability of the materials and components inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label or the price of the mattress. The name of the manufacturer on the label or the price of the mattress won’t tell you anything about whether a specific mattress is suitable for you in terms of PPP or whether there are any lower quality materials or weak links in the design.
The most important part of “value” is always PPP and this is where careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) plays the most important role and the manufacturers and retailers I include in the many lists throughout the forum are the ones where your chances are higher of being able to find out the type and quality of the materials inside the mattress and where I know that they at least make some good quality mattresses that don’t have any obvious weak links so that you can confirm that your choice will be durable as well. They also help you avoid the manufacturers that tend to use lower quality materials in their mattresses or don’t generally disclose the quality of their materials at all. You can see my “transparency ratings” of the larger manufacturers in this article.
In other words the manufacturers and retailers on the list aren’t recommendations but they are “possibilities” depending on how well any of their mattresses match your specific needs and preferences in terms of PPP, whether you can confirm that they use good quality and durable materials that don’t have any weak links in their design, and on how they compare to the other mattresses you are considering based on all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
While the Tempurpedic mattresses do tend to use higher quality materials … I would agree with you that for most people they certainly aren’t in the best value range compared to many other manufacturers that make mattresses that also use similar or better quality materials and sell in much lower budget ranges.
Phoenix