Hi PurplePigeon, and terrieb,
[quote] I purchased the “Plush Soft” version of this mattress and was very disappointed. It is extremely firm.
Same here, the Saatva “plush” is nowhere near plush. [/quote]
As you may know from your reading here … there are no “standard” definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science.
In other words … it can be somewhat risky to purchase a mattress based on other people’s definition of soft or firm and the only way to know whether any mattress feels “soft enough” for any specific person will be based on their own careful testing or their own personal experience.
Phoenix