Hi Mueller,
I tend to avoid suggesting brands because it’s the layering in the mattress which is the most important part of the quality and value of any mattress and the “brand” on the mattress has little to do with quality. I do suggest avoiding major brands however (Sealy, Simmons, Serta, Stearns and Foster etc) because they tend to use lower quality materials and are not transparent about the quality of the materials they use. In many cases what they call a latex mattress only has “some” latex in it and this is often lower quality at a higher price. For the same reason, larger chain stores or any outlet that isn’t an “expert” in mattress materials and construction is also a good place to avoid.
Shopping by brand rather than by materials is the single biggest reason for poor choices in a mattress. A mattress is only as good as it’s weakest link (the lowest quality layer in the mattress) and this is why buying from a smaller sleep shop or local factory direct manufacturer is so important because they are far more open about what is in the mattresses they sell and they make it possible to know what that weak link may be. Buying a mattress for example that has a couple of inches or more of poor quality polyfoam in the upper layers is a recipe for poor durability and soft spots and impressions in the mattress no matter what else is in it. The more they know, the less you have to know and research.
The first step is always researching “where” to buy and then the second step of “what” to buy has far better odds of being successful. The layering of a mattress and a knowledgeable salesperson is far more important to know than the name that is on the mattress. While there are a few “brand” suggestions in the list I linked to … these are only because they may have better value in certain types of mattresses and it is not a “brand” recommendation.
So finding factory direct manufacturers or better retail outlets near you is a first step. These are the places I would focus your efforts and I would call them first to make sure that they either make or carry latex mattresses (and I know that several do).
In those cases where there are no reasonable choices in your area that have both quality and value, then an online purchase can also make sense although local testing on mattresses (no matter what they cost) can still provide a good guideline for the type of layering that works best for you which can help them help you much better. Post #21 here has a list and brief description of some of the manufacturing members of this site who specialize in helping people over the phone and selling mattresses across the country.
If the Boyd Gel Rest 412 is a good choice for you in terms of what I call PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Preferences) and it has better value than other choices in your budget range that use similar materials … then it would certainly be worth considering. Some of the better online memory foam choices that can act as a reference point are in post #12 here. Some guidelines for choosing memory foam mattresses are in post #10 here.
Basically a mattress has only two main functions which is to provide you with pressure relief and keep you in alignment in all your sleeping positions. After this everything is about preferences and durability (how long it will keep relieving pressure and keep you in alignment). Before buying any mattress though including memory foam, latex, or anything else … I would want to know the type (in the case of latex) or density (in the case of polyfoam or memory foam) of the foams they use because this is the only way to know the quality of the materials they use … even if they are CertiPur certified and “safe”.
Hope this helps.
Phoenix