Hi jsuehl,
Assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the quality/durability guidelines here relative to your weight range … the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses are more of a preference and a budget choice than a “better/worse” choice (see this article).
Each mattress category can include hundreds of different mattresses with a very wide range of different designs, different “feels”, different characteristics, and different firmness levels. Every individual layer and component in a mattress (including the cover and any quilting material) will affect the feel and response of every other layer and component both above and below it and the mattress “as a whole” so each mattress category will generally include some mattresses that will be a good “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) and others that use the same type of materials and components and are in the same category may but have a different design or firmness level that may be completely unsuitable for you to sleep on … even if it uses the same general type of materials and components.
Latex comes in a wide range of firmness levels but in general terms is a more “supportive” material than other types of foam because it has a higher compression modulus (the rate that a foam material becomes firmer as you compress it more deeply) than either memory foam or polyfoam in the same firmness level so if a mattress isn’t a good “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP then it would be more because the specific design of the mattress (the thickness and firmness of the layers and components in the mattress) wasn’t a good “match” for you than because of the specific type of materials.
Zoning systems (such as Flobed’s vZone) can sometimes be useful and worth considering for people that have more difficulty finding a mattress with the right “balance” between comfort/pressure relief (under the shoulders especially) and support/alignment (under the hips/pelvis especially) or who have more challenging circumstances or sensitivities, body types that are more difficult to “match” to a mattress, more complex medical issues, or who have a history of having more difficulty in finding a mattress that works well for them. There is more about zoning in this article and in post #11 here and the additional posts it links to but the only way to know whether any specific mattress (zoned or otherwise) will be a good “match” for you in terms of PPP will be based on your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) or your own personal experience when you sleep on it.
The major brands such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta all tend to use lower quality and less durable materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors that will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay which is why I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (along with the major retailers that focus on them as well) regardless of how they may feel in a showroom along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here along with post #3 here and post #12 here and post #404 here).
In other words you were wise to avoid it.
Again the type of materials and components or the category of mattress is a preference choice more than a better/worse choice so just like any other type of mattress … some memory foam mattresses may be a suitable “match” for you and others may also be unsuitable for you to sleep on.
While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … It’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
There is more about the 3 most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
While other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful … I would always keep in mind that once again you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and I would be cautious about about using anyone else’s suggestions, experiences or reviews on a specific mattress (either positive or negative) or review sites in general as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you. In many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range). In other words … reviews or other people’s experiences in general won’t tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).
There are some comments about the Loom & Leaf along with many of the other “simplified choice” online mattresses in post #2 here in the simplified choice mattress topic and the first post in the same topic would probably be worth reading as well. There are also some more detailed comments in post #5 here. A forum search on Loom Leaf (you can just click the link) will also bring up more comments and feedback about it as well.
You can read more about Amerisleep and their sister companies and their so called “expert sites” that pose as being independent review sites in post #2 here and the posts it links to. A forum search on Amerisleep (you can just click the link) will bring up will bring up all the forum posts that mention them as well.
While I can’t speak to how either of the Amerisleep mattresses will feel to you or whether they will be a good match in terms of PPP … in terms of durability the Liberty uses 1.5 lb polyfoam in the transition and base layers which are a lower density material than I would normally suggest (see the durability guidelines here) and would be a weak link in the mattress that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress. The Revere doesn’t have a transition layer and uses a 1.65 lb polyfoam base layer which is a little better in terms of density and durability but it’s also lower than the minimum density guidelines I would normally suggest for a mattress in this budget range.
There would be better quality/value memory foam mattresses available to you than either Loom & Leaf or Amerisleep and if you are looking at online memory foam options then the mattress shopping tutorial includes a link to a list of many of the better online memory foam options I’m aware of (in the optional online step) in a range of different designs, budgets, firmness levels, and with a range of different return/exchange policies that may be worth considering.
If you have tried many online mattresses and haven’t been successful then it may also be worth considering a local mattress that you can test in person before a purchase.
If you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know about the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area.
Phoenix