Hi gentilr,
The only way to know the quality and value of a mattress is to know the details of all the materials that are inside it. this is the only way to make meaningful assessments or comparisons between different mattresses. Unfortunately most of the larger manfacturers refuse to provide this information to consumers and use “marketing information” to replace “quality information” instead.
This is a good example of what I mean. While this is more than most people would normally be able to find out, it is meaninless information because it is too generic and there is a substantial difference between 1.35 lb polyfoam (low quality) and 1.85 lb polyfoam (in the lower end of the higher quality polyfoam range). The layer thicknesses of each and how they are layered would make a substantial difference in the durability of the mattress but in most cases you won’t be able to find out the specifics and without this there is no way to identify any weak links in a mattress.
Providing a range like this is like saying “there is some good foam in the mattress and some foam that is not so good but we’re not going to tell you how much of any of it or how it is put together”. The weak link of most mattresses is the upper layers which are the most subject to mechanical forces that cause the upper layers to break down or soften faster than the deeper layers which are less subject to mechanical forces.
No … you can make the same comparisons with memory foam (or other types of foam) no matter where in the world it is made. the “definition” of high quality though will depend on who is selling the foam and what they would like you to believe. The polymer density of memory foam or polyfoam (before any filler is added) is the single biggest factor in their relative durability. You can read more about some of the many factors involved in the durability of a mattress in post #4 here and the other posts it links to.
Memory foam and polyfoam come in different density ranges and they are not comparable to each other. memory foam comes in densities ranging from about 1.5 lbs to about 8 lbs and I would be very cautious about using memory foam in density ranges under 4 lbs in layers more than about an inch thick. Poly foam comes in density ranges from under 1 lb to over 3 lbs and I would be very cautious about using densities under about 1.8 lbs (depending on the design and construction of the mattress and its budget range) in layers under about an inch thick as well. The mattresses section of the site has more information about materials used in the comfort layers section and the support cores section.
The information is still current as far as I’m aware but of course this type of information that comes from “alternative” sources and takes a great deal of research or some inside information (because they don’t disclose it even to their retailers) is not a substitute for information from the manufacturer themselves which they just don’t provide. This is part of the reason I wouldn’t consider them in the first place unless someone is comfortable making a blind purchase where there is no way to know the quality or value of what you are buying.
You certainly won’t find agreement from “everyone” … just the people that sell it who particularly like the margins that they provide. Anyone who tries to tell you that a mattress is high quality and can’t validate by providing you with information that validates it is just “selling you” rather than “educating you” and in effect you are just buying a story forthe sake of their profit. If they don’t know what is in the mattresses they are selling (which they won’t) then “quality” or “value” is just a meaningless word that they are hoping someone will believe “just because they said so”.
This can be a good idea when you have few other choices but it is important t make sure that there is as little as possible low quality foam in the upper layers of the mattress that you would be using the topper on. Post #2 here has more information and suggestions to other forum members that were in a similar difficult situation and somewhat “between a rock and a hard place” because they had to exchange a mattress for another one and there were no good quality/value options available to them.
Don’t forget that you can’t “feel” the quality of foam in a showroom and both high and low quality materials can feel similar of the same in a showroom but quality/density does determine how long a material will continue to feel and perform closer to how it was when it was new and how quickly it will soften and break down.
If you do decide to exchange for a firm mattress with minimal questionable materials in the upper layers … then post #2 here and the posts it links to can help you make the most suitable and least risky choice.
Phoenix