Hi needabed,
Whenever a specific mattress isn’t a good match for you in terms of PPP it’s generally because of the specific combination of all the materials and components in a mattress and how they interact together … not because of any one part of the mattress design. If you are experiencing pressure points behind your head when you are lying on your back then it’s most likely a pillow issue.
Whether a specific zoned mattress is suitable for you depends on the specifics of the zoning and on how well the zoning matches your body type and sleeping positions in terms of PPP. Some people may find a specific zoning configuration to be very helpful and others may find the same zoning configuration detrimental. There is more about zoning in this article and in post #11 here but in general terms the only way to confirm that a particular zoning pattern is a good match for you is based on your own actual testing or sleeping experience.
While it’s true that the sheets can make a difference to the feel of a mattress … in most cases and for most people it wouldn’t make enough of a difference to make it a specific consideration in choosing a mattress and it would introduce a variable that would be much too complex and almost impossible to predict.
You will find these types of conflicting claims to be common throughout the industry and in most cases they don’t tell you much about the durability of a particular mattress as a whole … only about a particular component. There is more about the many variables that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress “as a whole” relative to each person in post #4 here.
They both use high quality materials and components (a pocket coil and latex comfort layers) so the difference would be more about how well each of them matched your specific needs and preferences in terms of PPP and the other parts of your personal value equation that are important to you rather than any meaningful difference in terms of durability.
It would have some limited effect yes but a pocket spring and latex are both very flexible so the effect would be minimal and both work very well on an adjustable bed.
Not to my knowledge no. If the reason you are considering a protector on an adjustable is to protect the adjustable platform from stains then I would consider a protector that is waterproof on 5 sides (see post #2 here) to protect the sides of the platform. It may fit on adjustable beds that have a thicker platform (something like this) but it probably wouldn’t fit well on an adjustable with a thinner platform (something like this). You would also need to cut part of the protector so it would fit around the retainer bars and I don’t know how well it would stay in place if you are raising and lowering the adjustable bed.
Phoenix