I am replacing my 20 year old Simmons Beauty Rest. It is double sided and it is only within the past 2 years that I began to think about replacing it. Up until then it felt ok to me and even now its not too bad, a little lumpy, a little softened, but far from horrible. I knew nothing about mattresses when I bought it and only went by how it felt and how much it cost. I don’t remember what I paid for it but it wasn’t an expensive mattress and it has served me well. I just bought a Berkeley Ergonomics 100% latex mattress for what seems to me to be an astonishing amount of money. It won’t be delivered for a few more weeks and I am looking forward to getting it but it’s $2000 price tag (plus tax, delivery, old mattress removal, platform bed, mattress protector bringing it close to $3000) still makes me wonder if I am out of my mind. Everything I have read here and elsewhere leads me to believe that quality has indeed diminished. I think there is an interesting book that could be written about the mattress industry, big business vs the little guy, questionable sales practices, poor quality products, toxic vs non-toxic/natural/organic materials etc. I think you should write it Phoenix, kind of like Pollan’s “Omnivore’s Dilemma” but about mattresses not food.
Jean