Hi DMSezton47,
I’m sorry to hear that your Luxisleep mattress didn’t work out as well as you hoped. You can see some of my comments about it here and it certainly is a unique design and uses good quality materials but as you probably know “comfort” is very subjective and a mattress that is “perfect” for one person may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on.
I’m not sure how long you have had your mattress but I would also keep in mind that there will be a break in and adjustment period with any new mattress (see post #3 here) and you will need to sleep on it for 30 days before you can return it and it can sometimes be surprising how much your sleeping experience can change over the first few weeks. What you are feeling may just be part of the adjustment period of getting used to a sleeping system that is different from what you are used to and I would also keep in mind that you can’t “feel” a mattress when you are sleeping and that good support/alignment (and in your case the improvement of your back pain) and good pressure relief are always more important to sleep quality and sleeping “symptom free” than more subjective perceptions of “comfort” or “feel”. Sometimes what we like is a function of familiarity and can be different from what we “need”.
There is more information about the 3 most important parts of “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).
While I can’t speak to how any mattress will “feel” for someone else because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances … outside of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t see or “feel” and assessing the quality/durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label (or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new) so I would always make sure that you find out information listed here so you can compare the materials and components to the quality/durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.
All the major brands (such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta) tend to use lower quality 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 and I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (and the major retailers that focus on them) 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).
[quote]So today I came across the new Alexander Hybrid mattress, and was wondering if anyone could help me figure out how the Alexander Hybrid compares to a S&F Port au Prince or similar hybrid mattresses, or even a Tempur Flex Supreme, which I found had a similar feel.
-How do you think it would compare to the S&F Port au Prince?[/quote]
There is more information in post #9 here about the different ways that one mattress can “match” or “approximate” another one. Every layer and component in a mattress (including the cover and any quilting materials) will affect the feel and performance of every other layer and component and the mattress “as a whole” so unless you are able to find another mattress that uses exactly the same type of materials, components, cover, layer thicknesses, layer firmnesses, and overall design (which would be very unlikely) then there really isn’t a way to match one mattress to another one in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) based on the specifications of the mattresses.
Mattress manufacturers generally try to differentiate their mattress from the mattresses made by other manufacturers and don’t normally try to “match” another mattress that is made by a different manufacturer. While you may find some local or online mattresses that use “somewhat similar” materials or designs and there would be others that are in the same general category but have a different design that could be in a similar firmness range … they will generally have different combinations of layers and components and will likely have a different “feel”.
Unless a manufacturer specifically says in their description of a mattress that one of their mattresses in the same general category is specifically designed to “match” or “approximate” another one in terms of firmness or “feel” and PPP (or they are very familiar with both mattresses and can provide reliable guidance about how they compare based on the “averages” of a larger group of people) … the only reliable way to know for certain how two mattresses would compare for you in terms of how they “feel” or in terms of firmness or PPP would be based on your own careful testing or actual sleeping experience on both of them.
There are also no “standard” definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science.
If you know the specifications of all the materials and layers in two mattresses you are comparing (see this article) then making durability comparisons based on the specifications of the materials and components in both mattresses is simpler than trying to compare “comfort” and PPP (which is much more subjective) but the durability of the materials in a mattress has very little to do with how a mattress will feel or performs because lower quality and more durable materials can feel the same as higher quality and more durable materials when they are new … they just won’t maintain their comfort and support for as long.
In other words … the short version of all of this is that if there are any differences in the design and components of two mattresses you are comparing (which there are) then the only reliable way to know how they would compare to another mattress for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (regardless of how they would compare for anyone else) would be based on your own careful testing or personal sleeping experience on both of them.
In terms of the quality/durability of the materials … the Alexander Hybrid Signature Select mattress uses good quality materials (4 lb memory foam with a 1.5" quilting layer) and there are no lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress that would compromise the durability or useful life of the mattress unless you are in a higher weight range (mid 200’s or higher) where I would reduce or minimize the use of 4 lb memory foam.
The Tempur Flex supreme uses a 1.2" layer of 5.3 lb memory foam but it has a 2.5" layer of 1.6 lb polyfoam underneath this which is a little lower quality/density material than I would normally suggest (especially in this budget range) and could be a weak link in the mattress so I would be very cautious here both for budget and “value” reasons and because of the quality/density of the materials.
Hopefully any of the members here that have purchased it will see your post and share their experiences but I would be very cautious about using other people’s experiences or reviews on a 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 and 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 may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range or have a similar sleeping style) and reviews in general certainly 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).
When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed 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 such as Tempurpedic) than anyone else.
Nest Bedding also has a 101 day trial period with free returns so you can test the mattress in your bedroom instead of a showroom with little risk outside of the time you spent sleeping on it and/or returning it if that becomes necessary so you can see how suitable the mattress is for you regardless of whether the same choice would be suitable for someone else.
It would be a good idea to check with them to confirm this and make sure that it meets their specific warranty criteria but I would think that it would probably be fine.
Phoenix
PS: I think that the “wall of text” in my reply is longer than yours 