Hi CbusErin]
The first place I would start is post #1 here which has all the basic information, steps and guidelines you will need to make the best possible choices … and eliminate the worst ones including any mattress where you can’t find out the specifics of the type or quality of the materials that are inside it. This would probably eliminate the Serta and any of the others where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality of the materials inside them (possibly the Paramount).
The most important part of making a good choice and the “value” of a mattress is careful and objective testing for PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) using the testing guidelines and suggestions in the “read first post”.
The next most important part of the “value” of a mattress is making sure you know the specifics of all the components and layers in any mattress you are interested in and that is suitable for you in terms of PPP. Without this … you would have no way to identify any weak links in the mattress or make any meaningful assessments of the useful life of the mattress or make meaningful quality or value comparisons with other similar mattresses. You can’t feel the “quality” of the materials when you are testing in a showroom because this has to do with the durability of a mattress … not its comfort and support … and if you choose a mattress that uses lower quality materials then no matter how it feels or performs in a showroom the lower quality materials will soften or break down much more quickly and you will lose the comfort and support that is the reason you purchased the mattress in the first place. There is little “value” in buying a mattress that feels great initially but quickly becomes unsleepable or develops soft spots or impressions and the loss of comfort and support isn’t covered by any warranty. Keep in mind that price will often have little to do with the quality of a mattress or it’s suitability for any specific person and a warranty has nothing to do with the useful life of a mattress.
This is the reason I would completely avoid any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the specifics of every layer in a mattress you are considering and also why I would avoid major brands where this information isn’t usually available.
I would also suggest deciding on your preference between memory foam or latex. If you decide you prefer memory foam then I would eliminate the latex and if you decide you prefer latex then I would eliminate the memory foam. Besides your own testing to decide which one you prefer … you can read more about the differences between them in post #2 here.
I would then narrow down your finalist at each store to one based on how well each of the choices there matched your needs and preferences and budget and on which ones have the best quality/value/durability based on comparing the materials inside them. Once you know the specifics of the layering of any mattress you are considering then a knowledgeable retailer or manufacturer will help “educate” you about the differences between them but if they have little knowledge about mattress materials (and I would focus on retailers and manufacturers in your area that are knowledgeable about the materials in a mattress) then you can also list the layers in the forum (top to bottom) and I’d be happy to make some comments about whether any of your choices have any “weak links” in terms of quality and durability or about any missing information you will need to make informed choices.
Once you have narrowed down your finalists to one at each store (step 4 in the guidelines) … and have eliminated all your worst options or mattresses with “unknown” materials … then all that’s left is to make final choices between “good and good” based on your personal value equation.
Again … if you list the specifics of the components and layers in any of your finalists (type of material or component, type, thickness, and density of any memory foam or polyfoam, or the thickness and type and blend of any latex) I’d be happy to make more comments.
The PLB and the OMF latex mattresses don’t have any weak links (all of these use blended Talalay latex which is a high quality material) but I don’t know the specific layers of the others so the retailer or manufacturer would need to provide these to you for me to make any meaningful comments about them.
Phoenix