While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … It’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
Just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly help you know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase 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 all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).
There is more about the pros and cons of memory foam in this article but memory foam is a slow response material so even though it is great for motion isolation … it can tend to restrict motion or movement on a mattress (especially with thicker layers of memory foam) more than more resilient comfort layers like latex, polyfoam, or microcoils. There are also many different types and versions of memory foam that can have different properties and some will be more or less temperature sensitive, have a faster or slower response time, or be softer or firmer than others which will all affect motion restriction and freedom of movement on a mattress. While this may be more information than you desire, there is more about the different range of properties that can be part of different memory foam formulations in post #9 here and post #8 here. Latex also tends to be good at motion isolation, but memory foam is generally superior in this category. Of course, all of the upper comfort layers work together with the support system to create a complete feel.
Both these mattresses are made by Zinus which owns the trademark for “real mattress in a box”. Zinus is a Chinese manufacturer that uses mostly low / mid quality materials although they are CertiPur certified. They are most commonly sold under many brand names in big box stores and elsewhere. Whenever you see “green tea” you can assume the manufacturer is Zinus.
I would also read post #6 here about mattresses imported from Asia or China and which may have been compressed for long periods of time in either shipping or storage before being purchased and a forum search on Zinus (you can just click this) will bring up more information and feedback about some of their brands and mattresses. Being sourced in China make this somewhat of a risky purchase IMO.
The layers for the Dreamfoam Artic Dreams are:
3" Energex gel polyfoam – 3 lb.
6.25" convoluted polyfoam – 1.5 lb.
It has a 90 night trial
The 13" Brentwood has a 3.5 gel memory foam layer, a 2" “ventilated airflow layer” (they don’t say what this is but I’d guess it’s some sort of convoluted polyfoam), and a 7.5" support base (polyfoam). It has a 120 night guarantee.
The Brentwood Home mattresses don’t contain any information about the quality/density of their foam materials on their website so I can’t make any meaningful comments about their quality or durability but if you can find out the information in this article and post it on the forum I’d be happy to let you know if there are any lower quality materials or weak links that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.
I would also talk with both Brentwood and Dreamfoam on the phone because when you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone 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) than anyone else. And they can also fully explain their options for return/refund if your online purchase doesn’t work out as well as you hoped it would.
Dreamfoam is a member of this site which means that I think highly of them and I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency.
You can also look online and use the experience and expertise of the members listed in post #21 here who are all very experienced and knowledgeable and specialize in providing the type of help and guidance on the phone that can help you make good choices. There are a wide range of latex and memory foam and other options included in the choices.
In addition to the online members of the site listed in the previous membership link … post #12 here has some of the better online memory foam options for those who are looking for a memory foam mattress. And as it appears you are desiring to stick to a more basic budget range, then post #4 here and the posts it links to also include many of the better lower budget online options I’m aware of as well.
I’ll be interested in learning about any information you come up with and your progress.
