Hey gmck,
Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :).
Thanks for the post and the questions. Generally speaking, we are also noticing that many companies are moving to some lower densities. Regarding the Loom and Leaf and Ghostbed Luxe, Ghostbed is one of our newest trusted membersand as you see on the Ghostbed TMU page - Ghostbed Luxe Specs, this product uses very high-quality specs, this has been a very successful product introduction with very low return rates, per my discussion with the Ghostbed CEO.
Saatva/Loom&Leaf/Zenhaven is certainly a very good company and has built a solid e-commerce business. My issue with Loom is they use contract manufacturers to make their mattresses in different regions of the country. Of course, they say all these contractors use the “same” specs and it is all “tightly controlled” but the reality is quite different. I do like that L&L does give a pretty detailed spec listing on their website. Although I am a little dubious about the Our cooling gel spinal panel, a panel of laminated gel does not help a person sleep cooler, there is simply no evidence of this, mostly the evidence is the opposite and more heat is retained…but, when you “feel” gel in a store it feels cooler, the same way a metal spoon feels cooler than a plastic spoon.
Also for a little clarification, I don’t agree that Nest Bedding is choosing weaker layers, as you can see from this Phoenix post #6, where the Nest CEO gives a clear description of the Alexander Signature.
Thank you again for your post, and please let us know if you have any more questions.
Sensei