Hi seekeroftruth,
You won’t find your “best solution” by reading the information here … only through testing mattresses. The only certainty you will have will be based on your actual testing and experience not based on what “sounds better” or “seems better” based on theory. The “art and science” of designing the “best” mattress is beyond the scope or ability of 99% of consumers and actual testing and experience is always needed to make any “theory” meaningful. Almost any mattress designer will tell you that when they have an idea that they want to use to design a mattress, the first prototypes will rarely feel or perform the way they imagined even though they are designing the mattress based on a great deal of knowledge and years of experience.
I would read the information as you would a good book and not “study” it like you would a textbook or make it the primary basis for your decisions or you run the risk of trying to design a mattress based on 'theory" instead of your actual needs and preferences. The information here can help you recognize who is an “expert” based on what they are happy to talk about and can act as a “fact check” to make sure you are getting accurate information but isn’t all that useful without a way to translate what you are reading into actual experience.
Once you have read the basic information and know what you are interested in testing, what to look for, and what to eliminate … then it’s time to research the retailers or manufacturers that you will use to test mattresses. Part of this will be based on your budget range, part of it will be based on the materials in the mattresses they carry that you are interested in testing, and part of this will be based on their knowledge about mattress materials and their ability to inform and educate you about what is in the mattresses you will be testing.
The “best” value for each person depends on what is available locally (or as an additional option what is available online that would be similar for those who are comfortable going in that direction). For some people their local testing will give them more confidence in including online options (because they are more familiar with the materials in the mattresses) and for some their options will remain local only so their options are limited to the “best” local choices. This is up to each person to decide based on what they are most comfortable with and on the criteria they use for their personal value equation. Once you have decided on which of the local retailers and manufacturers to visit (step 3) then the next step is to choose a finalist at each one you visit (step 4).
If you spend too much time researching or trying to define what is “best” without actual experience … then you run the risk of information overload without any meaningful way to “translate” what you are reading into your own personal experience.
So if you have read the basic information and you have a good idea of the different materials that are available to you … then it’s time to see what the many combinations of these materials and components you have been reading about actually feel like and which ones you prefer.
I wouldn’t worry at all about any “sales” because most of the best retailers or manufacturers sell great quality and value mattresses every day of the year and “sales” just create a false sense of urgency and “fear of loss” that is meant to entice consumers to buy a mattress before they really know or understand what they are buying (see post #5 here).
When you look back on a mattress purchase 10 years from now you will remember much more about how well you slept than you will about how much you paid for it and the small saving that can come from legitimate sales (as opposed to the “fake” savings that come from the “huge” sales) are really not a good basis for making a decision before you are ready to make your most informed decisions. If a “fake sale” offers such large savings that it would make a significant difference then I would question the validity of the sale itself and why they are overcharging the majority of their customers the majority of the time for the same mattress and treat it as more of a warning sign than as an “enticement”. Somebody else will still have a similar mattress at a good price when the sale is over. Don’t forget a mattress is only as good as its construction and the materials inside it no matter which manufacturer’s label is on the cover or the law tag.
A mattress purchase based on the “fear of loss” is much more likely to be a poor choice than a mattress purchase based on what you legitimately need and prefer and that is available at good value every day of the year.
I would take the time you need to make the “best choice” rather than making a choice based on the pressure that comes from believing that the “fake sales” at certain times of the year are anything more than marketing tools.
Phoenix