moocop.
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 (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) 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).
I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site but 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 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 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.
You can see some comments about about the materials in the Tuft & Needle mattress along with many of the other simplified choice mattresses in post #2 here in the simplified choice mattress topic and post #1 in the same topic would be well worth reading as well. A forum search on Tuft Needle (you can just click the link) will also bring up more comments and feedback about it as well.
Dreamfoam makes a range of memory foam mattresses that come in different firmness levels so you would have a range of firmness choices to choose from rather than just one. If you have tested any of the Tempurpedic mattresses they would also be able to provide you with some guidance about which of their memory foam mattresses are the closest approximation to the Tempurpedic mattress that you prefer. A forum search on Dreamfoam memory foam will bring up many more comments and feedback about their memory foam mattresses as well and you can also search for the name of any of their specific memory foam mattresses that you are interested in. As you probably know from your reading here … Dreamfoam is also a member of this site which means that I think very highly of them and that I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency.
Assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the quality/durability guidelines here relative to your weight range … the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses are more of a preference and a budget choice than a “better/worse” choice (see this article). The best way to know which type of materials or mattresses you tend to prefer at least in very general terms (regardless of anyone else’s preferences) will be based on your own careful testing or your own personal experience.
Tuft & Needle is an all polyfoam mattress and of course the Dreamfoam memory foam mattresses are memory foam mattresses which are a completely different mattress category so your choice would also depend on whether you prefer the “feel” of memory foam comfort layers or the more resilient “feel” of polyfoam comfort layers.
Tuft & Needle and all the Dreamfoam memory foam mattresses use good quality materials and none of them have any lower quality materials or “weak links” in their design that would compromise the durability or useful life of their mattresses relative to more average weight ranges.
Dreamfoam also makes a mattress that uses very similar materials to the Tuft & Needle mattress called the Arctic Dreams but is also in a much lower budget range so if you are considering an all polyfoam mattress it may be worth considering as well. You can read more about it in this topic.
Unlike many innerspring mattresses … most foam mattresses (latex foam, memory foam, or polyfoam) don’t have (or even really need) edge support as long as the firmness of the support core and the thickness of the comfort layers are suitable for your body weight when you are sleeping. Foam mattresses will generally feel softer and compress more deeply if you sleep with most of your weight concentrated on the very outside edges of the mattress or if you sit on the very edge of the mattress because your weight is more concentrated when you are sitting than when you are sleeping on the mattress. There is more about edge support in foam mattresses in post #33 here.
While there are always exceptions for some people that have a strong preference for a mattress that has a specific edge support system … in most cases and for most people this is just a matter of getting used to a foam mattress (particularly if you are used to a spring mattress with edge support) and perhaps sitting a little bit more towards the center of the mattress rather than on the very outside edge.
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.
Once you have narrowed down your options to a list of finalists that are all choices between “good and good” and you have confirmed that none of them have any lower quality materials or “weak links” in their design (which they don’t relative to more average weight ranges) and if at this point there are no clear winners between them (which is usually a good indication that you have done some good research) then you are in the fortunate position that any of them would likely be a suitable choice and post #2 here can help you make a final choice based on your more detailed conversations with each of them, your personal preferences, your confidence about PPP and the suitability of each one, their prices, the options you have after a purchase to fine tune the mattress or exchange or return the mattress or individual layers and any costs involved, any additional extras that are part of each purchase, and on “informed best judgement” based on all the other objective, subjective, and intangible parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
.Phoenix