Hi Lackofzzz,
There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress in post #13 here but I would keep in mind that the value of any mattress is relative to the other finalists you are considering and how they compare in terms of suitability and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences), the type and durability of the materials inside it, and how it compares to other similar mattresses based on these and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you … not how they may compare to the regular selling price of the same mattress (which may not even be the “final” price that most retailers will sell the mattress) or to the same mattress sold somewhere else.
Just as an example … if you have a mattress that normally retails for say $5000 and it’s “on sale” for $4000 (or is available at another store for $4000) but it’s very comparable to another mattress that you are considering that uses the same materials and is just as suitable, just as durable, and matches all the other criteria that are important to you but sells for $3000 then even the sale price of the first mattress (or the lower price at another store) wouldn’t be particularly good value.
Whether a zoned mattress “works” for any particular person depends entirely on the specifics of the zoning and how well they “match” the body type, weight distribution, and sleeping style of a particular person. Some zoning systems that work perfectly for one person may not be suitable at all for someone else. The only way to know whether a particular zoning system is a good “match” for you is based on your own personal testing and experience. Having said that … zoning can certainly have some benefits for those people that have more difficulty in finding a mattress that is a good “match” for them. There is more about zoning in post #11 here and the other posts and the article it links to.
It sounds like they may not have been one of Savvy Rest’s better dealers or at least the salesperson in the store wasn’t one of their better salespeople. Savvy Rest is more costly than many other very similar mattresses that are often sold online (and sometimes locally as well) and one of the reasons that they use to justify their higher prices is the personalized service that they can provide with a local purchase … and unfortunately this didn’t seem to be the case with your experience.
You can read more about the previous versions (up to version 4) of Pranasleep mattresses in post #3 here and in post #2 here and in post #3 here and in posts #1 and #2 here and a forum search on Prana (you can just click this) will also bring up more information and feedback about them as well.
The good news is they changed the design in version 5 and the top layers of polyfoam are now higher quality/density and are no longer what I would consider to be a weak link in the mattress in terms of durability but they are still in a significantly higher budget range than other similar mattresses and the top layers are still polyfoam so you would still be feeling and sleeping on polyfoam as much as latex. There is more about the new version 5 in post #19 here and I would certainly make some very careful “value” comparisons with other latex mattresses that are in a lower budget range before considering one of their mattresses to be the best value for you.
Tufted layers will be a little firmer because of the tufting and will be a little more durable as well because they are precompressed and aren’t as subject to impressions but the only way to know whether any mattress is a good “match” for you in terms of PPP (whether it has tufting or not) will be based on your own careful testing or personal experience. This is another one of those cases that a particular mattress that has tufted layers may be a good match for one person but that same mattress may not be a good match for someone else. The tufting is just one part of the overall design and layering of different mattresses that is the reason that some mattresses can be a good match for some people and not others. In other words tufted layers doesn’t mean that it would be a better match for any particular person.
I also would be very cautious about testing a mattress based on how “luxurious” it feels in a showroom which is only about the more subjective “feel” of a mattress which is much less important than posture and alignment and pressure relief which are the basic “needs” of any mattress. Your body doesn’t “feel” whether a mattress is “luxurious” when you are sleeping and I would focus much more on testing whether a mattress keeps you in good alignment and relieves pressure in all your sleeping positions.
If you sleep with a partner I would always make sure that you test a mattress together with both of you on the mattress.
There is more about Vi Spring and other “ultra premium” mattresses in post #2 here and post #2 here.
In some cases a mattress in this budget range may be “worth it” for a particular person that isn’t price sensitive and that has specific criteria that aren’t available in lower budget ranges but this would be unusual and in general I would need a very compelling reason that clearly indicated there was “enough” of a difference in “real life” compared to many other mattresses that may be just as suitable in terms of PPP (including temperature regulation), just as durable, and that are in much lower budget ranges to justify the higher cost based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Mattresses that have natural fibers in the comfort layers will form some initial impressions that will tend to even out as you sleep on different parts of the mattress and flip it on a regular basis. These impressions in natural fibers don’t have a significant effect on the comfort, support, or feel of the mattress because there really isn’t much difference between natural fibers that are compressed when you sleep on them and don’t spring all the way back when you are off the mattress and natural fibers that are compressed when you sleep on them and do spring back because both ways they are compressed to about the same degree and would have a similar firmness when you sleep on them (although they will become a little firmer than they were initially). Foam on the other hand is different because foam softens and breaks down over time and foam that softens or develops impressions can have a much more significant effect on both comfort and support.
Mattress warranties only cover defects in the materials or construction of a mattress and they don’t cover the gradual (or more rapid in the case of lower quality comfort layers) loss of comfort and support that is the main reason that most people will need to replace their mattress. In other words warranties have little to do with the durability or useful life of a mattress or when you may need to replace it and longer warranties are more about marketing than anything else. If there is an actual defect in the material it will usually show up early in the life of the mattress but knowing the quality and durability of the materials in your mattress are a much more reliable way to assess the durability and useful life of a mattress than the length of a warranty. There is more about mattress warranties in post #174 here. A “lifetime” warranty is only for the comfort life of the mattress not for your lifetime.
There is no way to know for certain how long any mattress will last or maintain it’s comfort and/or support for any particular person or how long it will take before someone crosses the thresholds between sleeping well on a mattress to sleeping “OK” to tolerating a mattress to finally deciding to replace it because there are too many variables involved that are unique to each person.
If a mattress uses high quality and durable materials (which of course is the case with the Vi Spring mattresses) then it’s more realistic to think of about 10 years as a reasonable expectation for any mattress no matter what the quality or durability of the materials and then treat any additional time after that as “bonus time” because after about 10 years the limiting factor in the useful life of a mattress will often be the changing needs and preferences of the person sleeping on the mattress and even if a mattress is still in relatively good condition after a decade … a mattress that was suitable for someone 10 years earlier may not be the best “match” any longer.
Having said that … with higher quality materials throughout a mattress and/or for people whose needs and preferences or physical condition or body type hasn’t changed much over 10 years then “bonus time” or even “extended bonus time” with higher quality/density materials like latex or higher density memory foam or polyfoam or natural fibers like the Vi Spring is much more likely than with less durable materials.
If a Savvy Rest is a good “match” for you in one of their specific layering combinations then it may also be worth considering some of the very similar online latex component mattresses that have a very similar design and layering options and are in a much lower budget range. They will also have a similar or better exchange policy and most of them also have a good return/refund policy as well which Savvy Rest doesn’t have so it would make sense to make some very careful comparisons based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you to make sure that the higher price for a local purchase of a very similar mattress would be “worth it” to you.
It seems like you are making progress but you still have a ways to go and it would be worthwhile to consider some other mattresses that are in lower budget ranges that may be just as suitable, just as durable, and may be better “value” since you are looking at mattresses in more premium budget ranges than you may need to.
If you aren’t confident that a mattress is a good match for you or that your testing will accurately predict your sleeping experience then I would make sure you factor in the "value of any exchange or return policies and there is more about the different ways to choose the most suitable mattress (locally and online) that can help you assess and minimize the risks involved in making a choice that isn’t as suitable for you as you hoped for with each of them in post #2 here.
Phoenix