Hi Betsy80,
There’s no reason to be embarrassed as Sleepy1 mentioned. The goal here is always to get to the best possible outcome no matter how many missteps there are along the way
Just for reference … density is the weight per cubic foot of a layer of foam not the thickness of any of the materials in the mattress. The thickness is the “amount” of materials (no matter what the density) and of course the thicker a layer of similar density the more the raw materials would cost.
Costco also has a great return policy (see the details here) and they will pick up the mattress the same way they delivered it (curbside if that was how it was delivered) if you decide to return it. Just keep the original box if you decide to try it out. This at least makes it possible to test it now that it’s coming anyway without any real risk.
The Novaform is also reasonably good value in terms of “raw materials”. 4 lb memory foam is medium density/durability and the base layer is good quality as well (2.0 lbs is not the best but is good quality). The problem isn’t so much one of poor value but because you won’t know whether the mattress is suitable for you until you try it. With 2.5 inches of memory foam it may be somewhat on the firm side but this will depend on the firmness of the polyfoam base layer.
Of course it’s not in the same value range as the Ultimate Dreams which has twice as much memory foam (the most costly part of the mattress materials) and the memory foam and base foam is also higher quality (density). With this mattress you could also test the Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe locally (which is widely available) to get an idea of how it felt (they say it’s just a little bit firmer than the Luxe) so it wouldn’t be as much of a blind purchase and you could get a clearer sense of how suitable it may be for you.
For you though … I think that the best of all options since you have it available and when you are facing the kind of “debilitating back pain” you are facing would be to work “in person” with a local manufacturer such as Parklane that has high quality and value mattresses because the suitability of a mattress is just as important if not more important than just the price alone and you would have more testing options there and some “in person” guidance that wouldn’t be available with an online merchant.
At the very least I would narrow down a local choice to the one that was “best” for you and then once you have a better idea of the type of mattress and combination of materials that is best for you and that you prefer … then compare it to a similar online option as a “value reference” … keeping in mind that it wouldn’t be exactly the same as the one you tested so there would still be a little more risk involved if you went in that direction.
Phoenix