Hi beth819,
They absolutely know. Like all the major manufacturers though … they don’t let consumers know as a matter of policy so that the stores that sell their mattresses can continue to sell based on vague and subjective notions of “comfort”, marketing stories that are supplied by the manufacturer, and so that meaningful comparisons with other mattresses are impossible. This is very typical for the larger manufaturers who are more loyal to the retail outlets and the profit margins they make than they are to consumers.
Yes. A “comfort layer” is the top few inches of a mattress that is mostly responsible for pressure relief and can be one or several actual layers. Perhaps “comfort zone” would be a more accurate description. Mattresses will generally have a comfort layer or layers, a support layer or layers, and sometimes a “transition” layer which is half and half (partly for pressure relief and partly for support).
I generally agree that local manufacturers shouldn’t have a return or refund policy because it would add to the cost of their mattress unnecessarily because as he says … they can’t re-sell it (ethically at least). It would generally encourage consumers to buy a mattress without enough due diligence and lead to returns based on subjective whims which would increase the price for everyone. Online dealers are a different story because a consumer doesn’t have a chance to test them first so an exchange or refund is an important issue.
Having said that … I am a big fan of a local manufacturer who offers a one time layer change or “comfort adjustment” if longer term experience on a mattress makes it clear that the initial decision wasn’t quite right. There are several ways that a mattress can be fine tuned without this (with mattress pads, protectors, bases, and toppers) but sometimes a layer exchange is the best option. While this service would also increase the cost of a mattress overall … I believe that it is a very desirable option for a manufacturer to offer. Each of them decides on their own policies though because it’s always a tradeoff between a service offered and the price of a mattress and most of them run on much tighter profit margins. From a consumer perspective … the option to make changes after a purchase from a local manufacturer and how important this is, is part of each persons “value equation”. For some it may not matter … for others it could be a factor that “kills the deal”.
There are several good online outlets that are members of this site and that specialize in shipping mattresses across the country. They are listed in post #21 here.
Of these … two of them … mattresses.net and SleepEz make a mattress which is almost identical to what you are considering. Mattresses.net has a 6" base layer with a 3" layer on top (3" needs to be requested instead of their standard 2") while SleepEz has 3 x three inch layers. The double layer can have different base ILD’s and the top is 22 ILD (which can also be ordered “non standard” if desired) while with the 3 layer mattress … all three layers can be customized in terms of ILD. One is a little lower cost and the other offers more flexibility but both offer great value and layer exchanges for a very reasonable cost if something needs to be adjusted after purchase. Because of the SleepEz 3 layer construction … you can also change the order of the layers to make adjustments without needing to exchange a layer.
In addition to this … there are a couple of other options available.
One of these is Overnight mattress which offers a polyfoam base with a 3" top layer of latex which can be chosen for any ILD (including 19 and 24). They offer a layer exchange for the top layer after purchase as well.
Dreamfoam Bedding also offers a polyfoam/latex mattress with a 3" comfort layer that can be chosen for ILD (including 19 and 24), has 1.5" of soft polyfoam quilting on top (similar to the dacron in your cousin’s mattress) and has great value but there is no refund if you make a mistake (which is part of the reason it’s so inexpensive).
I meant that IMO and based on your feedback … I wouldn’t choose a comfort layer firmer than 24 ILD in the top 3". A little softer than this would likely be fine IMO based on “averages” and your feedback but because I can’t feel what you were feeling on the mattress … your own “gut feel” is more important then any “theory at a distance”. I don’t know the layering of your cousin’s mattress so while it may have included softer latex … it’s also possible that it didn’t so I would tend to use your experiences on “known” layers as a reference point.
Phoenix