Hi marshmallow,
Thanks for the updates … and I’m sorry to hear that your mattress isn’t working out for you.
IMO … the risks involved in buying the Serta iComfort Epic Directions would be much higher than most of the other options you have remaining (including some of the remaining online options) … especially in your weight range. Based on the relatively high retail price of the Epic … you have many options remaining that are in between an “el cheapo” and the much higher price (and less durable materials) of the Epic that would be much better choices.
I would also be aware that the “feel” of a mattress is different from the pressure relief of a mattress which in turn is different from the support/alignment of a mattress and you may find that some of the online options you have remaining may be similar to the Tempurpedics in terms of pressure relief and support but have a different “feel” because they use memory foams that are faster responding and are more more similar to the iComfort gel models than the Tempurpedic models. It would be well worth a more detailed conversation that addressed “feel” with them before deciding to exclude them.
I would also encourage you to do some additional local shopping because you certainly have additional options available in the area that use higher quality materials and are in a lower budget range than the iComfort Epic Directions and your circumstances and criteria may make local shopping less risky than an online choice.
I also would be very cautious with any of the Dynasty mattresses and they would also be a very high risk choice at your weight. You can read more about them and some of the higher risk involved in buying an imported Chinese memory foam mattress in post #4 here and the other posts it links to.
If you do choose to go in that direction (lower budget online options) … then some of the lower budget options that may be worth considering are listed in post #4 here.
Of course as long as you are making a purchase with your “eyes wide open” and you know the risks involved in any purchase you make then only you can decide if the higher risks involved in the purchases you are considering are worth it to you and which mattress is “best for you” depends on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you. IMO though … buying the Serta or a Dynasty would be among the worse options you have in terms of quality, value, and durability and you have many better options available.
Phoenix