[quote=“Phoenix” post=59922]Hi d3adrock,
I’ve never slept on any of the Reverie Dream mattresses so I have no personal experience with any of them.
How they would compare to another 3 or 4 layer mattress would depend on the specifics of the Reverie mattress you were comparing and the configuration of the cylinders, the specifics of the mattress you were comparing it to, and on the body type, sleeping positions, sensitivities, preferences and frame of reference of the person that was comparing them. There are some comments about the Reverie Dream mattresses in posts #2 and #6 here and a forum search on Reverie Dream (you can just click the link) will bring up more comments and feedback about them as well.
There is more information in post #9 here about the different ways that one mattress can “match” or “approximate” another one. Every layer and component in a mattress (including the cover) will affect the feel and performance of every other layer and component and the mattress “as a whole” so unless you are able to find another mattress that uses exactly the same type of materials, components, cover, layer thicknesses, layer firmnesses, and overall design (which would be very unlikely) then there really isn’t a way to match one mattress to another one in terms of “comfort” and PPP based on the specifications of the mattresses.
Mattress manufacturers generally try to differentiate their mattress from the mattresses made by other manufacturers and don’t normally try to “match” another mattress that is made by a different manufacturer so while you may find some local mattresses that use “similar” materials or designs and there would be many others that are in a similar general category or firmness range … they will generally have different combinations of foam layers and components.
Unless a manufacturer specifically says in their description of a mattress that one of their mattresses in the same general category is specifically designed to “match” or “approximate” another one in terms of firmness or “feel” and PPP (or they are very familiar with both mattresses and can provide reliable guidance about how they compare based on the “averages” of a larger group of people) … the only reliable way to know for certain how two mattresses would compare for you in terms of how they “feel” or in terms of firmness or PPP would be based on your own careful testing or actual sleeping experience on both of them.
There are also no “standard” definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science.
If you have the specifications of all the materials and layers in two mattresses you are comparing (see this article) then making durability comparisons based on the specifications of both mattresses is simpler than trying to compare “comfort” and PPP (which is much more subjective) but the durability of the materials in a mattress has very little to do with how if feels or performs because the durability of the materials in a mattress has little to with how they feel.
In other words … there would be so many differences in the design and components of the two mattresses you are comparing that the only reliable way to know how they would compare to another mattress for you (regardless of how they would compare for anyone else) would be based on your own careful testing or personal sleeping experience on both of them.
Phoenix[/quote]
Thanks again, that is extremely helpful although a little disheartening. There more I search and research mattresses the more frustrated I am becoming. It is really difficult to buy anything without trying it and it is difficult to try anything without buying. And the worst thing is statistics and measurements are basically worthless unless you’ve tried similar stuff and even then it is subjective. This is a nightmare for hyper analytical people like me that just like to look at stats and info to determine the “absolute best”. But in mattresses there is no absolute best, there is only subjective and varied opinions, it’s horrible! Not at all like buying a computer, where all the data about every component is in neat little comparable categories that will preform equally for everybody.
Ok end of rant. I will post back after purchasing my mattress in the next couple days (which i’m 99% sure will be a Sleep EZ despite the silly name that sounds like something you would see on a late night TV shopping channel.) and sleeping on it a while.
Thanks again for all your help!