Hi gregg2g,
I see that you already know about some of the better options in your area but I’ll list them all together here for the benefit of others who may be from the same area and are just starting their search.
http://www.lebeda.com/ Topeka, KS., St Joseph, MO. Regional factory direct manufacturer. They make 3 latex or latex hybrid mattresses. Their all latex version has a 6" 28 ILD talalay latex core with a thin layer of latex in the quilting on each side. Their Reve has a firm innerspring with 4" of latex on one side and their Empress has a pocket coil with 2" of latex on one side. They don’t offer custom firmness levels or layering.
http://www.hawnbedding.com/ Lee’s summit, MO. Local factory direct manufacturer. They make a 6" Dunlop latex mattress using either soft or medium Dunlop latex. This is put on an box spring (with coils) to give the mattress a more responsive feel (Dunlop is not as “lively” as Talalay) and improve pressure relief.
http://joplimo.com/ Shawnee, KS and Joplin, Springfield, MO. They design and sell a range of innerspring, latex, and memory foam mattresses that are made by the Restonic factory in Springfield along with some Sleeptronic mattresses. I have talked with Brian the owner here and they will also provide any information their customers need about the materials in their mattresses and will also do custom builds.
http://www.ruralmissouri.coop/05pages/05SeptMattress.html Small local factory direct manufacturer in Laclede, MO. They recently changed ownership but have been in business for over 65 years and make two sided innerspring mattresses with “real” box springs and use polyfoam or latex comfort layers. When I talked with Ronald (the son of the previous owner) he confirmed that they are completely transparent about how they make their mattresses and the type and quality of the materials and components they use. They would be well worth including in your research if you are looking for a traditional two sided mattress and are in reasonable driving distance of Laclede.
http://www.crowleyfurniture.com/contact-us/ Lee’s Summit, Overland Park, Liberty. Retail outlet that carries Justice mattresses which is a regional wholesale manufacturer that makes a full range of mattresses including traditional innersprings, gel foam, and various latex and latex hybrid models that may have better value than the larger brands.
http://www.nfm.com/ Kansas City. Retailer who carries Omaha Bedding mattresses who makes a variety of latex hybrid mattresses as well as a full range of other mattress types. They aren’t as familiar with the specs of their mattresses as most manufacturers would be but a call to the factory will provide them with any details they don’t know. I would call first to make sure what models a specific outlet is carrying on their floor before I paid them a visit.
http://www.eaglesrestnaturalhome.com/ Kansas City, Lawrence. They carry SavvyRest which is a “choose your own layer” latex mattress which gives customers the chance to choose different layers of Dunlop or Talalay latex. They are a very good testing ground to get a sense of the type of latex and layering you like (at least in 3" layers) and are very high quality but are also more costly than some other similar mattresses so make sure you make some careful value comparisons.
Post #3 here from one of our members who left some great feedback about their research in the KC area may also be helpful.
As you know from your testing … memory foam and latex are very different materials and and a direct comparison is difficult because it’s more of an apples to oranges comparison (see post #2 here). Some of my thoughts about the iComfort lineup though are in post #11 here and some of the comments in the following posts would apply to your circumstances as well. EDIT ADDED: the iComfort has been changed since this post was written and you can see some comments about one of their new models that would apply to much of their new lineup in post #2 here)
Some of the online manufacturers that are members of this site (see post #21 here) also offer choose your own layering mattresses but have significantly better value. Several of them are very similar to the Savvy Rest design.
Hope this helps.
Phoenix