Hi robbiev3,
Thanks for the iComfort Specs. Your experience is a good example of how different people have different perceptions.
The Genius is “rated” as being firmer on the Serta website (and quite frankly I had no idea that the “support foam” underneath was 52 IFD (ILD)) which is like a rock so I was curious about how different outlets would rate them. I called about half a dozen places and most said that in their experience that the Insight felt firmer. The “rationale” was that thicker mattresses often feel softer but I think the biggest difference is that if someone is “going through” the 2.75 inches of the gel memory foam more … then they would feel more of the firmer layer below than a lighter person. Of course all of this is subjective but your experience on the two agrees with the Serta site and also makes sense given the firmness of the “support foam” underneath the gel memory foam.
Other than that … I am really grateful that you were able to find out the specs of the mattress. Unfortunately … as is often the case when you can track down the specs of a major brand … they are even worse than I thought.
This is actually the second layer down under the gel memory foam (you can click on Genius here on the Serta site) and is only 1.3 lbs density. This is not good at all and even with the firmness this low quality of foam will soften significantly over time. This is the layer that you are likely feeling because is is firmer than the more typical 33 IFD core.
This is also not quite accurate because the gel memory foam layer is 2.75" thick but if the specs are correct about the density then it’s the same quality/density as the Novaform and I was going under the assumption based on some calculations and based on claims that it had a higher gel content that it had a higher density than the Novaform. This would mean that the “base” memory foam layer was lighter than 4 lbs which means that it is also lower quality. The ILD (I still tend to use the previous term for IFD) is also very low but this is not nearly as meaningful with memory foam as it is with faster responding foams.
This one is the most surprising of all to me because while the firmness of this layer is fairly typical … the density/quality is the type of polyfoam that is only used in the lowest cost mattresses. I didn’t even think that Serta would “cheap out” so much and use this type of lower density foam in their support layers.
Quite frankly I’m rather shocked that the foam quality is as low as it is. I normally don’t put a lot of time into researching foam specs with the major brands because the outcome is always the same … lower quality and value … but in this case my curiosity is raised to see if I can confirm if these specs are accurate.
If your perceptions on the Genius were firmer though (which certainly makes sense given the high IFD layer under the gel foam) … then that’s the choice I would likely have made as well out of the iComfort or other options available to you for an exchange.
The Serta ergomotion is basically similar to the Ergomotion 400 in function (with a few extra features) but having said that if you purchased both sides of a split king for $2200 then I would consider that to be good value. The Serta is “price controlled” both in terms of the advertised price and the selling price and Serta monitors this (which is why their prices are so high) but if this really is both sides and is not the result of a “hidden discount” that was part of the overall exchange process and made it look like the price was that low … then you did well
I mentioned in your other post today but it’s also worth repeating again that I also think highly of Ken and he really is a wealth of information about mattresses, latex, and the industry. I’m glad to see he is carrying the Ergomotion and the Reverie (to come) because they are my two “favorite” adjustables in terms of value.You did well here
Thanks again for the kind words and especially for the foam specs on the iComcort. Even most retailers will tell you that their rep won’t tell them the information you got for us today. I really appreciate it!! I’ll also try to have the paypal button up (still trying to figure out where to put it so it’s not blatantly obvious) before I go to bed tomorrow as well.
Phoenix