Hi sailormass,
Welcome … and I’m glad the site could help you.
I would certainly ask them to make sure but it’s likely that the mattress on their floor would be broken in yes so it would most likely feel similar to a new mattress after it had gone through the initial break in and adjustment period.
There are 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 as well 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.
I have never slept on their mattresses so I don’t know how firm it would feel to me either in terms of “feel”, or comfort, or support, but even if I had you may “rate” it as a completely different firmness than I would. Your own experience is the only reliable way to know how firm it feels to you relative to other mattresses you have tested.
Yes … there is an initial break in and adjustment period with any new mattress that will depend on the person and on the mattress and can last anywhere from a few days to 90 days but something in the range of about 30 days would be fairly typical (see post #3 here).
I can’t speak to how a mattress will feel for someone else or how well it will match their needs and preferences in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) because I can’t feel what you feel on a mattress but you can read more about Pranasleep in general and the previous versions (up to version 4) of Pranasleep mattresses in post #3 here and in post #2 here and in post #3 here and in posts #1 and #2 here and a forum search on Prana (you can just click this) will also bring up more information and feedback about them as well.
The good news (as you know) is that they changed the design in version 5 and the top layers of polyfoam are now higher quality/density and are no longer what I would consider to be a weak link in the mattress in terms of durability. Having said that they are still in a significantly higher budget range than other similar mattresses and the top layers are still polyfoam so you would still be feeling and sleeping on polyfoam as much as latex but this could also be a “feel” that you prefer compared to sleeping more directly on latex . There is more about the new version 5 in post #19 here and I would certainly make some very careful “value” comparisons with other latex mattresses that use similar materials and are in a lower budget range before considering one of their mattresses to be the “best value” choice available to you.
There is also more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here which which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists (based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).
When you are considering a mattress in a higher budget range such as the Prana I would normally suggest making some careful “value” comparisons with other latex mattresses that use the same or similar materials and are in lower budget ranges that are as "objective as possible. Because how well you sleep on a mattress is the most important part of “value” … there are certainly some cases where a more costly mattress in this budget range may be “worth it” for a particular person that isn’t price sensitive and that has specific criteria, needs, or preferences that aren’t available or that they aren’t able to find in lower budget ranges and of course in cases like this it could still be a good “value” choice for some people but in general I would need a compelling reason that clearly indicated there was “enough” of a difference in “real life” between the Prana and other mattresses that may also be suitable in terms of comfort and PPP and would also be just as durable to satisfy yourself that the higher cost was justifiable and that you weren’t being “influenced” by marketing stories or the belief that higher prices mean a “better” mattress.
It’s just a name they made up to describe the latex they are using in their mattresses. It could be blended Talalay or 100% natural Talalay or Active Fusion latex (blended Talalay latex with a phase change material added to the formulation) but you would need to ask them which type and blend of latex they are using. These types of “naming conventions” are generally used to make it more difficult to make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses that use the same materials and to give the impression that the latex they are using is somehow “different” from other mattresses that also use the same type and blend of Talalay latex. I believe that they use 100% natural Talalay but you would need to ask them to find out for certain.
Phoenix