Hi blackviolet,
I would keep in mind that you can’t “feel” the quality or durability of a mattress.
[quote]We tried icomfort (the savant III was nice), Stearns and foster (the one we felt was nicest was called “Topazolite Firm Tight Top”, but I can’t find it anywhere online), Ez Rest Gel Luxe Arctic (can’t find that online either), some Primo ones that were terrible, some awful Dormeo ones, an alright Sherwood ones, and some Spring Air ones.
Imagine my disappointment when I couldn’t find many details for most of them.[/quote]
It’s usually a good idea to make sure that a retailer or manufacturer will provide you with the specs of their mattresses (see this article) before you visit them. One of the most frustrating parts of mattress shopping can be spending time testing a mattress and finding out that you like it and it’s a good match for you in terms of firmness, “feel” and PPP only to find out that the mattress contains low quality and less durable materials and/or that information you need to identify any lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress or make meaningful comparisons to other mattresses isn’t available and you’ve wasted the time you spent testing the mattress.
I would keep in mind that while gel materials can have some effect on sleeping temperature when you first go to sleep at night … once temperatures equalize the cooling effect doesn’t normally last over the course of the night.
While it’s not possible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use (which in many cases can have just as significant an effect on sleeping temperature as the type of foam in a mattress) and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range and because there is no standardized testing for temperature regulation with different combinations of materials … there is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range.
This is so subjective that different people can have different opinions about how two “similar” mattresses compare but I think that most people would probably say that the Breeze version was slightly “stiffer”.
If a store is selling a mattress that old then it’s very possible that it could be a comfort return or a warranty return or worse (see post #2 here and post #8 here). I would treat this type of purchase as “buyer beware”.
Tempurpedic doesn’t disclose the specs of their mattresses but as far as I know the specs of the old Cloud Luxe were …
Comfort Layers
2.75" 4.1LB Tempur ES Comfort Layer
2" 7.1 LB Tempur HD Support Layer
Support System
Dual Airflow System
4" 2.2 LB Convoluted Base Foam
4" 2.2 LB Convoluted Base Foam
And the new Cloud Luxe are …
Comfort Layers
3.5" Tempur-ES 4.1LB
2" Tempur HD 7.1LB
Support System
Dual Airflow System
4" Airflow Base Layer 2.0LB
4" Airflow Base Layer 2.0LB
Again … different people can have different opinions about how two mattresses compare so the only way to know how they would compare for you would be based on your own personal testing or experience but I think most people would probably say that the new version would be slightly softer.
Post #2 here about Tempurpedic may be worth reading as well.
I would be very cautious about brand shopping in general because you are buying a specific mattress not the brand and most manufacturers have access to the same or similar components and materials. Many manufacturers make a wide range of mattresses that can vary from lower quality and less durable materials to higher quality and more durable materials in a wide range of prices. The name of the manufacturer on the label or the price of the mattress won’t tell you anything about whether a specific mattress is suitable for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP or whether there are any lower quality materials or weak links in the design that would affect the durability and useful life of the mattress.
Having said that … you can see my general comments about Relief Mart and Tempflow in post #9 here. They use good quality materials and are transparent about the materials in their mattresses.
A forum search on Tempflow (you can just click the link) will bring up more comments and feedback about them as well.
I would keep in mind that memory foam and polyfoam in general are also not “green” or “eco friendly” materials and these types of descriptions are more about marketing than reality.
Phoenix