Hi HawaiianKine,
The only local manufacturer that I know of in Hawaii is listed in post #2 here
I believe that the “best” first step in shopping for a mattress online is to find a manufacturer or outlet that provides accurate information about their mattresses and the materials in it and is also skilled at
fitting" their mattresses to your needs and preferences. Once you have done this … then choosing a mattress with their knowledge and guidance that fits your height, weight, body shape, sleeping positions, and preferences is much simpler. Of course the more testing you have done locally on mattresses that have a known constructions … the easier it is to use your testing as a prototype for the type of mattress that would work best for you.
Each manufacturer uses different types of foam and has different types of materials, layering schemes and construction methods in their line of mattresses and sometimes small differences in construction can make a big difference in how well a mattress works for any individual. All of them have a “databank” of customers who have purchased their specific mattresses so the better ones are very good at knowing what an “average” person of a particular weight, shape, sleeping position, and preferences would normally be happy with.
If you are committed to memory foam … then the density of the memory foam and the specific type of memory foam becomes important. With weights over 200 lbs or so … memory foam under 5 lbs won’t hold up nearly as long as higher density/quality memory foam. In addition to this … the different types of memory foam (more or less breathable, more or less responsive, more or less temperature sensitive etc) and the different layering pattens in the mattress (how thick is the memory foam, what type of support system is under it etc) becomes a major part of how suitable any particular memory foam mattress may be for you.
So the first step is to choose a manufacturer or store rather than a specific mattress. If you do choose to make an online purchase without the guidance of someone who “knows their stuff” and can advise you on which of their specific mattresses may work best for you or without local “testing” to act as a reference point … then the choice of a mattress becomes much more hit and miss and the refund policy of the outlet becomes more important than the choice of mattress itself because there is no way to know if an online choice will be suitable for you without actually trying it no matter how good the quality of materials may be.
So my recommendation would be more to help you find the better outlets who are familiar with the specifics of the materials and layering in their specific mattress and to provide some general guidelines about the layering of the mattress that may work for you rather than suggest a specific mattress. A second recommendation would be to avoid the use of any memory foam density under 5 lbs for heavier weights unless you prefer its feel and response and durability was a secondary issue (and this may be difficult to find in a budget of under $800 depending on the size you want and on whether it includes a foundation). I certainly wouldn’t consider the Novaform/Sleep Innovations as a better option. A few of the outlets that I believe may be better choices for online memory foam purchases are in post #12 here
The more a manufacturer knows how to help you “match” a specific mattress to your specific needs and preferences … the less you need to research and know yourself.
A quick look at some of your local options that may provide better testing grounds (if they will provide you with the specifics of the layering in their mattresses) include …
https://www.slumberworldhawaii.com/ Oahu, Maui, Hawaii (big island). The carry several major brands (such as Sealy and Simmons and Tempurpedic which I would avoid) and also some more expensive brands like Organicpedic (OMI), Vi Spring and Aireloom) but they also carry a house brand called Island Dreams which I would focus on here. They are quite knowledgeable and open about the materials in their mattress if customers ask and tend to focus more on fitting a mattress to the needs and preferences of their customers and on value than they are on price alone which means that they are more concerned about their customer’s long term satisfaction than they are on just making the sale and the profit. Of the local retail outlets … this would be my first choice for testing but avoiding the major brands they carry may mean their selection is more limited.
http://www.dakinemattress.com/ Hawaii (big island). Carries mattresses made by Stress-o-pedic and by Leader who are both smaller manufacturers who typically make mattresses that are better quality/value than larger brands. The mattresses on their floor are mostly lower to mid budget (under $1000 or so queen) and mainly polyfoam/innerspring mattresses although they do carry one memory foam mattress (made by Leader) which uses 5 lb memory foam. In my conversation with them though, they are more focused on price and “comfort” than on value and quality meaning that they are less inclined to talk about the actual materials in their mattresses than they are on the price of their mattresses alone. This is likely because they may not have access to this type of information from their manufacturers. You may need to do some extra research to find out the quality of the materials in many of their mattresses.
http://www.mauibedstore.com/ Maui. Carry a wide range of Lady Americana including latex hybrids, memory foam, gel memory foam, and innersprings that may have some better quality and value. They also may not be able to provide the details of all the materials in their mattresses (when I talked with a salesperson there it was not the type of information she had access to or would normally provide) so I would make sure here as well that you are given (or can find out) all the information you will need before making a purchase here.
There is nothing at America’s Mattress (Serta) that I would consider for a purchase. You can see for example the details of the quality and value of the iComfort lineup in post #11 here). If you do include them in your testing … I would avoid any temptation or sales technique that may get you to buy anything here.
Hope this helps
Phoenix