Hi rgham,
Thanks for a very detailed and researched post which IMO deserves an equally detailed answer 
To answer some of your more specific and very well made points and questions âŚ
All of the American manufacturers are making some very good foam. while Aerus is my favorite (mainly because of itâs published breathability specs which are the equivalent of some latex) there are also many other manufacturers that are making very high quality foam that also uses different methods to achieve breathability and other characteristics that are also very effective. I mention them a lot because they are quite easily available but they are by no means the only âgoodâ choice ⌠only one that has some very good information released about itâs qualities. I also agree with you about Chinese foams and while I canât in good conscience âdisqualifyâ Chinese foam that meets the CertiPur standards for chemicals, offgassing, and durability, I would also personally choose North American foam over Asian foam given a roughly equal value choice.
The main point of your post though was about the Bed in a Box site and the claims they make about their foam density and about the value of customer testimonials.
First about their claims. They contradict every article and all the more research based information that is available deeper on the web about foam manufacturing including the information that is on the PFA site itself. Some research on this site (which is made up of the manufacturers themselves and which disputes their claims) will almost certainly be enough to dispel their claims much less the much more detailed information that is available with some deeper and more technical research into foam manufacturing. In my opinion, their claims are just factually wrong and my conversations with them have not inspired any confidence about their knowledge beyond what they have been told to say.
While foam density is not the only factor in foam durability when comparing similar foams, it remains to this day the single most important factor. Every manufacturer and resource I have talked with who has no vested interest in what they say and all the more technical information available confirms this and this applies to ânew generationâ foams as well as older ones. While their materials meets most of the guidelines for memory foam that I normally recommend except for density, they are in no way comparable to mattresses that use higher quality and more durable foams. Their claims contradict everything that I (and more importantly many others that I respect) know about the material science of foam manufacturing.
Next about online testimonials. While I recognize that âtestimonial patternsâ can be useful and can certainly be a valuable part of any research, it is also true that the vast majority of them are written early in the life of a mattress before most problems and issues have had a chance to develop and are also mostly written by people without a lot of knowledge about alternatives, mattress materials and quality, and without a frame of reference that includes the relative qualities of mattresses that they could have bought with the same budget. The sources of their âratingsâ are reviews from other sites and forums which often than not base their reviews certain brands rather than specific mattresses (which can each have different layers and materials) and without the knowledge of what to compare their mattress to. Subjective reviews such as this have a huge range of variances and are often self justifying which IMO can often do more to confuse than they can to help. For example many of the reviews of âlatexâ mattresses are based on opinions about mattresses that shouldnât even be in this category and many of the memory foam ratings would have more to do with what is over the memory foam (quilting and ticking) than the memory foam itself even though the reviewer doesnât realize this.
So overall ⌠these reviews or consumer surveys are written shortly after purchase, take place in a vacuum of more specific and factual information about what is actually in the mattress they are reviewing, what the objective basis for their rating is, and what their mattress was compared to. Many donât even realize it seems what denser more conforming memory foam should actually feel like. They have some value but only to a degree and their biggest value is not so much to identify âgoodâ mattresses but to help identify mattresses which clearly have problems which are obvious to even those who donât have real factual information about what they bought or the alternatives that were available to them.
In addition to this ⌠there are many places which include reviews of Bed in a Box which are not quite so favorable. There is also some question about how many of the online reviews for this particular company (and the source of the Sleep like a Bear ratings are from other review sites and forums) are planted by the company itself or itâs representatives. It would be very easy to skew this type of rating system which was gathered from other sites which are the âtargetâ of many fake reviews to bolster ratings.
Of course warranties are a whole other story because warranties only cover defects in construction or materials and since softening is not considered a defect (softening and impressions are separate issues and only impressions beyond a warranty exclusion are included in the warranty coverage) ⌠even though it may lead to a mattress that is clearly not suitable for someone to sleep on.
So overall IMO, Bed in a Box is a better choice than many other âcheap memory foamâ outlets on the web ⌠but they are in no way comparable to higher quality choices that are available when consumers know more about what to look for and are aware of better outlets either online or in their area. I guess meeting 3 out of 4 of the memory foam guidelines is certainly better than many other choices
I of course have no issues if someone chooses a mattress with any materials of any density ⌠as long as they have the correct facts about that material and that the price they paid justifies the quality and durability of their purchase and they are happy with the value they received. Worse yet would be a consumer who purchases a Comforpedic mattress for example which used 3.5 lb next generation memory foam and is several times the price of the Bed in a Box and believed that they bought a higher quality mattress than they did.
Value is always relative to what something is compared to and to the needs, preferences, and âvalue equationâ of each individual. My only real issue is that there is so much incorrect information on the web ⌠particularly from manufacturers who give information designed to make a lower quality mattress seem more comparable to a higher quality option ⌠that making truly informed choices based on objective and more factual information is much more difficult.
In case I missed anything ⌠this thread is also about Bed in a Box and Sleep like a Bear as well and also includes lots more information about different types of memory foam and their different qualities (besides durability) in general.
They are certainly a better choice than many âlow budgetâ mattresses that are so widely available ⌠but I would hesitate to choose lower density foam when higher density ânext generationâ alternatives are also readily available at similar prices.
Phoenix