Hi yukoncornelius,
My own personal preference is latex but I am actually a big supporter of any materials that are high quality and durable and that match the needs and preferences of a particular person. While latex is unquestionably a great material … just like any particular material not everyone likes how it feels. I also find all the marketing hype in the industry somewhat funny … but more sad than anything else. The mainstream industry is driven more by profit margins along the entire supply chain than they are by reputation or accountability to consumers and it’s easier to charge more if you can create a marketing story that is believable enough to justify higher prices and lower cost materials than it is to use a high quality material like latex that any manufacturer has access to that is harder to differentiate. Just like in the days when one sided mattresses first came out … once people believe a story, regardless of whether it’s true or not, and start buying mattresses that are based on the story … then every other major manufacturer will start to copy the story with a different version so they can have their “fair share” of the profits regardless of how true the story may be.
There is no right or wrong in this because comparing latex to memory foam is really an apples to oranges comparison (and few if any memory foam mattresses would have 8" of memory foam because most of the thickness would be the much less costly polyfoam in the support layers). For those who prefer the feel and performance of latex over memory foam I would certainly agree with you. For those who have a strong preference for memory foam it wouldn’t be as good a choice. 8" - 9" of latex is certainly thick enough for most people (unless they are getting close to the mid 250’s or 300 lbs or so) although it’s still important to make sure that the combination of layers is suitable for you. There is more about the thickness of a latex mattress in post #14 here.
I think the most important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase is the suitability of a mattress in terms of PPP. Without this … no matter what the quality or raw material value of a mattress … it would have little value for the person who bought it. I would much rather buy a $2000 mattress that was suitable for me than a $1000 mattress that wasn’t suitable for me in terms of PPP (even if it used the same or even higher quality materials but was a less suitable design) because I wouldn’t be able to sleep on the second one no matter what its quality or value. If I couldn’t test a mattress in person then the confidence I had that a mattress would be suitable based on local testing and more detailed conversations with an online retailer or manufacturer and the options I had if “best judgement” didn’t turn out to be the most suitable choice would be the replacement for personal testing.
The second most important part of “value” would be durability and the quality of the materials. If a mattress is “perfect” in the showroom or when it is new but softens so much over the first few months or years that it loses comfort or support and I began to “tolerate” it more than sleep well on it … then it would also have much less value to me compared to another mattress that was just as suitable in terms of PPP that worked well for me for a decade. I would much rather buy a $2000 mattress that used durable materials and lasted me 10 years without undue loss of comfort and support than a $1000 mattress that became uncomfortable in 2 or 3 years or less …even if I could still “barely tolerate it” (but didn’t sleep as well) for another few years before I replaced it.
The next most important part of value would be how the mattress compared in terms of cost to other similar mattresses that were available to me. This is where I would compare the mattress I was considering with others that used the same or similar materials and components in roughly the same amounts from a “material value” point of view.
The next most important part of “value” to me would be the extras offered by the retailer or manufacturer and the options that were available before or after the purchase (that can reduce the risk of making a mistake). This would include the ability to customize the mattress and any extras that were included in the purchase price (such as pillows, delivery, a mattress protector, foundation, removing your old mattress etc).
Finally the person or business I was dealing with and how I felt about dealing with them and their business and the guidance and service they provided would also play a significant role in my purchase decision. In many cases this is more subjective or even intangible but would be important to me.
All of these together would be part of my personal value equation and would be how I decided which mattress was the best purchase choice for me when I was making a final choice. Each of us can have different criteria that are more important to us even if they are less important to someone else.
Having said all that … SleepEz has some great quality and value, offers great guidance and service, and competes well with the best in the industry.
Christeli is also one of the better memory foam choices.
Once you have eliminated all the worst choices and are down to choices between good and good, none of the mattresses you are considering have any weak links, they all use good quality durable materials, and there are no clear winners … then you are in the best position to make a final choice based on your personal preferences and the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Phoenix