Hi Kjandtj35,
The Tempurpedic Rhapsody (and the Rhapsody Breeze) has the following layering …
1.2" of TEMPUR-HD material 7 lb density.
2.8" of TEMPUR material 5.3 lb density
8" Dual AirFlow System™. This is generally thought to be 2.2 lb density although Tempurpedic doesn’t disclose this so if they have lowered the density since they did it would not be known for certain.
You can see the layering of the Select Foam Regalis here.
As you can see all the layers are gel memory foam and uses the same or slightly higher quality foam.
Post #2 here talks about the 3 ways that you can duplicate another mattress.
As you can see … you can sometimes duplicate the “feel” of a mattress using very different layering or quality of materials but this is very subjective. If the design, layering, or quality/density of materials are different between two mattresses, then one person may experience both as feeling "the same’ while another that sinks into the mattresses differently (because of body type or sleeping style or even different sensitivities) may feel that the same two mattresses are different because they are feeling different layers than the first. In addition to this … if the quality and durability of the layers are different then one mattress may not feel the same as the other for long because the foams in each will soften at different rates. If the foams used in a mattress that “matches” the feel of another are lower quality … then that mattress will also not be as durable.
The second way it to duplicate the specific design or layering using similar density and thickness of materials and components. Because the same density foams can feel and perform differently … this type of “duplication” may not “feel” the same because even though the foams may have the same quality/durability … then may perform or feel differently. For a 'duplicate" design to have the same “feel” you would need to use near identical foams and materials in every layer or possibly from the same foam supplier. This is not always possible and in the case of Tempurpedic their foam is only available to them. Higher quality or density foams can also be significantly more costly than lower quality or density foams.
Finally you can have manufacturers that duplicate both the “feel” and the design and quality of the materials. In general they would need to design the mattress with very similar layering and then test the two mattresses with a broad range of people to assure themselves that the common “feel” is the opinion of a majority of people. Of course if the materials that produce the “feel” of a mattress are higher quality/density then the cost of that mattress would also be much more than mattresses that only duplicated the feel using either less or lower quality/density materials.
In the case of Select Foam … they are in the third group where they matchthe construction and the quality/density of the foams and then test their mattresses against the equivalent Tempurpedic models in their bricks and mortar showroom where they are set up side by side and their customers can do a real time comparison of both and provide their feedback. There may be minor differences in the mattresses to accommodate the differences between foams (slightly thicker or thinner layers) but this would be as accurate as it was possible to be in the perception of the majority of people.
You can see a list of some of the better online memory foam manufacturers or retailers that I believe are better quality/value in post #12 here and some of these may also have mattresses that match the “feel” of some of the Tempurpedic models even if they may not always match the design and construction or use lower density materials to accomplish it.
Some of these such as Rocky Mountain Mattress can also custom design and build a memory foam mattress to any design or layering that you may want (within the limits of what their materials make possible).
These would be well worth looking at their sites and talking to on the phone so you can get a clear sense and know your own level of confidence that any of these can “match” one of the Tempurpedics in feel, design, or both. I don’t believe that any of the gel memory foam mattresses that are on the Ultimate Dreams site or on their own Brooklyn bedding site would match the Rhapsody if that is the Tempurpedic model that is closest to your needs and preferences.
The foam layering in the Tempurpedic Rhapsody Breeze is the same as the Rhapsody except it uses a gel coating and gel in the cover to create a slightly cooler initial sleeping surface (at least until temperatures equalize). There are many ways that different memory foams can be made cooler either for a short while or over the course of the night to offset the tendency of memory foam to sleep warmer for many people which you can read about in post #6 here.
Phoenix