Hi JB,
There is more about the 3 most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
Assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the quality/durability guidelines here relative to your weight range … the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses are more of a preference and a budget choice than a “better/worse” choice (see this article).
The Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams 13" gel memory foam mattress is a memory foam mattress and uses memory foam in the top two layers and the Brooklyn Bedding BestMattressEver is a latex/polyfoam hybrid and the top two layers are latex.
Latex and memory foam are very different materials with very different properties but the choice between them is more of a preference and budget choice than a “better/worse” choice. There is more about some of the differences between memory foam and latex in post #2 here. Some people tend to prefer the faster response and more resilient and “on the mattress” feel of latex and some prefer the slower response and more “in the mattress” feel of memory foam but the best way to know which type of materials or mattresses you tend to prefer in general terms would be based on your own careful testing and/or your own personal experience with each material in a range of different firmness levels.
The Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams 13" gel memory foam mattress uses 4 and 5 lb density memory foam and has a 1.8 lb density base layer so there are no lower quality materials or weak links that would compromise the durability or useful life of the mattress relative to more average weight ranges (around the lower 200’s or less).
The Brooklyn Bedding BestMattressEver uses two layers of latex and has a 2 lb polyfoam base layer so it uses higher quality and more durable materials that would be suitable for any weight range.
Firmness and softness are very subjective and the different “feel” of memory foam and latex can affect the perception of softness and firmness. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science…
When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
Dreamfoam and Brooklyn Bedding are sister companies so the guidance that you received about the soft version of the BME being the closest firmness comparison to the Dreamfoam mattress out of the three firmness choices that BME offers would be reliable … although that doesn’t mean that they would be the same and they certainly wouldn’t have the same “feel”.
As you also mentioned … the BME has a more generous return policy which can be a more important part of the “value” of an online purchase that you can’t test in person before you buy it.
Once you have narrowed down your options to a list of finalists that are all choices between “good and good” and you have confirmed that none of them have any lower quality materials or “weak links” in their design and if at this point there are no clear winners between them (which is usually a good indication that you have done some good research) then you are in the fortunate position that any of them would likely be a suitable choice and post #2 here can help you make a final choice based on your more detailed conversations with each of them, your personal preferences, your confidence about PPP and the suitability of each one, their prices, the options you have after a purchase to fine tune the mattress or exchange or return the mattress or individual layers and any costs involved, any additional extras that are part of each purchase, and on “informed best judgement” based on all the other objective, subjective, and intangible parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Overall though … the single biggest factor in the choice between these two mattresses would be whether you prefer the feel and response of memory foam or latex.
Phoenix
