Quote:
Originally Posted by Mardio
This was my take until I did OCD amounts of research. The materials used between a $400 and a $5000 mattress are not the same. For example the memory foam is rated by density, . 3.0lb/pcf or less is low quality; 4.0lb/pcf is a medium quality; and 5.0lb/pcf or higher is very high quality. They may feel the same for awhile but the materials in the lower density foams break down over time and will not last as long. Same goes for coil systems, the Bonnel coil is just simple, hourglass-shaped springs tied together, mostly used for cheap mattresses. Pocketed and alternative coils use a high gauge (or thickness) and use more of them to support the layers and your weight. Also take into consideration preference feel, your parents 4k bed might not be what you were looking for as far as comfort or support. That's why going into a store is important, what one person likes another will hate regardless of the price.
I will agree however that a lot of the big named brands are not very transparent on the materials they use. So in a sense you are right. But not all of them. Stearns and Foster were really bad about that for years and their quality went down hill with cheap materials. Two years ago Tempurpedic bought them out and now they are now disclosing high quality materials. I also agree Purple is a good bed, but it is not in the cheap category. The base starts at $1000 for a queen and the new Purple 3 is $2300. Definitely not in the $400 category. A great website for research is the mattress underground, it's a public forum filled with OCD fools like me trying not to get ripped off.
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I did not do OCD research like you when decided to spend $5k+ on a mattress, but yea there are much more differences than just branding, quality of materials, etc... One that I value a lot is whether a material is "healthy" - free of cancer causing materials.