Hi Scafmail,
I have been printing out several of your information sheets and making myself a booklet for reference. It's a lot of information to take in, but I'm pacing myself.
There is certainly a great deal of information available on the site and I would keep in mind that while too little information can lead to some poor choices ... too much information can also lead to "information overwhelm" and "paralysis by analysis" which can lead to some poor choices as well (sometimes made out of frustration or fatigue). One of the most important parts of your research will be to learn "just enough" to be able to recognize the manufacturers and retailers that already know what you would otherwise need to learn.
In its simplest form choosing the "best possible" mattress for any particular person really comes down to first finding a few knowledgeable and transparent retailers and/or manufacturers that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in and that you have confirmed will provide you with the all the information you need about the materials and components inside the mattresses they sell so you will be able to make informed choices and meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then ...
1. Careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) to make sure that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of "comfort", firmness, and PPP ... and/or that you are comfortable with the options you have available to return, exchange, or "fine tune" the mattress and any costs involved if you can't test a mattress in person or aren't confident that your mattress is a suitable choice.
2. Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress relative to your weight range that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.
3. Comparing your finalists for "value" based on #1 and #2 and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
I'm looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding and of course any other comments or questions you may have along the way that I or any of the other more knowledgeable members of the site can help with.
Phoenix