We were kind of worried about the durability of our first memory foam mattress, because it was still a relatively new technology and there weren't a lot of reviews available online yet. But I can say now that we certainly got our money's worth out of that one, since we only paid $500 for it and used it for about 14 years. When it was new, it was easily the best night's sleep I had ever had, and it's only been in the last six months or so that I've noticed consistent issues with sleep quality or waking up stiff. So if you're considering taking the plunge and going the memory foam route, I can vouch for the quality and durability of the technology. And there's about a million online mattress companies now, so there are myriad choices and plenty of reviews to satisfy your curiosity.
Which brings us to this update: it was time to get rid of the old mattress and look for something new. And the options are a bit overwhelming now. But I checked out some of CNET's reviews to help narrow down the field and to understand what the price range is now for a quality mattress (and, surprisingly, the cost hasn't increased much since our last purchase). I also made a point of waiting for the Labor Day sales to save even more. You can spend $2000 on a mattress, but I can't say that it's worth the extra expense. Foam is foam, and it all works the same and is made of roughly the same materials. If a $500 mattress is going to last me 10+ years, is it really worth it to spend four times that much?
In the end, we went with one of the many options available at Costco (since we're already members) and the Labor Day sale knocked off another $100. So we bought the Sleep Science 13" Bamboo Cool, and we got a firm model this time (instead of medium) because my wife thought she'd sleep better on it. I guess we'll see. But after having slept on it a few nights already, I don't have any complaints. It's comfy and I haven't awoken with any aches or pains. Now the challenge is to get rid of the old mattress. Stay tuned for udpates...