Hi fascinating-geology,
[quote]While looking into some other mattresses. I came upon some of the Beautyrest Recharge and Platinum models. I noticed very specifically that models that that claim to be firm have a coil support layer like so
1000 Density Firm Beautyrest® Pocketed Coil® Technology
while those that claim plush in any way claim the following
1000 Density Plush Beautyrest® Pocketed Coil® Technology.[/quote]
The “firm” spring unit uses 14 gauge steel, and the “plush” uses 15.5 gauge steel, per Simmons. The majority of real difference in comfort would come from the difference in the comfort materials used on top of those spring units.
While I know that has been your belief throughout this thread, for the reasons I’ve stated previously and links I’ve shared, I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that assumption (see below).
While using terms like “plush” and “non-firm” to describe spring units can be helpful in comparing one to another, there are no absolute descriptors of one unit versus another, unless you’re comparing two versions of the exact same style (using the two pocketed spring units you’re mentioning here as an example). Even a spring unit that may be rated as a “plush” can still provide good support for someone with a higher BMI, provided it was paired with proper comfort layer material. But ideally, you’d probably want to stick to more “robust” spring units for your situation.
I can only speak in general terms, as I have no experience with what you’ve been using as a baseline for comparison of items, but often people of a higher mass or BMI, when sleeping upon products using inferior quality foams, “feel through” those foam layers and tend to experience more of the feel of the support unit, which isn’t as comfortable. This is why it’s so important to choose an item using higher-quality comfort layers (unlike the Simmons models you mentioned) and in sufficient enough thicknesses to accommodate your particular needs. Post #3 here has more information and suggestions (and links to some other articles that are good) about heavier weights that I would suggest reading.
Purely for illustration, supposing that someone with a high BMI wanted their spring unit to be as contouring as possible, as they thought the examples they had previously used were all too unforgiving. You could choose a pocketed spring unit of a lower number of springs using a thinner 16 gauge wire. When lying upon this spring unit by itself, it certainly would contour well, but alignment would be negatively impacted. And while the contouring would be gentle, sinking in too much would create uncomfortable concentrations of pressure, which could lead one to assume that the spring unit was too “hard”, when in fact it actually would be not supportive enough. Taking a similar pocketed spring unit, this time with more springs and using a thicker steel, perhaps zoned, and lying back upon it, one would still have decent body conformation, but one wouldn’t sink in as much and alignment would generally be much better. While the surface comfort could feel “hard”, it could be for a different reason in this case, where you need a bit more conforming around your shoulders, hips, or other bony protuberances. And this is where having the proper comfort materials on top of this spring unit would come into play.
I know I’m presenting hypotheticals here, but I’m doing so to perhaps further clarify that there are many different reasons a product might feel “too hard” to someone, and why deferring to better support/alignment and then customizing “feel” with the proper comfort layers is generally the preferred method of achieving a durable and appropriate sleep surface. This doesn’t mean that this is necessarily the case for you specifically - there are people who sleep quite comfortably in hammocks with alignment that would give most sleep ergonomic researcher nightmares! :lol:
Phoenix