Hi Sleepless,
The first picture sure didn’t look honeycombed but the second one does and I took a closer look at the BE site and you are right, the shorter coils (darker) are nested in between the taller coils and it is a honeycomb pattern. The pictures were a little misleading and I was not so observant :). That’s good news.
I’d be a little hesitant to put a pocket coil mattress on a slatted frame. Roewa … the manufacturer of the slatted base … hedges a bit on this but doesn’t normally recommend it either (see the last paragraph here). There certainly are some innerspring mattresses that are designed to work on a flat slatted, semi-flex or solid base and I would tend to go with the recommendations of the manufacturer rather than the store that sold them.
You have my curiosity up now though and I plan to phone a few of the BE outlets and BE itself to see what they say and if they are consistent … particularly since the manufacturer of the slatted base they are using doesn’t really recommend it either. Normally a tension adjustable base will do better and is designed to be underneath a foam core mattress.
I think this is a very good choice for those who are more comfortable with the feel of an innerspring vs an all latex core and with latex in the comfort layers and a good quality innerspring … particularly a good pocket coil or offset coil … it would make a high quality and durable mattress.
With latex in the comfort layers … you should certainly have no problem with getting a good 10 years (and probably more) out of this construction.
Phoenix