Good Innnerspring Mattress with Minimal Foam

[phoenix]

Hi motuman and jethrodesign,

And from what I read in their specs, it sounds like the coils may be designed to work in one direction - getting firmer as they compress. So not sure if that plays into using in a ‘flippable’ mattress.

You can see my comments about this in post #2 here.

• Should I be concerned with these coils not being supportive enough? They’re 8 inches tall, so just seems like they may have a lot of ‘give’, but don’t know enough to be sure.

This depends on the type of support you are talking about. There is more about primary and secondary support and their relationship to pressure relief and firmness in post #4 here and in post #2 here. The only way to know for certain whether any mattress will keep you in good alignment in all your sleeping positions would be based on your own personal testing and experience.

There is also more about the different ways to choose a mattress and how to minimize the uncertainty and risks involved with each of them in post #2 here.

• As we have learned on this forum however, it’s usually the top layers that give out before the innerspring…but if you are talking just about innersprings, it seems one of the Bonnell Styles (such as L&P Verticoil or Hinge Flex , etc) is going to be more durable than most individual pocketed inner`springs…and possibly firmer depending on the models you compare.

There is more about the different types of innersprings and how they compare with each other in this article and in post #10 here but as you mentioned … in “real life” terms the upper layers of a mattress would be the weakest link of a mattress regardless of the type of innerspring that is used underneath them.

• As an FYI, when I was sampling expensive firm to ultra firm “S” brand and Airloom mattresses in big showrooms, it was hard to feel much difference between individual pocketed coils and a Bonnell type innerspring. Once you put 5" to 6" of firm to very firm layers of material over the springs, it tended to even out any “body conturing” effect of the individual coils. As the comfort and support layers become thinner and/or softer however, I could start to notice the difference between innerspring styles.

I would agree with your comments here. Depending on the weight and sleeping position of the person … the upper 3" to 6" of a mattress will have the biggest effect on how it feels when you lie on a mattress so if there are thicker layers of foam or other padding materials above an innerspring then the differences between them would become much less noticeable than they would be with thinner layers.

• As far as polyfoam, it’s pretty clear from all the postings here, and my personal experience, there is a big difference between foams. If you are looking at a thin layer of high quality, high density (1.8 or 2.0 lb) poly foam, I doesn’t appear that you have to worry to much about it being a weak link in the mattress…but you can always ask Flexus about leaving it out too.

You can see the foam quality/density guidelines I would generally suggest in post #4 here. Outside of the density of a polyfoam layer the durability will be affected by other variables as well including what is above and below it, the firmness of the layer, and the thickness of the layer. Layers that are deeper in a mattress will be more durable than the same layers that are closer to the top of a mattress where they will be subject to more of the compression forces. A two sided mattress will also significantly affect the durability of the materials in the mattress so a foam density that is suitable for a two sided mattress may not be as suitable or as durable in a one sided mattress. There is more detailed information about the many variables that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress relative to each person in post #4 here and the posts it links to.

Phoenix