Think of it this way: There are many people that love leather furniture, to them nothing beats the feel or durability. Many people also hate leather furniture, to them it is hot to the touch, and doesn't look good. We are all individuals. We need to take our likes and dislikes into account, even when we buy a mattress. There is no one perfect mattress. If there were, the others would go out of business. So how do we know what we like? Maybe by knowing how the technologies work we can discover some answers.
Since the late 1800s, Innerspring mattresses have been around for people to sleep on. Like with all things, the spring mattresses of today are different than those of even 10 years ago. Innerspring mattresses have the largest market share. So it is good to talk of them. What makes them comfortable? Generally the springs will give, allowing the bed to conform to your body, but face it metal is hard. To combat this, the manufacturers use comfort materials above the springs to make the bed more comfortable. These materials can be anything from cotton batting to memory foam. Each material adds to the overall feel of the bed. The support of any bed, springs included, comes from the structure below the comfort materials. What is the coil count? What is the gauge of the spring? These all indicate the support level as well as the durability. Coil count in particular will tell you how much support is in the bed. There is a notion out there that the harder a bed is, then the more supportive it is. That is true to a point, but by minimizing comfort materials on a low coil count, can make the bed feel harder than a larger coil count bed, the larger coil count would bring better support. Gauge will tell you about the mattress durability. The thicker the coils, the longer they will hold their shape; the longer they hold their shape the longer you will get effective support. In spring beds, price does indicate quality and longevity. Buying at the local big box, or club by price alone is an extreme mistake.
In the 1960s water beds entered the market in a big way. Water beds allow you to regulate temperature better. The water mattress also supports your body with different technology. Water beds also have much more maintenance than the typical spring bed. They do an admirable job in the support category, by allowing your body to float in a natural posture. Today water beds are losing market share, most likely because of newer technologies.
In the 1980s both air based beds and memory foam beds emerged in the market. Memory foam reacts much like the water beds. Except the foam replaces the water. Your body will sink into the bed based on the weight at any particular spot, body heat causes the foam to compress. This allows your body to find its posture. Memory foam beds come in a few different styles, including spring support bases. The more modern memory foam beds use latex foam as a base support structure. And typically uses no quilting to achieve the best interaction with your body. The lack of quilting does affect temperature regulation though. Modern foams have also been enhanced to allow air to pass through keeping you a little cooler as you sleep. If you sleep hot, however, spend as much time as possible on these beds before you buy, with all the advancements they can still lock heat close to your body. A very recent introduction is gel based memory foam, this foam repels heat, so if you sleep warm, consider these new foams.
Air beds are very versatile. There are a few manufacturers and the top two or three put together a very good bed. The advantages of air are adjustability, and generally a modular design. They can be mated with different comfort materials as well to match your likes. They have a similar feel to water beds, without the maintenance. And there are some key differences relating to the physics of air and water. Air tech beds tend to be the most long lasting, yet they are not the most expensive. In fact, most companies offer several bed styles that are very competitive with spring beds of equal quality. Yet they will last 2 to 4 times as long. Their support core allows you to set a perfect level allowing your body to find posture in a multitude of sleeping positions. And they can change as you need change, another advantage not offered in spring beds or foam beds. And most offer a dual sleep system, so each partner can be happy and not compromising on their individual comfort.
Now a word on warranties. Use the length and breadth of the warranties to judge the quality of the bed. Warranties vary between manufacturers, so reading it is a good thing. As an example, some spring beds have felt like the 20 year warranties offered by air tech and foam beds have hurt them, so they are now offering 20 year warranties as well. These beds are designed to last 8 to 10 years, and manufacturers set warranties so they will not have to honor them, it is a drag on profit. You could as an example offer a life time warranty on a bed, but exclude springs... Or require that the gully be more than say 2.5 inches (which will never happen by the way). When the customer calls for warranty, it doesn't apply. They then express sorrow and offer a replacement at a discounted price, locking you into that brand for several more years. No warranty covers dirt, and dirt can invalidate some warranties. Warranties are set to less than the expected fail rate of any product you buy. So all things being equal, a warranty can indicate quality.
Part III coming soon....
Sleep Well!
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