Flexible slat foundations
Also known as:
This is going to start out as a smattering of links and quotes and pictures that I'm pasting in as I find them. LINK: The premium foundation for the natural rubber mattress is the Flexible Slat Foundation, with thinner slats than the basic foundation. This slat system allows airflow on the underside of your mattress. The manufacturer covers the sides of this foundation with organic quilted cotton and wool to match the mattress.  LINK: A Euro slat foundation bed is a bed that uses wooden slats, rather than a traditional foundation to support a mattress. The Swiss invented this system 50 years ago over the years in Europe the technology has advanced significantly making it the most used sleeping system in the continent. European Sleep Design Slat suspensions provide independent support, with no sag or roll-together. The suspension system can be tuned to match each individual's body contour and ease pressure points. With its adjustable support, a slat suspension provides the optimum contour according to your comfort preference. The slats' give and rotation constantly respond to the shifting planes of your body. And the slat settings can be modified to accommodate changing body needs or comfort preferences over time. Each side adjusts separately allowing individual adjustments for couples. Slats are a popular alternative to what we're used to. The slat suspension was invented in Switzerland over 50 years ago and accounts for about 70% of the bed sales in Europe. Yet it is relatively new here.  Ergo Customized Comfort Slat suspension technology was invented in Switzerland over 50 years ago and is the primary foundation for beds in Europe; however very few U.S. mattress manufacturers are taking advantage of its benefits. Benefits of Slat Suspension With its adjustable support, slat suspension provides a contoured foundation for your mattress based on your preference. Due to the flexible nature of the technology, the slats give and rotate in response to the shifting planes of your body. At any time your slat settings can be modified to accommodate changing body needs or comfort preferences. A slat base also improves air circulation increasing comfort.  This message was modified Sep 20, 2007 by haysdb
|
Re: Flexible slat foundations
|
[This was written last night but I fell asleep on the new mattress before I posted...] I will sleep on the "bed" as it now stands tonight, which is the flexible slat foundation, 5.6" of Talatech ILD 38 latex, and an Intelli-Gel topper from MyComfort.. One immediate thing I notice is I no longer "bottom out" the 5.6" latex core. If I plop down on the center of the mattress I can feel the "strong back" where the two units meet, but thanks to the flexible slats, there is no bottoming out feeling except in the middle or right on an edge. The flexible slat foundation makes a thinner mattress a viable option where it would not be on a rigid platform. The sinking hips sensation seems to be lessened a bit, due to being able to firm up this section relative to the upper body. It's zoning at the foundation level. Note: the thicker the mattress, the less the effect and benefit of a flexible slat foundation. |
Re: Flexible slat foundations
| I think that is a wonderful solution to the "zoned" mattress dilemma, since it will be some what adjustable. Much better than trying to get pieces of latex glued together. What was the cost of that thing? I'll be interested in your results. |
Re: Flexible slat foundations
|
$778 for the Cal King, shipped. This is offset a bit because you can use a thinner (and therefore less expensive) mattress. In fact, in order to take advantage of this foundation, you specifically need a thin and firm mattress. |
Re: Flexible slat foundations
| So is this a current result of your frankenbed? Any chance of posting some photos? What changes in your purchases would you make '20/20' ? Is the bed heavy with the comfort layer and the mattress core? What is [so far] sleep temp of that layer? With the slat foundation, what is the overall height? Will it fit a headboard? Are you still adjusting it? What pillow seems to work best with your bed so far ? Thanks for all the research time you've put in and posted information.. |
Re: Flexible slat foundations
|
Post moved by the author to this thread. This message was modified Sep 28, 2007 by haysdb
|
Re: Flexible slat foundations
| Thanks for your hard work. Are there 'feet' on the slat foundation? You mentioned to get more of the full 'slat' feeling, a thinner core mattress could be used. Based on your recent discoveries and experience. You would still buy the adjustable slat foundation, mycomfort gel layer, but a thinner core mattress [med or firm?], with a HR foam layer UNDER the gel, but above the core mattress? You seem very close at this point, once it 'fits' a zippered mattress cover will enclose it all. Will you need deep pocket sheets? I think reg is up to 10 inches, deep is up to 15', and very deep up to 18-20', depending on brand. |
Re: Flexible slat foundations
|
tossnturn wrote: Thanks for your hard work. Are there 'feet' on the slat foundation? You mentioned to get more of the full 'slat' feeling, a thinner core mattress could be used. Based on your recent discoveries and experience. You would still buy the adjustable slat foundation, mycomfort gel layer, but a thinner core mattress [med or firm?], with a HR foam layer UNDER the gel, but above the core mattress? You seem very close at this point, once it 'fits' a zippered mattress cover will enclose it all. Will you need deep pocket sheets? I think reg is up to 10 inches, deep is up to 15', and very deep up to 18-20', depending on brand. I did not get any feet with my foundation. I did not request any. I upgraded my bed frame to a set of 3 "Bed Beams" which will support the weight of an elephant. However, since the flexible slat foundation is comprised of three sections bolted together, and because the Bed Beams do not provide the recommended center support running head to foot, and because FloBeds recommends 5 slats, two under each head and foot sections, I may add back the two cross supports I replaced to bring the total to 5. That seems like massive overkill, but they are just going in the trash otherwise so I might as well use them. I definitely like the flexible slat foundation, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to like the Intelli-Gel topper once I get the right amount of cush underneath. The support mattress could be anything. MyComfort sells innerspring, air and memory foam support mattresses that are specifically designed to be used under their Intelli-Gel overlays. I'm doing latex because I liked the feel of Intelli-Bed's $4000 latex mattress. You could do all Pulyurethane, with maybe a layer of HR, or even the more conventional 2.2 or 1.8 lb foam, on the very bottom for the support core and then something like 4 lb Energia (ILD 27), or memory foam, under the overlay. I can't begin to recommend any one of these over another because I haven't tried them all, and you might like something different anyway. It's this middle layer that's "fun" because you have so many choices, from maybe $400 for 6" of 1.8 lb polyurethane, to $1000 for a solid core latex mattress or an innerspring unit, to $1800 for a 9" all-latex or latex and memory foam mattress. This message was modified Sep 28, 2007 by haysdb
|
Re: Flexible slat foundations
| haysdb, your last comment about doing surgery on an old mattress was a thought I had but gave up on. It just seemed like a real mess and hassle. And I was tired of the partner disturbance I get from my old mattress. |
Re: Flexible slat foundations
|
donw wrote: haysdb, your last comment about doing surgery on an old mattress was a thought I had but gave up on. It just seemed like a real mess and hassle. And I was tired of the partner disturbance I get from my old mattress. I haven't actually tried cutting open a mattress. It may be that the volume of dust mites alone would make it a non-starter. But you could maybe vacuum a lot of that out and buy an allergen cover to contain the rest. I don't know. Might work, might not. |
Re: Flexible slat foundations
| How do you think a Euro slat foundation would work with an innerspring and memory foam mattress? |