Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
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All of these companies and brands are interrelated. The differences are more like two varieties of red or green apples rather than apples to oranges. This is a composite of the following threads from the old forum. It might feel kind of jumbled, but we don't need two threads on Intelli-Gel. Has anyone ever tried an Intelli-bed? Intelli-Gel toppers First, lets introduce the players: Intelli-Bed and MyComfort are separate and distinct companies. Each sells a product they call Intelli-Gel, but they are not exactly the same. Both are manufactured under license from the same company (EdiZone) and they are more similar than they are different, but they are different products, manufactured by different companies. I will talk a lot more about these companies in subsequent posts. GelTechnology is the company which manufactures the Intelli-Gel for Intelli-Bed. Their trade-names for the honeycomb material is CrossGel, and the gel-like rubber that it's made from, FlexGel. GelTec does not manufacture mattresses, but they do sell a CrossGel topper they call the GelBed Topper. EdiZONE is "a developer of products and technology. Its business model is to conceive and patent unique and valuable technologies and product designs, develop them into prototype products, and then license them to a leader in the applicable marketplace." They invented Gelastic and Intelli-Gel and license these products to Intelli-Bed and MyComfort. Not coincidentally, all four of these companies are based in Utah. Intelli-Gel is protected by U.S. Patent 6,026,527 (and 5,749,111) Gelatinous cushions with buckling columns. Gelastic is covered by patent 5,994,450 Gelatinous elastomer and methods of making and using the same and articles made therefrom. Granted, I am a geek, but I found the 527 patent to be quite interesting and insightful. Disclosure: I have an Intelli-Gel topper on order from MyComfort. I'm trying to keep my posts here informational and not a sales pitch, but anyone with any vested interest in a product cannot be totally objective about it. Just keep that in the back of your mind as you read my posts. I'm an Intelli-Gel fan boy. At least until I get the topper and actually sleep on it. This message was modified Oct 30, 2007 by a moderator
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Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
Well, I slept with the eggcrate topper over the Pocket Gel last night, and I think it helped. The whole mattress generally felt softer, and I do not think it interfered with the Gel buckling - it is so soft that it just followed the gel. I did sleep better, although I had to turn ever so often. I still think there is a spine alignment problem with my hips sinking in so far, so tonight, I'm going to try placing a 1/2" thick book under the mattress right at my hips. This should bring my hips up a bit. I may have to borrow your title and call this "frankenbed II". |
Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
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My replacement topper is being delivered tomorrow. One of the quirky things with this topper is that the quilted top gets a big ridge down through it. This seems to be an artifact of the quilted top as there is no ridge in the Intelli-Gel. It takes some coaxing to get it to disappear. Since I seem to sleep in the same spot all the time, I wonder if this isn't a sort of "body impression" in the quilted top, which is 1" of PU foam quilted inside a stretch knit material. Edit: I just want to add something here that doesn't deserve a separate post, but I'd like it to be part of the knowledge base. I had asked Devin, the Warehouse Manager for MyComfort, awhile back whose memory foam they used in their memory foam mattress. When I called him this week to pester him about my free seat cushion, he told me it's Foamex memory foam. He didn't know exactly what, but unless it's something from one of Foamex' subsidiaries, like Premier Foam, it can only be Sensus if it's 5 lb foam. This message was modified Oct 20, 2007 by haysdb
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Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
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I am having an issue with my Intelli-Gel overlay that is completely unexpected. I am sleeping hot. I bought a down comforter a short time back and thought it was just that being too warm. It really was too warm so I bought a lighter weight comforter and a light weight duvet cover. It has still been too warm, but after spending a lot of money of down comforters and duvet covers, I wanted to sleep with one damnit! Besides, I thought it would surely cool off any day now. Heck, we've had snow on Halloween in years past and this year it's been in the 80's. So last night it cools off (40's), and I'm looking forward to snuggling under my down comforter. I changed positions throughout the night, seeking out the cool sheets. When I awoke this morning I lay there wondering why I was so hot, because the room air was cool, and I was sleeping under only the lightweight down comforter with a simple sheeting duvet cover. Nothing else, just the comforter. I came to the conclusion that I was hot on the bottom, not the top. What I expected was that the Intelli-Gel would not be hot to sleep on. With all that airspace, how could it be? When I asked someone at MyComfort if anyone had ever complained of their overlays sleeping hot, I was told "No, never." So I have refused to believe it, but what else could it be? Under me, between myself and the overlay is a fitted sheet and nothing else. No mattress pad, no mattress protector. I have a theory. The Gelastic, the elastic rubber material that Intelli-Gel is made of, would itself be a good insulator. The column walls are not air permeable, so if the columns are sealed at the top and bottom, the air inside will be trapped and would gradually heat up. On top of the Intelli-Gel is a thin quilted ticking - 1" or less of Urethane foam quilted into a stretch knit fabric. Below is another thin layer of foam, less than 1" thick. Under that is the bottom cover of the overlay, which is vinyl. My theory is that the air in the columns is trapped between the body and the vinyl, the air heats up from body heat, and has nowhere to go. Under the pressure points the columns collapse, creating even smaller airspaces. This could be a totally whacked out theory, but I AM sleeping hot, and there is no denying that. I am open to alternative explanations. I will have updates on this as my experimentation continues. |
Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
| Are you sure it's not your down comf? Down traps heat so well, that I can not use it on top of me unless it's freezing (camping sleeping bag.) Neither my wife nor I have experienced heat build up with the gel. Granted, I only spent one night without a topper between me and it, but my wife slept directly on it for weeks. |
Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
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haysdb wrote: I have a theory. The Gelastic, the elastic rubber material that Intelli-Gel is made of, would itself be a good insulator. The column walls are not air permeable, so if the columns are sealed at the top and bottom, the air inside will be trapped and would gradually heat up. Very plausable, since the material is probably some variation of silicone gel. One example of the insulating properties is cookware. For those curious, there is a $20 gel cushion in most Wal-Mart automotive departments.
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Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
| Well, I think I figured out what is wrong with our pocket gel bed. It is a spine alignment problem. At first, I thought it was needing more lower back support, but that is not it. I really need my shoulders to sink in more. My lower arm tends to fall asleep if I keep my shoulders aligned at a 90 degree to the bed. So I find myself shifting my shoulder alignment so that my bottom shoulder is more in front, so my arm does not fall asleep. When I do this, my lower back is twisted some what, and aches. Last night I forced myself to sleep on my arm so that my shoulders were aligned (and of course it fell asleep, and I had to keep turning.) But my back felt great, though. I am now looking for some topper that will allow my shoulder to sink in a little more (in relation to the rest of my body.) Maybe what I really need is some sort of zoned softness, and that will be impossible with the pocket gel. |
Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
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sager66 wrote: For those curious, there is a $20 gel cushion in most Wal-Mart automotive departments. This looks just like the cushion I was given at an Intelli-Bed store. Dollars to dougnuts it's made by Gel-Technology. donw wrote: Are you sure it's not your down comf? Down traps heat so well, that I can not use it on top of me unless it's freezing (camping sleeping bag.) Neither my wife nor I have experienced heat build up with the gel. Granted, I only spent one night without a topper between me and it, but my wife slept directly on it for weeks. No, I'm not certain. It's possible. But if true, I'll never get to use the 'Avernue' down comforter I bought first if even the light weight one is too warm even on a cool night. I don't remember having the urge to throw off the covers last night, but only to move to a cooler part of the mattress. donw wrote: I really need my shoulders to sink in more. My lower arm tends to fall asleep if I keep my shoulders aligned at a 90 degree to the bed. So I find myself shifting my shoulder alignment so that my bottom shoulder is more in front, so my arm does not fall asleep. When I do this, my lower back is twisted some what, and aches. I'm having that problem too, but I don't have anything soft under the Intelli-Gel. I was all gung-ho on making sure I got my support right, and now I'm progressively softening the top layers. I have an inch of ILD 20 latex arriving tomorrow. That's not much, but I didn't want to overshoot, so I decided to start with 1" and go from there. This message was modified Oct 23, 2007 by haysdb
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Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
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donw wrote: Well, I think I figured out what is wrong with our pocket gel bed. It is a spine alignment problem. At first, I thought it was needing more lower back support, but that is not it. I really need my shoulders to sink in more. My lower arm tends to fall asleep if I keep my shoulders aligned at a 90 degree to the bed. So I find myself shifting my shoulder alignment so that my bottom shoulder is more in front, so my arm does not fall asleep. When I do this, my lower back is twisted some what, and aches. Last night I forced myself to sleep on my arm so that my shoulders were aligned (and of course it fell asleep, and I had to keep turning.) But my back felt great, though. I am now looking for some topper that will allow my shoulder to sink in a little more (in relation to the rest of my body.) Maybe what I really need is some sort of zoned softness, and that will be impossible with the pocket gel. Not sure if accessible through archives but I experimented with layering latex (eee"Mad Scientist" thread). What I discovered is that for me at least, standard latex configurations (such as 28/36/44) allowed hips to collapse too much during night when side sleeping. Worse if softer, and shoulder hurt if too firm). Through folding/surface manipulations, determined that if want spine to stay parallel to floor, needed very firm hip support (36/44/44) and very soft shoulder (chest to head) support/comfort (maybe 24/24/24). Each person varies of course, but grabbing a few scales for knee, hip and shoulder regions will give you a rough idea of what might be needed for a side sleeper. I put the project on hold since good quality adhesive has to be used outdoors or with a qigh quality ventilation system, but may return to it in near future. My point is that zoning in the topper alone may soften things a bit, but you'll still get hip kinking unless you zone deeper due to differential weight distribution/point loading. JMO |
Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
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I agree that zoning on the top would be less satisfactory than zoning in the support layers. Dewey at FloBeds told me they are experimenting with a new system that would allow the user to configure the zoned layer, independently for left and right. He said they were doing more custom zoned layers than he ever thought they would, so it just seemed like a natural evolution of what they are doing now. I do not know how many zones or how the pieces are kept in place. I have come across quite a few patents concerning different ways of zoning, so there is definitely some interest, it's just a matter of coming up with a workable system. A flexible slat mattress can firm up some areas relative to others, and therefore provide some zoning. I felt like my ILD 38 core was not supportive enough and yet it was very firm, just as mccldwll describes, so going even more firm for the hips meant making the situation even worse for my shoulders. With the flexible slat foundation, I'm getting the support I need and think I could keep just the bottom layer at ILD 38 and go softer the next layer up, and still not bottom out. I will have the ability to try 38 32 20 (3", 3", 1") under my Intelli-Gel overlay when my toppers arrive from FoamByMail, hopefully today. This message was modified Oct 24, 2007 by haysdb
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Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
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donw wrote: Well, I think I figured out what is wrong with our pocket gel bed. It is a spine alignment problem. At first, I thought it was needing more lower back support, but that is not it. I really need my shoulders to sink in more. My lower arm tends to fall asleep if I keep my shoulders aligned at a 90 degree to the bed. So I find myself shifting my shoulder alignment so that my bottom shoulder is more in front, so my arm does not fall asleep. When I do this, my lower back is twisted some what, and aches. Last night I forced myself to sleep on my arm so that my shoulders were aligned (and of course it fell asleep, and I had to keep turning.) But my back felt great, though. I am now looking for some topper that will allow my shoulder to sink in a little more (in relation to the rest of my body.) Maybe what I really need is some sort of zoned softness, and that will be impossible with the pocket gel. My wife and I have the same problem. We have a nexgel bed and we wake up every morning with back aches. We don't weigh that much. Our hips sink too much on the bed. This hurts more when sleeping on our sides. Our hips sink more than the shoulders or feet putting our body out of alignment. We are looking for another bed now. We toss and turn all night long. Our 10 year old bed is more conforatble than this nexgel bed. I would advise not to buy a nexgel bed. |