What makes a firm mattress firm?
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It's obvious that different people and companies have different ideas of what firm means. Even a mattress you lay on in the store may feel "firm" but then two month later it's sagging. So I was wondering what makes a firm mattress firm. Is it number of coils? Thickness of coils? Thanks. |
Re: What makes a firm mattress firm?
| budgy can answer this better than us lay people, but I think it is a combination of the coil gauge and the amount and type of padding on top of it.when beckley handmakes a mattress, they do use a slightly heavier gauge on a firm than on others, but then all of their mattresses are pretty high up there in the coil thickness. cotton in the comfort layers will give you a firmer surface than will latex, wool or memory foam. the sagging you mention is not really related to firmness, that is just the failure of polyurethane foam, which the commercial brands use in huge amounts. all mattresses need a good support layer - either high density foam, a good offset coil system or a firm latex base. whether the mattress feels firm to you or soft depends on what you put on top. fyi at the moment I am sleeping on a heavy gauge coil system topped by wool and a feather bed. the feel is very soft but the support is there and I am not getting back pain in the mornings. if you read through the threads here you will find that many here experiment with different top layers to find the perfect combination of support and cushy surface. you can try memory foam, talalay latex or a feather bed for a soft surface, just being careful about getting a good support layer. but as I said, the sagging is not really related to firmness. budgy can correct me if I am wrong on that. |
Re: What makes a firm mattress firm?
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i would say you are mostly right that initial firmness is not directly related to a bed becoming softer and sagging. its the type of materials used and how well it is all put together which makes the biggest difference. in a coil mattress the construction varies so much from one to another that you cannot concretely say what makes a firm bed, firm. Usually its from a lack of upholstery...most all coils by themselves are pretty firm with only minimal padding. But yes, higher coil count in the same thickness of wire would increase firmness, or simply using a thicker wire. Thickness of the wire has a more dramatic effect on the firmness level than the spring count alone in most cases. |