Mattress Types Explained

It can be really tricky knowing where to start when buying a new mattress. By understanding the various mattress types it should better arm you with what to expect when mattress shopping. If you start your mattress search knowing how much to spend and what to expect you’re less likely to be duped by sales tactics or pushy salespeople.

When it comes to buying a mattress there seems to be a limitless choice on models, materials, spring counts, mattress covers, fibres, gels, foams and the like. We often hear from people that the more they try and research in showrooms and online the more confused they get.

One key thing to take away is to always ask what’s exactly inside the mattress you’re looking at whether that’s in a shop or online. If a retailer can’t tell you then walk away. You should always be able to find out what’s inside any quality mattress. That is why we disclose all of our components making up our mattress helping you make an informed decision.

This article will help explain the basics helping you cut down on showroom visits and saving you from making a potentially expensive mattress mistake!

Open Coil or Traditional Spring Mattresses

We’re going to start with the very cheapest of mattress construction methods the open coil. These are made for the very specific cheap entry-level mattress market. They may also go by the name bonnell coils, offset coils, continuous wire coil, miracoil, posturetech, traditional coil etc.

They feature an open coil spring unit which is one continuous piece of wire formed in the shape of a single spring unit. They are quick and cheap to make but offer the most limited support in a mattress and should be avoided. Typically open coil mattresses are sold with little comfort upholstery on top of the spring unit meaning these mattresses compress quickly and become painful to sleep on. Only consider if using for a guest bedroom with very occasional sleep otherwise it really is false economy to purchase an open coil mattress.

All Foam Mattress

Foam mattresses rely on air trapped within aerated substances (rather than springs) to offer support and bounce. Foam mattresses generally consist of three broad types: polyurethane foam, memory foam, and foam latex.

The quality of foam mattresses varies greatly. While reputable manufacturers are producing decent quality beds at reasonable prices – there are many less reputable companies getting in on the action. 

If you are in the market for a memory foam mattress – make sure you do your homework before parting with your cash.

For many years sleeping hot has been one of the most prominent all  foam mattress disadvantages. The body contouring qualities of the foam means that body heat can get trapped and accumulate during the night. The close hugging foam can act as a layer of insulation and lead to an uncomfortably hot experience. Addition of vents, breathable materials or hybrid technology can alleviate this problem.

When you first unbox a new all foam you will notice it gives off an odour. It is a chemical-like smell and it is caused by VOCs, volatile organic compounds, used to manufacture the foam.

This is however a completely normal process and is referred to as off-gassing. While the odour is unpleasant, he unwanted scent will pass after 2-3 days once you allow the mattress time to air.

Some people feel that all foam mattresses do not offer enough support for their body weight. It is worth noting all foam mattresses cannot provide the support a hybrid pocket spring mattress can, particularly where tall pocket springs are used.

Mattress in a box

The ‘mattress in a box’ companies that most of us are familiar with have capitalised on the ease of delivery as these types of mattresses which can be boxed and rolled, unlike full height pocket spring models. These mattresses generally are either all foam products, or made using lower height pocket springs, typically 4cm high, which will most likely not provide the support you require. Where taller pocket springs are used these often tend to be of a thinner wire gauge and not have reinforced edge support as the spring unit is required to be rolled.

There has recently been a massive influx of boxed mattresses to the market. The reason why has been to reduce the delivery costs, logistics and manufacturing to maximise profits.

We are yet to be convinced of the benefits to you the customer with these models given the drawbacks that are well known. Most of these boxed beds are cheaper layers of synthetic memory foam and have been created by venture capitalists rather than mattress experts.

A boxed mattress is usually a foam or small height pocket spring mattress that has been vacuum packed and rolled to save on storage and delivery space. They have been marketed as NextGen and given different fancy covers. However, in reality, all of these mattresses are variations of the basic memory foam layered mattress.

At MASA Sleep, we don’t sell any rolled mattresses. Our deep mattresses wouldn’t fit in a rolling machine and we wouldn’t subject them to the damages of being rolled and crushed.

Generally to make a boxed mattress, the mattress enters a big roller which crushes the air out of the foam reducing its size drastically, putting it under stress it is then sealed in a bag, usually heat sealed, and then boxed. It means that a normally large sized mattress can be reduced to fit more products on a lorry and make delivery easier and cheaper to deliver.

However, these mattresses are under great stress when in this position. They want to return to their regular shape and are constrained. Foam can tear, springs can deform and fabric can become stretched and rippled when you unroll them. The best way to think of it is that the mattress has been suppressed in its packaging, desperately trying to get back to its original shape. Over time cracks and defects can occur in the foam as its stressed beyond its normal tolerances.

Pocket Sprung Mattress

Pocket Spring mattresses are probably the most widely suited of all mattress types. This is because they offer the most flexibility in terms of support, comfort layers and durability. Nothing has ever outperformed pocket springs in tests and online mattress reviews. A Pocket Sprung mattress is made up of a spring support system which is then topped with different layers of upholstery.

Pocket springs are individually housed springs that are then wrapped in a particular material with the better quality ones wrapped in a breathable material.

As pocket springs move independently from one another, the mattress can adapt to your individual body shape providing you tailored support and perfect spinal alignment. Pocket sprung mattresses are designed to relieve the build-up of pressure points as the weight of your body is distributed across many different springs. Pocket springs also reduce transference and movement between sleepers significantly eliminating roll together.

Micro/HD Springs

A word on spring counts, It’s not as simple as the more pocket springs a mattress has, the better it is! The minimum number of pocket springs you should be looking for in a king size mattress is 1000.

You may see spring counts in the thousands and these should be taken with a pinch of salt. Usually, the more springs you find in a mattress the smaller these springs are. At a certain point, this becomes useless as they are too small to function properly In the race to increase mattress spring counts, many manufacturers are using micro or HD (High definition) mattress pocket springs. But is there any benefit? Do you really need 8,000 pocket springs in a mattress and how on earth do they fit them all in? In our opinion Micro or HD springs are the latest marketing trick.

HD (High Density) Pocket Springs or Micro springs are small pocket springs that many bed manufacturers use to vastly increase their mattress spring count. Micro springs or HD springs were created to allow additional ‘support layers’ to be used in mattresses. Originally this would be for very small mattresses, such as cot mattresses where this would be the only spring unit and could fit in a far smaller mattress.

Now HD springs and small springs are useful for things like mattress base pads or deep handmade toppers. In reality, there are only a few legitimate uses for them. They do allow manufacturers to boast ridiculous spring counts in a mattress though.

Micro springs compress really quickly, which is probably where the benefit of ‘micro-adjustments’ comes from, as they are only about an inch in depth. So when using them as a support layer you need layer after layer of them to get any meaningful support. You need a lot more of them to do the same job as a 18cm full height pocket spring.

The expectation that a quality pocket spring will be 16 to 18cm is usually standard in high-end mattresses. Each spring is usually between 6 and 9 turns. Again, anything above 6 turns is almost superfluous. Retailers have made springs longer for marketing, but 9 turn 20cm springs are actually really unstable. We use the same spring type as other high end manufacturers, 6 Turns, 18cm long and in varying wire gauges dependent on comfort chosen. We avoid shorter micro springs as they compress far too quickly and offer far less support (other than inflating the spring count for manufacturers).

Micro springs and HD springs make a mattress unnecessarily more expensive due to the often misleading spring count stated. Smaller height springs cannot match the support of 18cm full height springs. By reducing the size of the springs, manufacturers have overengineered the mattress and you then require even more springs to counteract the compression of the sleeper weight. It also means there are great amounts of wire taking up valuable space compared to breathable fibres and layers which are much better for comfort than Micro/HD Springs.