Composite and combination mattresses

In addition to the two main mattress formats, namely springs and foam fillings, some mattress manufacturers combine these two different constructions and this produces a composite mattress. Many people consider this option to be the most desirable when it comes to offering orthopedic support.

The idea behind a composite mattress is that it utilizes the best features of each mattress material and construction to produce a bed that offers the best of "both worlds". The obvious example is to combine springs with a modern slow recovery foam. e.g. memory foam.

Ordinarily spring based mattresses have a padding layer above the coils of springs, so the composite concept simply expands this layer to make it deeper and adds a special material like visco elastic memory foam or Latex.

Spring and foam composite beds

Beds and mattresses that use springs and some kind of foam have the springs at the base (i.e. the underside) of the mattress. These coiled springs, which will normally be pocket springs, then have one or more layers of foam (e.g. memory foam or Latex foam) on top of them.

The idea behind this is that the bed combines the best features of each construction. This results in a bed with good support and independent deflection (from the springs) plus the ability to mould itself around the person sleeping on it (by virtue of the memory foam). This, in theory, will result in the optimum orthopedic mattress performance.

Composite mattresses are more expensive than standard mattresses and they will usually have a high pocket spring count and a medium to high density foam.

Nearly all spring and foam combination beds will use either memory foam or Latex foam for the top layer. This is because of the superior body moulding abilities of these two materials.

Foam composite mattresses

In addition to the composite bed that combines springs and foam, it is also possible (and very popular) to combine layers of different density memory foam in a single mattress.

Many memory foam orthopedic mattresses combine two, three or even four different density visco elastic memory foams in the same unit. The idea behind this is to gain the different advantages that each density of foam has to offer.

As an example, a very dense (and consequently firm and unyielding) foam will often be used as the first base layer, with further less dense softer layers being utilized above. The layer that is in immediate contact with the body will usually be the lowest density foam used in the bed and this allows it to shape itself around the person sleeping on it better than the firmer layers beneath.

Other composite or combination mattress beds can use a mix of springs, visco elastic memory foam and gel.

Gel is a comparatively new material in bedding and, although it is called gel, it is not in a liquid or viscous state. It resembles something close to an open rubber honeycombed or boxed patchwork and it is normally used in conjunction with memory foam.

Features of a composite mattress

An important feature of the composite mattress is that it will be what is termed as a no turn mattress.

This means that, whist it is important to turn these mattresses from top to bottom (horizontally) on a regular basis, they should never be flipped over. This is because the different supportive layers are intended to work in one orientation only, so turning a memory foam and spring mattress upside down would result in the springs being at the top and the foam being at the bottom. If this were the case the advantages of the composite design would be lost.

Like single construction spring and foam beds, a composite bed can be selected with different degrees of firmness. However, it will be necessary to take account of both the density of the foam and the characteristics of the springs, e.g. spring count, coil wire thickness etc.

Many good orthopedic beds and mattresses take advantage of this composite form of bed construction.

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