Mattress Materials

There are many types of mattress styles but they all tend to be made in three types of materials.

Inner Spring
This type has been made the longest and is probably the construction with which people are most familiar. The inside consists of many coiled springs that are laid out in a grid. The shape of the coil springs may vary by manufacturer but they all are intended to do the same thing. These coils are attached at the sides to keep them in place, then covered with layers of upholstery for cushioning and insulation.

Foam
New foam production has allowed creation of large slabs of foam suitable for mattress sizes.
The mattress is made with either a solid foam core or with multiple layers that can be different densities. Foam type can be urethane or latex, having some variation in properties to include hard, soft and visco-elastic 'memory'.

Inflatable Airbed
As expected, an air mattress is an air-tight material that can be inflated to form the standard sized mattress, and can include the box support underneath.

Mattress Types

A mattress is really difficult to select. Names of mattresses are not the same from one store to another, which makes it almost impossible to make direct comparisons in features and price.
You also can't see the construction inside the mattress so you can't even compare construction.

It's hard to be an informed consumer about mattresses because all the details seem to be intentionally obscured.

Here are the basic types of mattresses found in most mattress stores.

• Inner spring
• Foam
• Inflatable airbed
  

There is no best mattress construction and personal preference determines how you decide on the type that suits your needs.

From the exterior most mattresses look the same, with a quilted fabric cover. You can't judge the insides by the cover.

Next we'll look at each of the basic types of mattress construction and examine the pros and cons of them depending on your requirements.