Construction-wise, most manufacturers claim to have the best coil-to-gauge ratio. However, there are only a few innerspring manufacturers and four general types. One thing to remember is that while there are many different types of coils and many manufacturers, most manufacturers have their coils made by one company, Leggett & Platt.

BONNELL COIL

• Ususally 390 coil count
• This heavy 12-1/2 gauge steel unit gives you the firm to extra firm feel you're looking for

Characteristics

• Its hour glass shape and gauge of steel gives you a more ridged type of support.
• Its knotted coil also adds to its strength when pressure is applied.

Worlds best selling innerspring An hourglass-shaped mattress coil usually with five turns; cylindrical at the top and bottom and tapered in the center. Mostly used in promotional- and lower-priced bedding. These are the oldest ones and most commonly used. They were adapted from buggy seat springs of the 19th century. They are still prevalent in low priced mattresses. They have an hour-glass shape, and the ends of the wire are knotted or wrapped around the top and bottom circular portion of the coil (round-topped and self tied).

OFFSET COIL

Bonnell coils evolved into Offset coils, which are currently popular, but happen to be the most expensive ones. They are almost identical to the Bonnell coils, except that the top and bottom circular part of the coils have flat or straight sides, which allow for better hinging action when they are placed together in a spring unit, and which can be easily aligned. An evolution of the offset coils brought the elimination of the knot that tied the end of the wire to the coil. In other words, offset coils might be tied off or feature a loose end (sensory arm). These are called "open end offset coils". These improvements gave offset coils an extra turn of working wire for greater spring action on each end of the coil. The biggest problem with this system is called "roll together." Because the rows of coils generally run from side to side and the wire that holds them together also runs side to side, over time (not always much time at all) it will cause two people to roll towards the middle of the mattress.

POCKET COIL

This individually wrapped coil innerspring unit gives you a soft feel and is 14-gauge steel.

Characteristics

• Each coil is encased in high-density space age fabric. This fabric is designed to minimize friction while maximizing wear strength.
• Each row of individually encased coils is precisely positioned by a robotics arm, then bonded to the outer fabric. This creates a consistent distribution of support throughout the unit.

They are individually pocketed and less frequently used. Might not be properly tempered . Additionally, when two people sleep on the same mattress, the individually wrapped (or individually pocketed) coil provides motion separation (when one person tosses and turns, the other doesn't feel it.) This is important because when one person tosses and turns, it may not completely wake the other person, but, it can take them out of a deep sleep which is when the body does all of its regeneration. When a sleeper is undisturbed at night they can fall into that deep sleep faster, stay in a deeper sleep longer and wake up feeling more refreshed because it allows the sleeper to get more use out of their sleep.

CONTINUOUS COIL

This system takes a coil and runs it from head to toe creating a network of coils. PRO: low incident of spin out and sagging. They look like double wire spirals or loose ringlets, creating a network of wire running nonstop through the entire bed . The idea is that with a continuous coil system, each coil is connected to the next so that it can draw strength from it. This type of coil system does tend to be the strongest, however we must remember that strength does not dictate support.

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