To clarify, on a zip and link bed you have the option of for example, making one side firm and the other side soft. This method of construction can be done on nearly all sized mattresses but there will be a (up to 50%) cost involved. On Ziplinks the cost is reduced (about 20%) as there is minimal extra labour to be taken into account.
To create mattresses with two different tensions a great element of skill has to be employed, What you are asking the manufacturer to do is to place different springs, quantities, qualities, depths, weights etc of waddings and fillings into the same mattress to create a mattress of differing tensions whilst keeping the surface at an equal level. It’s no mean feat and comes as close as you can get to a tailor made, hand built mattress at reasonable cost.
So how do they do it?
There are several different ways of doing this and the main two are detailed below. Before you read those there is an important factor to bear in mind. In order for the manufacturer to know what to put into the mattress you have to accurately describe how different the tensions that you are asking for should be. I mention this because I wonder whether you actually need to go down this route. Read about Soft / Med / Firm Mattresses . However, I find that when people do ask about differing tensions there is a fundamental reason for them doing so. The main reason is usually a large weight difference between couples making it uncomfortable/impossible to sleep together. If so, it may be that you bought the wrong mattress last time and you just need additional help in choosing the perfect mattress for you both without going to additional expense.
The main change a manufacturer can do is to use differing spring counts – 1000 PS side 1 (Firm) and 2000 PS side 2 (Softer) they can also add a firm Saturn pad on top of the 1000 PS to make it firmer still.
The comfort layers can also be adequately be altered without compromise if the layers are similar. For example memory foam can be on one side and firmer Reflex (or any HD foam) on the other. The same goes for Cotton blend pad one side and softer wool blend pad the other. This list of combinations is endless, but only the correct combination can be used if you yourself know how different you want the two tensions to be.
And this will be the main problem with your intended purchase. Will you be able to accurately describe How firm and how soft you want the mattress to be? The following list of questions are the minimum of what I would be asking;
What are the reasons for two different tensions
What tensions do you want?
Do you want to alter the spring count?
Do you want different sleep surfaces?
Finally. In my opinion Milbrook Beds are amongst the best in manufacturing differing tensions on ziplink beds. They do this as a matter of course and so this experience is probably justified in the prices they charge. If budget is not an option then they are at least worth looking at to see what they can do. Alternatively, give me a call and I will do my best to help.
Hi
So glad I found your website and wishing to order a Zip & Link Bed for 6ft 2″ Hubby 16+ stone (of rippling muscle, as you correctly predict ! ) and myself 5ft & 10 st ! …now for the bad news , you don’t deliver to N.Ireland ! We need Artisan beds here too ! Any suggestions welcome !
Christine
Hi Christine. It is the courier costs that make delivery to N. Ireland so prohibitive. The only feasable solution is for you to find a local courier company that comes to the UK on a regular basis and use their empty return space to collect and deliver the mattress to you.
We can usually meet up with your courier (around Manchester / Yorkshire) or have the mattress delivered to a mainland collection point. Hope this helps. John and Ryan.
Hi john & Ryan I stumbled across your site and glad too as I have been looking for a bed for me and my soon to be husband in a couple of months. We both live with our parents so I will be living with him after we are married.
I have been searching high and low for a firm mattress that is still cushiony and loved the sleepmasters savoy divan (Bensons) in kingsize, luckily I found your site which clearly explained the cons of this bed! I also looked at all the silent night beds as this was initially my price range (800) and found one that only is in Bensons Mirapocket supreme in Extra Firm but tbh I didnt feel comfortable as it felt too hard for me.
Now heres the problem I am a petite 5’2 and weigh 8.5 st and my partner weighs nearly 22 st(nearly 3x my size but I love him!) and he is 6’2.
I am an extremely light sleeper- I wake up to the sound of a crackling fire in a bin 5 metres outside my bedroom window and it doesn’t help his size when he rolls and moves positions the whole bed moves with him. He sleeps in practically every single position and tosses and turns while I wake up just with my own turning.
I have been looking for a bed that is as firm as possible only because of him although I have my own orthopaedic mattress bought by my dad whcih is utterly hard my hip bone ache but I bare with it I dont know what to do or which bed to buy.
I know the reason why I love the Savoy because it was so high and luxurious looking but I did think it sunk in too much even though it was meant to be ‘firmer’ which confused me since all the beds in bensons were either SMF & extra F and it did not feel firmer than the medium Astoria bed by sleepmasters. To add, my partner can sleep on anything he’s like a big log or whale and all the beds we looked at and he sat on sunk right in. Please can you give me an option of what we can do? thank you in advance!
Hi Shanae. This made me giggle
As you have obviously read, to find a mattress that will suit you both is difficult bordering on impossible. Taking your budget into account and from what you say I feel that our origins Pocket latex may be the one to go for.
Even though your weight is on the lighter side and if for you yourself we would not really recommend, I think in this case some sort of compromise has to be factored in. Your hubby needs to be the priority (I’m sure this will be his mantra for the rest of your married life – men eh?) – for support – comfort but more importantly – longevity. 22 stone of rippling muscle will quickly take it’s toll out of many mattresses and it is this factor also that brings me back to the latex model.
To make this also right for you, I would strongly suggest the use of a decent topper (put on the wedding list) to give you a little more comfort. If you have been sleeping on a ortho mattress – this will be heaven for you. Best wishes for your future. John and Ryan.
I am just reading your reply to Paul as I too am a bit unsure about which spring count to go for.
We are looking to buy a extraking zip and link which is medium firm. We weigh 10st and 12st and the body weight guide for both the Origins Pocket Reflex 1000 EKS and the the Origins Pocket 1500 EKS you have available is the same for people 14st and under. So we’re not sure which one to buy.
From what you’ve said above, I guess we want medium support with soft upholstery. Which would you recommend for us? Preety
Hi Preety. Unfortunately you do not really have that much of a choice taken that the models you are looking at fall within the ‘lower end range’ of all products. If we use you and your partner as an example this will be the basic structure of purchase (and the reasons why) you should be taking.
1. Budget. Knowing what you can reasonably expect to receive for a particular budget is key. The vast majority of mattresses on sale are targeted towards the lower – mid range (say £300 – £800). There are well in excess of 4000 or so different models within this price range and if you were to look at every single one and do the relative comparisons your current mattress will be no more than a pile of dust and you will have aged quite a number of years.
2. Springs. For starters, lets look at the all too confusing spring counts. 1000 – 1500 pocket springs will be offering a good support for the bulk of all people. There are no significant differences between ANY mass produced pocket spring from ALL manufacturers. There may be slight variations in spring tension, size etc but fundamentally they are all the same and your time will be better spent looking at upholstery content that is used to cushion these springs. Incidentally, all these comments relate to mattresses that retail below £800.
3. Upholstery. It is important to know what upholstery you can reasonably expect in your mattress in relation to what you are paying. Polyester (White Fibre, Hypo Allergenic White Fibre, Premium White Fibre and many other unnecessary superlatives for polyester) is the cheapest component you can get and therefore this will be in the bulk of all mattresses (low – mid). Then Foams (Reflex , Memory Foam). Then Latex. Then Wools and Cottons. Then Hair (Mohair, Cashmere) and the most prized of all, Horsehair and Horsetail.
When a listing contains reference to any of these ‘other than polyester’ components you really do have to know weights by GSM (Grams per Square Metre). Is this so important? Abso .. bloomin .. lutely! To do a like for like comparison you have to have a starting point. We have determined that 1000 pocket springs in one mattress is very much the same as 1000 pocket springs in another. You can then take it for granted that 1200 gsm Blended Wool and Cotton is most certainly not the same as ‘contains’ Wool and Cotton. In this example, mattress number 2 could ‘contain’ 10 gsm or 100 gsm or 1000gsm – who knows? If a weight is not attributed to a component then you should make the necessary enquiries to find this out. Even polyester should not be taken for granted. 1200 gsm is an average weight, but polyester pads also come in weights of 200 gsm upwards.
In answer to your question Preety, which one to buy? Origins Reflex or the Origins 1500? The support (springs) on both these are relatively similar. The upholstery in the Reflex gives the mattress a more supportive feel (Reflex Foam and Polyester sandwich) whereas the Origins 1500 is Polyester on a foam insulator – this will give a more cushioning but equally supportive feel. Personally, I would opt for the Origins Reflex (for reasons of longevity) I would also use the money I saved to purchase a well made separate topper to add an additional layer of comfort (more for your wife’s benefit than yours).
As a final note on Polyester, and one rarely ever mentioned is that Polyester degrades rapidly by body sweat. It also has limited recovery properties so the more you can do to protect the mattress from you (ie Toppers / protectors) the better it will be. If you want a mattress to significantly last and provide the ultimate in comfort then you have to be prepared to invest in it. When you are looking at mattresses at this level, the like for like comparisons become easier and of course your choices become individualised.
Finally Preety, the comment above is a much simplified version of the entire content of this site. For every sentence and statement there is a multitude of conflicting or opposing why’s and wherefores. Once you know the basics and all the pros and cons of each choice you make, you will be in a far better position to actually know what you are spending your money on. If you want clarification on any particular point then please feel free to add further comment. John and Ryan.
Hi I really need to buy a new mattress as the one we have the Millbrook Chameleon Backcare Deluxe has now seen better days, My husband weighs 18 stone and I weigh 12 stone and we have enjoyed a good nights sleep for over 8 years on the above mattress but now need to purchase a new one but we are really unsure on which to get as we have heard so much conflict of interest until we saw your site and decided to ask your advice we do need a king size can you help? I must say we do like the Millbrook and are unsure if we should change. Thanks Karen.
Hi Karen. I think the Millbrook Chameleon has been discontinued as I can’t seem to find it online. As you have had such extensive use out of your current one and it has proved satisfactory for the both of you I would be inclined to contact Millbrook and ask them what the succession of this particular model was.
Personally, taking into account the fair weight difference between you and your husband, I would consider our Artisan Naturals whereby the spring units can be tailored precisely to you own bodyweights. It is very uncommon for a couple with differing bodyweights to find a mattress that is completely suitable for the both of them.
Support and comfort should go hand in hand in relation to the bodyweight. Your husband will require more support from the spring unit than you [ie 1.5mm Firm Spring] and you will require a lesser tension [ie 1.4mm Medium Spring]. John and Ryan.
Hi,
Could you expand on this statement please ‘The main change a manufacturer can do is to use differing spring counts – 1000 PS side 1 (Firm) and 2000 PS side 2 (Softer)’.
How is the 1000 spring side firmer than the 2000 side? I’ve seen this elsewhere on the site but it’s confusing as on the actual mattress descriptions, a 2000 is firmer than say a 1500.
Thanks.
Hi Paul. Good point. Firstly, I understand that many of my posts are in dire need of updating and clarifying – this is a particular one and most will be updated with more intrinsic detail when our site is overhauled and updated.
There is a general confusion between the firmness of a mattress and the supportiveness of a mattress. And, this terminology can be mis-represented, mistaken and misunderstood.
The SUPPORT of a mattress should only be in relation to the springs.
The FIRMNESS of the mattress should be in relation to the springs AND the general composition of the mattress as a whole.
To answer your question about which is FIRMER ie: 1500 pocket Springs or 2000 Pocket springs is not easy to answer as there are many factors missing in order to give a precise answer: We need to know:
1. The gauge of wire used in a particular pocket sprung housing
2. The height of the spring unit.
3. the diameter of the spring unit
4. How many turns on the spring unit
5. Nested or Linear
6. Calico sewn encased housing or Polypropylene (spunbond) glued encased housing.
Many of my comments on this site relate to mass produced pocket spring units where it is unlikely any retailer or indeed many manufacturers could tell you the precise specification of a particular spring in a particular mattress model. Therefore, all mattress tensions can only be generalised upon with a FIRMNESS rating.
In answer to your question, which is firmer – 1500 or 2000? There isn’t a right or wrong answer. If someone just wanted a spring unit (either soft or firm) then that would be easy to provide. However, it is the mattress as a whole that is required and therefore people should be asking for FIRM support with SOFT upholstery. Or FIRM support with Firm upholstery. Coupled into this formula should be the persons bodyweight which also gives the ‘Which is firmer?’ question the anomoly. A 8st person on a 1000 unit will find it firm, whereas a 18st person on a 1000 unit will find it soft.
In general the more pocket springs used give more individualised support – the less springs – not so much. This is a sweeping generalisation and of course other factors have to be taken into consideration such as weight, upholstery used on a particular mattress and so forth. However, there has to be common sense applied as well. Spink and Edgar’s facination with thousand upon thousand spring counts will not give you thousand upon thousand extra comfort. Taking our 8st person as an example again – he/she will not require a great deal of support (springs) but will benefit more from increased upholstery levels. Our 18st person does require support – and the more individualised (spring count) support the better for comfort and support.
Specialised calico pocket springs are entirely different to mass produced units and easy to accertain a precise firmness level. There are usually a choice of tensions available to the customer 1.30mm (soft) to 1.90mm (Ultra firm). When combined with certain component fillings it becomes just as easy to give a precise FIRMNESS tension. For instance (and this is only by way of example) Soft Springs with wool and cotton upholstery will give you a soft mattress. Soft springs utilising hair and wool will give you a relatively firmer tension.
This is a tricky and complicated area Paul, but we really do welcome discussion. Spring count and construction types are currently bewildering and it is any wonder people are confused. Ryan and I are currently investigating the pros and cons of double tiered pocket spring units. Vi Spring’s higher end utilise this layering arrangement and the retail price jumps up considerably. Is this use of double tiered pocket springs a means of gaining additional revenue for an extra 1000 pocket springs or so? Or is there a fundamental increase in comfort level? same with Harrison’s Revolution Springs. How heavy do you have to be in order to utilise the internal Joey spring? In which case does a light person have any need to go to this expense when they will never be utilising the spring unit to the full? So many questions and so little time. John and Ryan.
We’re after a Superking Zip & Link and have a budget of £1200, so were amazed to see your top model at half that price (Origins Pocket 2000). What could we get for the extra that we’re prepared to pay, and is it worth it?
Hi Chris, there are manufacturers that I believe to be amongst the cream of the industry such as Harrisons, Vi-Spring, Millbrook etc, and so I would concentrate my efforts looking at what they can offer for your budget. I don’t spend as much time as I would like to evaluate all their models and so I am currently unable to name any specific models. I would be interested though in what you find and how you make your choice. John.