73
gauge to gauges above 16 which are much thinner and less firm although higher gauge thinner coils can shape themselves to a body profile more effectively. While the gauge of innerspring wire and the number of coils in the innerspring are the most commonly used “statistics” of innersprings used to measure its qualities, these by themselves can be very misleading. All innersprings can be made less or more firm through the use of thicker gauge wire, a greater number of coils, a larger number of “turns” in each coil, tempering, type of steel used, different construction methods, coil shape, coil height, and different insulator layers that are placed on top of them. Bonnell, continuous coils, and offset coils are also joined together with a tightly coiled thinner wire called a helical and different types and designs of these can also make a big difference in how each
individual coil is affected its neighbors and the firmness and conforming ability of an innerspring. Pocket coils are kept together through the use of fabric “pockets” which are joined together (rather than the coils themselves being joined) or in the case of higher quality versions by “hand tying” each coil to other coils near it. These pocketed or hand tied coils have more independent movement which gives Pocket coils their greater “shape conforming” ability while the other 3 types act more together in a group with other coils because of the helical connections. All other factors being equal, this gives them greater firmness. Connections between the coils help the mattress retain its shape. Most coils are connected by interconnecting wires; encased coils are not connected, but the fabric encasement helps preserve the mattress shape.