What Is A Pocket Coil Mattress? Your Questions Answered
What Is A Pocket Coil Mattress? A pocket coil mattress is a mattress that has a layer of individually wrapped springs (or coils) inside it. The coils are wrapped in a thin layer of fabric to separate them from each other. This gives a pocket coil mattress better motion isolation than a traditional innerspring (where the coils are all joined together) and is also quieter. You will usually find pocket coils in the support core of mattresses, but some(often high end luxury models) use a small layer of micro pocket coils in the top layers of the mattress, too.
Here’s what we’ll cover in this pocket coil mattress explainer:
- What Is A Pocket Coil Mattress? A Look Inside
- How Does It Compare To An All Foam Mattress?
- How Does It Compare To An Innerspring Mattress?
- Pocket Coil Mattress Pros And Cons
- Top 3 Pocket Coil Mattress Recommendations
What Is A Pocket Coil Mattress? A Look Inside
A pocket coil mattress will be made of several layers.
- Cover: usually a stretch knit, this may or may not be quilted. It depends on the brand you buy. You’ll find similar covers on all foam mattresses, but you’re more likely to see covers quilted with a thin foam layer on pocket coil mattresses.
- Comfort layers: comfort layers of pocket coil mattresses are usually foams of some description. You will find mattress options that use latex, memory foam, polyfoam, or sometimes even a combination of these. A popular term to describe a mattress with a pocket coil base and foam comfort layers is HYBRID. You can expect to find 1-5 inches of foams here.
- Some mattresses use a layer of micro pocket coils in the comfort layer. Micro pocket coils are a short layer of pocketed coils found in the top layers of a mattress. They are too small to be used as the support core, and are just the right size to give pressure relief and contouring. They are usually 1-3 inches high and will have another fabric layer between the coils and the cover. In my opinion, micro pocket coils make for an extremely comfortable sleep experience and it’s not surprising they are often only featured in very high end mattresses.
- Support layer: This is the most common place to find pocket coils in a mattress. Typically standing 7-8 inches high, these coils provide the support core of your mattress. These coils may have reinforced coils around the edges, or different strength coils may be used throughout the base to create targeted support zones (this is a luxury feature)
How Does It Compare To An All Foam Mattress?
Both of these mattress types can use foams in the comfort layers, so the differences really come down to how the base of the mattress performs.
With an all foam mattress, the base is going to be a high density polyfoam. This is a really nice, durable, stable base. It makes for excellent motion isolation and does a good job of supporting the upper foam layers. If you’re really sick of noticing your partner tossing and turning all night, or getting up, then an all foam mattress does the best job of stopping any motion travelling through the mattress to your side.
However, an all foam base means that air cannot circulate freely through the base of the mattress, like it can with pocket coils, so if ventilation is critical for you then pocket coils are superior.
Another area in which pocket coils perform better than all foam mattresses is edge support. All foam mattresses tend to sink a bit when you put pressure on their edges (say if you like to sleep right at the edge of the bed, or you need to balance on the side of the bed when you get up or get dressed). Pocket coil mattresses usually have reinforced edges, sometimes even with foam encasement, which makes their edges much stronger.
An all foam mattress will have less bounce than a pocket coil mattress, which is naturally more bouncy because of the springs inside it.
You can see there are clear pros and cons between the two mattress types, and it depends very much on your own situation as to which one is better for you.
How Does It Compare To An Innerspring Mattress?
In an innerspring mattress, the coils are joined together and the coil unit moves as one piece.
In a pocket coil mattress, the coils are individually wrapped and move individually to each other.
This means that a pocket coil mattress does a much better job at motion isolation than a traditional innerspring mattress: you’ll feel less bouncy movement if your bed partner gets up or moves in the night on a pocket coil mattress.
It also means pocket coils are are quieter than innersprings. You won’t hear any squeaking and creaking as the fabric wrapped around each coil should dampen any sounds.
Pocket coils offer more options in their design due to the springs being individual. This means companies can place stronger coils around the edges or at strategic points through the mattress to create targeted support zones. This is not possible with a standard innerspring mattress.
Since both mattresses use springs, they both will feel bouncier than an all foam mattress to lie on, and both will do a better job at air circulation.
Overall, I think pocket coil mattresses are a much nicer mattress option than innerspring mattresses.
Pocket Coil Mattress Pros And Cons
Pros
- Strong edge support
- Good air circulation
- Pocket coils do not squeak like innersprings can
Cons
- All foam mattresses have better motion isolation
- Heavier than an all foam mattress
My Top 3 Favorite Pocket Coil Mattresses
Here are three of my favorite pocket coil mattresses. They are each quite different than the others, I wanted to give you a good range of options. Click on any of the pictures to find out more.