The Most Common Types of Mattresses You Will Encounter in the Industry
There are many thousands of different mattresses that are sold in the industry that use a wide range of different components and materials in their design which means that it can be confusing or even overwhelming to try to figure out what two different mattresses have in common but in very general terms they can be categorized into a much smaller number of categories based on the primary materials and components that are used in the support core and the comfort layers of the design. While each category can also include hundreds or sometimes thousands of individual models with a very wide range of thicknesses, layering combinations, and firmness levels ... knowing the most common categories of mattresses can sometimes be helpful if your testing indicates a "pattern" that you tend to prefer some types of mattresses over others or in making more "apples to apples" comparisons between mattresses. The "definition" of a category is generally based on the type of support system and the type of comfort layers that are used inside a mattress.
A note about durable mattress materials.
I would also keep in mind that the choice between different types of materials and different types of mattresses is primarily a preference or a budget choice rather than a "better/worse" choice and different people will prefer some types of materials or mattresses over others. Each type of material will tend to have lower quality and less durable versions and higher quality and more durable versions so no matter which types of materials or mattresses you tend to prefer I would always make sure you know the specifics of all the layers and components inside any mattress you are considering (particularly in the upper layers of the mattress) so that you can confirm that there are no lower quality and less durable versions of any particular material in a mattress that could be a "weak link" in terms of its durability and useful life and how quickly you may need to replace it (see this article).
These are the dozen or so most common types of mattresses that you will find in the industry.
Standard Innerspring Mattress
These are still by far the most common mattresses sold in the industry and are still very popular. They all have some type of innerspring as a support system and polyfoam or natural or synthetic fibers in the comfort layers. They have the familiar "feel" and "bounce" of an innerspring which can also be helpful for the "other" activities that happen on a mattress. They can range from very low-quality "cheap" mattresses that use lower-cost innersprings and lower quality and less durable materials in the padding to some very high-quality and more costly mattresses including some that are two-sided. The type of innerspring and the layering above the springs will make a significant in the feel performance of the mattress and in the amount of motion transfer of the mattress as well. The weakest link of most traditional innerspring mattresses will tend to be the quality foam density of any polyfoam above the spring ... not the innerspring itself.
All or 'Mostly' Latex Mattresses
These are generally very high-quality mattresses and can be among the most durable mattresses in the industry. Latex is the most resilient and "springy" foam material and other than innersprings is the most lively and responsive type of mattress so it can also be great for some of the other activities that happen on a mattress as well. There is a wide range of latex designs that can use either Dunlop or Talalay latex rubber is a high-quality, resilient, and durable foam-like material made from either natural latex rubber (NR), synthetic latex (SBR), or a blend of the two. Dunlop blends (NR/SBR) use various percentages of both natural and synthetic foams in their formulations. The Talalay process is a newer, more expensive, and more sophisticated high-tech method of rubber fabrication method developed during WWII. This process creates vacuum in a mold in which the latex is poured causing the latex to expand. The expanded latex is subsequently frozen, preventing the particles from settling before being heated and cured, resulting in a lower-density rubber. Despite using less latex in the mold core, it has a stronger, thicker cell structure, making up for the lower amount of latex in the material in terms of durability. The process allows for more consistent control over and a wider range of firmness. Only a few manufacturers worldwide use the Talalay process. (Radium Latex International who changed its name in 2015 to Talalay Global) Talalay latex, considered the most temperature-neutral of all the foam materials, is desirable as a comfort layer for pressure relief and often paired with its dense, more supportive counterpart Dunlop. Talalay latex using natural or synthetic latex or a blend of each. While latex is a very high-quality and durable material ... it is also a more costly material than other types of foam as well.
While each of these categories has a very wide range of different models and designs and can be anywhere from very soft to very firm ... knowing the different mattress categories may help you to identify any general patterns in the types of mattresses and materials that your testing indicates you tend to prefer and help you narrow down your choices a little more easily.
