Do you love the bounce that a spring mattress offers?
Isn’t it exciting to jump over the mattress and have a pillow fight with your sibling or anyone else?
Of course, it is fun, and that’s why you shouldn’t delay much in getting your dream spring mattress from the market. However, when you surf through the products, you will come across two different terms- “Bonnell” and “Pocket”. Now you might be wondering what these terms are and whether they have any significance for the spring mattresses.
To answer your questions, we have illustrated the Bonnell and pocket spring mattresses, explaining what they are, their functions, and more related aspects. With this following demonstration, you will complete clarification about the spring mattresses and their relationships with these terms.
1. Bonnell Spring
The Bonnell Spring Mattresses are one of the oldest types of Mattresses that have coils that are interconnected with one another. The Bonnell Spring Mattresses are firm, and they have an hourglass shape.
Since the Coils are interlocked, it does come with some Partner disturbance, and it is Motion Sensitive, Which means that when two people sleep on the mattress and one of them turns to the other side or moves, it disturbs the other person who is sleeping on the mattress too.
However, the Bonnell Spring Mattresses are highly durable, and they are one of the most affordable mattresses that are available. They also will last you a lifetime if maintained properly. You can also tilt the mattress easily and use the other side of it too. In addition, it is soft yet firm, which provides you with the softness to comfortably sleep and the support to turn around.
Pros:
- It makes sure to provide you with firm support .
- It is highly affordable and suitable for people on a tight budget.
Cons:
- It is Motion sensitive and does not come with Zero Partner Disturbance.
2. Pocket Spring
The Pocket Spring Mattress are also Spring mattresses that have an hourglass shape and come with coils. The major difference here is that the coils are not wired together and designed to work individually.
The Pocket Spring Mattresses are more expensive than the Bonnell Spring Mattress. Since each of the coils works independently, it adjusts according to each curve of your body and gives you the excess support that you need. It also has Zero Partner Disturbance which means even when one of the two people who sleep on the mattress turns around or moves, it doesn’t disturb the other person.
The Pocket Spring Mattress also hugs your curves and treats all your pressure points, providing you with a better and more comfortable sleep. It is a very soft mattress that gives you the much-needed support by working with every pressure point and supporting every curve of the body.
Pros:
It has coils that work individually on their own, thus providing Zero partner Disturbance.
It provides support to each and every curve of your body and helps you sleep well.
Cons:
It is on the expensive side. They are more expensive than the Bonnell spring mattress.
3. Definition and Structure
A spring mattress has a thick layer of spring coils, which may or may not be connected. Mattresses where all the spring coils are interconnected can be termed Bonnell spring mattresses. On the contrary, the pocket spring mattresses have individual springs wrapped up in thin membranes, also known as pockets. Here, no spring coil inter-connection is present, and each spring will operate separately.
3.1 Working of Bonnell spring
Let’s consider a spring coil layer where each coil is connected to the surrounding coils. When you push three spring coils, they will compress due to the elasticity. However, the external force will get translated to the connected springs, albeit in a lesser amount. Therefore, apart from the three coils over which you have applied the force, the surrounding coils will also compress to different extents.
3.2 Working of pocket spring
In pocket spring mattresses, all the coils are wrapped with a fabric individually. You can consider that each spring coil is present within their cocooned pockets, with no connection between them. When you apply compression force from the top, let’s assume that three coils will get compressed completely while three surrounding coils present in contact with the pressure source will compress halfway. Due to the absence of connections between the coils won’t translate the compression force to the surrounding coils.
4. Features of a Bonnell and Pocket Spring Mattress
4.1 Conformity
The conformity of a mattress is defined by its ability to change the surface structure with heat and pressure. It will hug your body like a second skin, depending on how much body surface is in contact with the mattress’ top surface. A mattress that conforms according to the body shape is helpful for orthopaedic patients or someone suffering from stiff back muscles and bone. Therefore, it is crucial to compare the Bonnell and pocket spring mattresses based on their conformity rate.
- Bonnell spring mattresses have interconnected coils. Therefore, when you put pressure on them, the force will be translated to the surrounding coils, due to which it won’t conform much, no matter how heat or pressure is applied.
- In pocket spring mattresses, the coils are not connected. Thus, only those coils will compress over which the pressure is applied. The force won’t be translated to the nearby coils, thereby making these mattresses capable of offering a high level of conformity.
4.2 Durability
Let’s compare the Bonnell and pocket spring mattresses based on durability. Several controversies need to be addressed at the earliest. For example:
- Bonnell springs will translate the pressure being applied to the surrounding coils. As a result, no single coil will withstand the pressure solely. This can define the high durability of the Bonnell springs.
- However, if we consider the pocket spring coils, the coils won’t translate the forces. Therefore, when you apply the forces, the impact will be on a couple of coils only. Prolonged use may cause local depression.
- The Bonnell spring layer takes longer to come back to the original shape. If the forces applied are too much, the coils can suffer from deformation. It will impact the coils over which the pressure is applied and the units where the force is translated.
- On the contrary, the pocket springs behave independently of each other. Therefore, they can return to their original shape without any hassle.
As so many different factors impact the mattress durability, you must ensure that the chosen product can meet your requirements without suffering from sagging and localized depression.
4.3 Motion Transfer
When someone sleeping beside you continues to turn and twist, you can easily feel the dip on the mattress. This phenomenon is known as motion transfer. It will disturb your sleep and cause squeaking sounds with every movement. You can describe the behaviour of both Bonnell and pocket spring mattresses based on motion transfer below:
- The Bonnell springs are connected, and therefore, they will translate the compression forces to the nearby coils. This causes the transfer of motion from one point to the other.
- On the contrary, the pocket springs compress and return to the original shape independently of each other. Therefore, they won’t transfer the motion from one point to another, and you can sleep comfortably.
4.4 Firmness
Firmness is defined as the extent of the hardness or softness of a mattress. Both Bonnell and pocket springs have firmness ranging between 6 to 7.5. However, the firmness will vary according to the other supportive and comfort layers if we compare the overall mattress. So, when you have to compare these two spring mattresses, consider the overall firmness and not the spring firmness.
5. Bonnell Vs Pocket Spring Mattress – A Comparative Study
| Features | Bonnell spring | Pocket spring |
| Durability | Less durable | More durable |
| Firmness | Less firmness | More firmness |
| Temperature regulation | Allows optimal thermal regulation | Thermal regulation is not at its optimal value |
| Motion transfer | Yes | No |
| Noise production | No | No |
| Conformity | Less conformity | More conformity |
| Cost | Cheaper | Costlier |
Bonnell Spring Vs Pocket Spring, which should I choose?
Both the mattresses have a lot of similarities, and they have their own advantages and disadvantages too. Both the mattresses are Spring mattresses, and they both do come with spring coils and are bouncy too.
The Bonnell Spring Mattress has wired coils which have partner disturbance, and the Pocket Spring Mattress has coils that work individually and has zero partner disturbance.
If Zero partner Disturbance and supporting the curves of your body is what matters to you the most, then you can go ahead and choose the Pocket Spring Mattress, and if Price and firmness are your concern, you can go ahead and choose the Bonnell Spring Mattress.
Conclusion
Both the Bonnell and pocket springs have gained huge popularity in the market. These mattresses are wonderful in providing comfort and back support, but they can also last long. However, you must use other materials with the spring layer when buying a spring mattress. For example, suppose you want to have a foam innerspring mattress. In that case, you can look for memory foam, latex foam, HR foam, and HD foam in combination with the spring coil layer.
