Serta’s i-comfort gel is a layer of gel used to coat memory foam. The advantage of this is heat dissipation which is a problem with traditional memory foam, since it reacts to body heat it tends to sleep hot which is a negative to some users. This material will wear more like memory foam which in third party testing showed 4x the wear characteristic of the solid, co-polymer gel material.

Nexgel is similar to intelli-gel in appearance and shape, but by law must contain at least 15% foam. This material was also developed and patented by Edizone, LLC to be a competitor to their intelli-gel materials. Independent testing shows that this material wears more like foam showing 50% more wear and loss of cushioning value when compared to the solid, co-polymer intelli-gel.

Technogel is a bumpy gel surface similar to what Dr. Scholl’s uses in their foot pad design. Dr. Scholl’s did not license the column buckling rights from Edizone, LLC and is therefore using a relatively flat gel surface in their mattress designs which negates much of the pressure relieving characteristic of the intelli-gel material.

So while there are a lot of new gel materials hitting the market, they have very different material make-ups and cushioning and durability characteristics. This is bound to cause confusion which the consumer will be forced to use trial and error to resolve. This is an area where the smart buyer who does their research will be rewarded because these new gel products do not compare in either pressure relief or durability to the solid co-polymer gel trademarked intelli-gel in its exclusive column buckling form. Advanced Comfort Technologies, Inc. has the exclusive right to use intelli-gel in mattresses for the home market and has created the intelliBED product line to optimize the performance of this material in retail mattresses.

Watch the Fine Print in your Warranty

Most mattresses come with some kind of warranty and the more expensive ones will have a 20 years warranty. How can this happen if they use materials that will only last 8 years at best? These are limited warranties. The fine print in the warranty defines normal wear as a body indention of 1 1/2 inches. So what happens when you can’t sleep on the mattress and report it as defective? Eventually, the manufacturer will send someone to your house to inspect the problem. The first thing they do is inspect the mattress for any sign of moisture or staining.

This automatically voids your warranty coverage. If you pass that test then they take a ruler and measure the depth of the indention (body impression) with no one in the bed. If its less than 1 1/2 inches it falls under normal wear. Finally you must be the original purchaser of the mattress and have the original receipt. So mattress companies get away with using materials that wear out with use similar to the tires on your car by offering warranties that provide almost no real protection to the consumer.

What can I do if my mattress has worn out way before its time?

The old saying “once fooled, twice shy” comes to mind. You can buy a new mattress, but find one that uses materials that will wear and function properly throughout the warranty period. One such material used for cushioning in place of foam is Intelli-gel, a modern co-polymer gel that will last 30 years without showing significant wear.

Another option is to give your current bed a mattress make over. After all, the steel coil innerspring in the bed and the box springs are probably still good since they wear much longer than the foams used for cushioning. You can replace the cushioning layer with a layer of the intelli-gel material and extend the life of your bed by another 5-10 years. For an investment way less than the cost of buying a whole new bed you can have a top of the line mattress that will wear far longer than the original did. The intelli-gel material is available exclusively by intelliBED and can be purchased at our store.