Are Foam or Feather Beds Softer?

Feather Beds

• Feather beds have a reputation of being the ultimate in mattress softness and luxury. Quality mattresses made from filling covering a firm, spring framework often have an upper section or “topper” that determines the softness of the bed. A foam topper is commonly fixed to the mattress, and a feather topper is easier to maintain if it is loose. A feather bed need only be shaken well and fluffed up to return to its full measure of softness. Down comes from the undercoat of the bird, which consists of fine, shaftless feathers. The majority of the feathers and down used in bedding comes from geese, commonly from birds slaughtered for food.

Manufacturing

• Feather beds are manufactured using a “baffle-box” design, which consists of two 12-inch square layers of outer material sewn together with a 2-inch gusset edging. The box is stuffed full of feathers, down or a combination of the two and stitched together with other boxes to the required size. The space inside the box enables the feathers to fluff up to maximum loft, giving them greater softness because of the air cushion between them.

Foam

• Developed by NASA in the 1970s as part of a space project, the intended purpose of memory foam was to provide cushioning for the astronauts during the gravitational pressure of the entry and exit of earth’s atmosphere; however, NASA never used the material for this purpose. Made from open cell polyurethane foam, the memory foam is sensitive to increased temperature. This makes it expand at the point of contact, providing softer support for the body where it rests against it and rebounding to its original density after removal of the pressure.

Disadvantages

• Feather beds can cause irritation for those with respiratory problems such as asthma or rhinitis allergies, while memory foam may contain chemicals that give off odors initially. Complaints about memory foam beds include making the sleeper too hot and discomfort experienced when changing position. The latter is a result of the presence of the body’s indentations in the foam, caused by some types of memory being slow to rebound to its original state. Manufacturers address both of these issues by increasing airflow within the cell structure.