High Resilience Foam vs. Orthopedic

High Resilience Foam

High resilience is a polyurethane foam that has a much higher responsiveness than memory foam, which has a slower response. Because of this, those that enjoy more of a bounce in their mattress will gravitate towards this type of foam.

High resilience foams are much less popular than memory foam, but they make up important layers of many popular mattresses. Oftentimes the transitional layer or base layer of memory foam mattresses will contain high resilience foam at high densities. This provides a more even feel across the mattress, and less of a sinking feeling that memory foam alone would have.

Like all polyurethane foam, high resilience foam is made of a blend of polyurethane and has a tendency to off-gas. If you are susceptible to lung issues, please do additional research on the quality of foams before purchasing.

Pros: Quicker response than memory foam provides many mattresses with an even supportive feel.

Cons: Sagging and off-gassing problems with lower quality foams.

Orthopedic

Orthopedic is a term that in the context of mattresses means supporting joints, bones, and the overall body. It is commonly used for mattresses that help with spinal alignment and recovery from joint or back issues.

In this way, there is no one material that is certified orthopedic, and the term can be used my manufacturers and marketers to help sell their mattresses.

For this reason, it is important to do additional research on any bed that claims to be orthopedic to make sure that it will actually help straighten the spine and alleviate pain.

Pros: For mattresses that stand true to the name, pain alleviation and better posture are some of the benefits.

Cons: It is difficult to decipher the truth from marketing on orthopedic mattresses.

Learn More About High Resilience Foam

Learn More About Orthopedic

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Material Scores

Overall Score:
High Resilience Foam: 8.9/10
Orthopedic: 9/10

Comfort:
High Resilience Foam: 8.8/10
Orthopedic: 9.1/10

Softness:
High Resilience Foam: 8.7/10
Orthopedic: 9.1/10

Cooling:
High Resilience Foam: 8/10
Orthopedic: 9/10

Hypoallergenic:
High Resilience Foam: 8.1/10
Orthopedic: 9/10

No Odor:
High Resilience Foam: 8.4/10
Orthopedic: 9/10

General Support:
High Resilience Foam: 9.4/10
Orthopedic: 9.3/10

Eco-Conscious:
High Resilience Foam: 8.5/10
Orthopedic: 8.9/10

Price Value:
High Resilience Foam: 9.4/10
Orthopedic: 8.8/10