Hardside or softside?

If you're thinking of a waterbed your first decision has to do with what type it should bem hardside or softside. Opinions, tastes and feelings are mixed regarding this question. It's worth considering the following in making a judgement.

hardside waterbed structure

1. mattress  2. safety liner  3. heating pad  4. frame  5. decking  6. pedestal

The hardside waterbed is regarded as the older, more traditional type since it is essentially the same modern waterbed conceived in the 60's. As its name suggests, the mattress's side support is provided by a solid, in most cases wood frame. The otherwise hard frame can be "softened" with padded upholstery or by placing padded rails on it. The height of the watermattress with this type is at least 20cm because this amount of water is necessary for the body to not touch the decking when lying on it. In most cases a necessary, albeit this mattress pad is placed on the top of the mattress, and on top of that the sheet on which we lay. This configuration allows our body to be in most immediate contact with the heated mattress leading many to consider the hardside waterbed to be the most comfortable.

softside waterbed structure

1. The waterbed's outside bamboo viscose fabric cover whose soft, padded feel and appearance is especially pleasant.
2. Specially designed and reinforced foam rails which help the mattress keep its shape and allow for easier and more comfortable sitting on and standing up from the waterbed.
3. The mattress's inner fiber wave reduction layers provide a calm and stabil feeling while allowing the benefits of even weight distribution to be realized.
4. Our beds are available with a foundation, made from solid pine and OSB material, clad with the same fabric as the mattress.

The softside waterbed was conceived a couple decades later prompted by a desire to replicate the look of the traditional American mattress and box spring since from the outside it appeared no different and blended better with customary American bedroom furniture. With this type the mattress's necessary side support is provided by a frame comprised of "hard" foam, which together with the mattress is enveloped by a zippered cover. Shortly after its introduction it turned out that the customary 20+ cm height of the watermattress could be lowered while increasing the thickness of the padding above it. For many this led to two advantages: the water's movement - regardless of wave reduction - was muted, and with sufficient padding heating the waterbed became unnecessary since enough padding sufficient insulation between the unheated water and our body.

After all this chosing a type is a matter of personal preference. Some consider it a benefit to not have to heat their waterbed, while others are especially fond of its warm comfort. Some consider it a priority to reduce water movement as much as possible, others enjoy immediate proximity to the mattress and the feeling of flotation as they lay on it. Some feel that even the "softened" hard frame is too hard, others prefer its stability.

While the decision rests in the hands of our prospective customers, we will do everything we can to make sure the decision is an informed one in their best interest.

Wave reduction?

For a waterbed to function, that is to conform to the shape of our bodies, it has to move.  How much the water in the waterbed continues to move after it has taken up our body's contours depends on its wave reduction.  There are those whom the water's movement doesn't disturb in the least bit, and there are those who would be happier if it didn't move at all.  If we decide on a waterbed it's important to chose the optimal degree of wave reduction.

fiber wave reduction layers

A further consideration is how much it disturbs our possible sleeping partner if they feel something of our movement.  The truth is that on every type of bed one partner will feel something of the other's movement, but on a waterbed this feeling is at first unusual.  It can become accustomed to, but wave reduction can help shorten the time required.

No one is going to buy a waterbed without trying it first, but opportunities are rare - we are no exception - for trying all the degrees of wave reduction in order.  For this reason we've prepared a series of videos of the different degrees so that if we've tried one or more we can have an idea of the rest based on comparison of the videos with our personal experience.