The water does the supporting and the fiber layers control the stability (water movement). The more fiber layers, the less water movement. They all offer superb and adjustable support which is adjusted by the amount of water in the mattress. The amount of water in the mattress is easily adjusted at anytime.
To help you fine tune your mattress stability requirements, our guide (because there are no hard and fast rules, just your personal preferences) is based on 1000s of sales according to our customers preferences over the last 31+ years, and our knowledge as Waterbed specialists. There are NO hard and fast rules, just your personal preference.
Check below to see which would suit you. For example:-
Type 1 is ideal for single people, couples and children who do not mind the gentle water movement. Provides total and even support, optimum comfort, keeps the neck, shoulders, arms, back, hips and leg joints most flexible.
Type 2 is ideal for single people and couples who want less movement than type 1, but still want some water movement. Provides total and even support, optimum comfort, keeps the joints flexible.
Type 3 is made for couples who want a tactful balance between the 5 types of mattress, provides total and even support, optimum comfort, keeps the joints nicely flexible.
Type 4 is ideal for couples who want slightly less water movement than type 3, but still require total and even support, optimum comfort, and still feels like a waterbed.
Type 5 is ideal for couples who want a waterbed with almost no movement at all, with total and even support, and optimum comfort.
In relation to water mattress stability (see below), retailers use different terms that mean the same thing, e.g. in the Type 3 column, 6 layers of 1" fiber or 8x 2cm layers and up to 4 seconds movement are all the same type or class of mattress. We have made it easier to choose by placing some popular retail terms into there respective types:-
Type 1 | Type 2 | Type 3 | Type 4 | Type 5 |
up to 20 seconds of gentle water movement | up to 8 seconds of gentle water movement | up to 4 seconds of gentle water movement | up to 2 seconds of gentle water movement | up to 1 second of gentle water movement |
No fibre layers | 2 layers of 2" fibre | 3 layers of 2" fibre | 4 layers of 2" fibre | 5 layers of 2" fibre |
No fibre layers | 4 layers of 1" fibre | 6 layers of 1" fibre | 8 layers of 1" fibre | 10 layers of 1" fibre |
No fibre layers | 4" deep fibre | 6" deep fibre | 8" deep fibre | 10"deep fibre |
No fibre layers | 6x 2cm layers of fibre | 8x 2cm layers of fibre | 10x 2cm layers of fibre | 12x 2cm layers of fibre |
no reduced movement | 50% reduced movement | 75% reduced movement | 95% reduced movement | 99% reduced movement |
Free Flow | Semi Stable | Stable | Super Stable | Extra Super Stable |