Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
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All of these companies and brands are interrelated. The differences are more like two varieties of red or green apples rather than apples to oranges. This is a composite of the following threads from the old forum. It might feel kind of jumbled, but we don't need two threads on Intelli-Gel. Has anyone ever tried an Intelli-bed? Intelli-Gel toppers First, lets introduce the players: Intelli-Bed and MyComfort are separate and distinct companies. Each sells a product they call Intelli-Gel, but they are not exactly the same. Both are manufactured under license from the same company (EdiZone) and they are more similar than they are different, but they are different products, manufactured by different companies. I will talk a lot more about these companies in subsequent posts. GelTechnology is the company which manufactures the Intelli-Gel for Intelli-Bed. Their trade-names for the honeycomb material is CrossGel, and the gel-like rubber that it's made from, FlexGel. GelTec does not manufacture mattresses, but they do sell a CrossGel topper they call the GelBed Topper. EdiZONE is "a developer of products and technology. Its business model is to conceive and patent unique and valuable technologies and product designs, develop them into prototype products, and then license them to a leader in the applicable marketplace." They invented Gelastic and Intelli-Gel and license these products to Intelli-Bed and MyComfort. Not coincidentally, all four of these companies are based in Utah. Intelli-Gel is protected by U.S. Patent 6,026,527 (and 5,749,111) Gelatinous cushions with buckling columns. Gelastic is covered by patent 5,994,450 Gelatinous elastomer and methods of making and using the same and articles made therefrom. Granted, I am a geek, but I found the 527 patent to be quite interesting and insightful. Disclosure: I have an Intelli-Gel topper on order from MyComfort. I'm trying to keep my posts here informational and not a sales pitch, but anyone with any vested interest in a product cannot be totally objective about it. Just keep that in the back of your mind as you read my posts. I'm an Intelli-Gel fan boy. At least until I get the topper and actually sleep on it. This message was modified Oct 30, 2007 by a moderator
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Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
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I stopped by the other Intelli-Bed store in St Louis after work and managed to sweet-talk a seat cushion out of the salesman. There was a little miniature sample of Intelli-Gel laying on one of the mattresses and I asked if that was the stuff the seat cushions were made out of. He said no but would I like a seat cushion? "Sure." So he went to the back and brought out a seat cushion like what MyComfort sells for $79.99 and handed it to me. It says NOT FOR RESALE on the cover, so I guess it's a promotional item. Darn nice for a freebie. Here I have been BEGGING for a sample of Intelli-Gel for a month, and I finally have one. The seat cushion gel is 1.25" thick vs. 1.75" for the gel in the Intelli-Bed mattresses, but appears to otherwise be the same. I suspect the cushion walls are a bit thicker since with a seat cushion there is a lot of weight on a small area. Gelastic, the gel-like rubber that Intelli-Gel is made of, is sturdy stuff. When I pulled the cushion out of the zippered fabric case, there was a little "noodle" of the Gelastic material that fell free, a little less than 1" long and just bigger in diameter than a standard round toothpick. I can stretch this little noodle out to a length of 8" (more than 8 times it's length), at which point it's barely thicker than dental floss. Rather than breaking it slips out of my fingers - I cannot hold onto it tight enough to pull it apart. Very elastic and very strong. If MyComfort makes good on their promise to send a seat cushion along with my Cal King topper, I will have one of each version of Intelli-Gel and so will be able to compare the two materials head-to-head. This message was modified Oct 2, 2007 by haysdb
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Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
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The 2.8" of latex in the MyComfort Intelli-Gel with latex overlay is in fact ILD 19 as reported. That's intestesting. 2.25" Intelli-Gel over 1" polyurethane over 2.8" of ILD 19. That's over 6" of "comfort layer". On a purely personal note, if I find the 2" of ILD 32 to be too firm, I will have to drop all the way to a 24 or even softer because I don't know of anyone who offers a latex topper in an ILD between 32 and 24. I guess maybe I shouldn't be so worried about that being too soft. |
Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
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I finally got a sample of Intelli-Gel from MyComfort. Turns out they've had a problem with their website and were not getting emails. The samples are 2.5"x2.5"x5/8" thick. They aren't samples of any particular product but rather are designed to demonstrate the properties of Intelli-Gel. They are virtually identical to what I saw at an Intelli-Bed store. The sample came with a 4-page Ink-jet printout describing the material. I have been sleeping on my Intelli-Gel topper now for 2 weeks and I still really like it. It definitely needs something softer underneath than what I have now (ILD 38 latex) for side-sleeping, but I'm working on that. |
Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
| We finally received our MyComfort Pocket Gel bed yesterday (after waiting 5 weeks) and slept on it last night. I have to agree with you, haysdb, it was too firm. My back ached and I spent the night waking up periodically, trying to find a comfortable position. I am primarily a side sleeper, but some back. Oddly, I also felt like I was trying to dig my buttocks out of a hole. I know, that's the collapsing columns doing their job, but I'm not sure it helped my back. I should also point out that I have an old back injury. My wife slept great,although I saw her in the middle of the bed (the non-gel part of the pocket bed) some of the night. Tonight, I'm going to try adding a very soft 2" PU egg crate topper that I have. This topper varies from 2" thickness at the peaks to 1/2" at the troughs and is very soft. Before we junked our old bed, I tried this on top of it, but it conformed to the body imprints and the "hammock" of my old bed. |
Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
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I have a hunch that adding anything on top of the Intelli-Gel could actually make it feel MORE firm. Anything on top will serve to distribute the load and prevent the Intelli-Gel from collapsing under your pressure points. The mattress itself will not "break in" but do give your body a few nights to adjust to the new sleep surface. Something I felt the first nights was that areas of my body that had not been supporting any weight were now supporting some and I awoke with some minor aches in a few areas. |
Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
| Maybe you're right - I could get used to it. But I don't think I should have to get used to a bed. Recently, I slept on a hotel's bed that was heavenly. It was a plush, but not pillow top. I didn't check the manufacturer, but probably one of the S-brands. Of course, it probably had PU foam on top, which wouldn't last long. Well, if I do go the PU topper route, at least it's cheap to change out every few years. |
Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
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donw wrote: Maybe you're right - I could get used to it. But I don't think I should have to get used to a bed. I don't disagree with you, but Intelli-Gel is "a horse of a different color." I'm just saying to keep an open mind for a few nights. It's unfortunate that you don't have the option to try different layers under the Intelli-Gel. My own experience is that it does a great job of pressure point reduction, but needs something "conforming" below it for side-sleepers. In your case that should be the individually pocketed coils. |
Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
Well, I slept with the eggcrate topper over the Pocket Gel last night, and I think it helped. The whole mattress generally felt softer, and I do not think it interfered with the Gel buckling - it is so soft that it just followed the gel. I did sleep better, although I had to turn ever so often. I still think there is a spine alignment problem with my hips sinking in so far, so tonight, I'm going to try placing a 1/2" thick book under the mattress right at my hips. This should bring my hips up a bit. I may have to borrow your title and call this "frankenbed II". |
Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
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My replacement topper is being delivered tomorrow. One of the quirky things with this topper is that the quilted top gets a big ridge down through it. This seems to be an artifact of the quilted top as there is no ridge in the Intelli-Gel. It takes some coaxing to get it to disappear. Since I seem to sleep in the same spot all the time, I wonder if this isn't a sort of "body impression" in the quilted top, which is 1" of PU foam quilted inside a stretch knit material. Edit: I just want to add something here that doesn't deserve a separate post, but I'd like it to be part of the knowledge base. I had asked Devin, the Warehouse Manager for MyComfort, awhile back whose memory foam they used in their memory foam mattress. When I called him this week to pester him about my free seat cushion, he told me it's Foamex memory foam. He didn't know exactly what, but unless it's something from one of Foamex' subsidiaries, like Premier Foam, it can only be Sensus if it's 5 lb foam. This message was modified Oct 20, 2007 by haysdb
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Re: Intelli-Gel, CrossGel, FlexGel, Galastic, Intelli-Bed, MyComfort, GelTec
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I am having an issue with my Intelli-Gel overlay that is completely unexpected. I am sleeping hot. I bought a down comforter a short time back and thought it was just that being too warm. It really was too warm so I bought a lighter weight comforter and a light weight duvet cover. It has still been too warm, but after spending a lot of money of down comforters and duvet covers, I wanted to sleep with one damnit! Besides, I thought it would surely cool off any day now. Heck, we've had snow on Halloween in years past and this year it's been in the 80's. So last night it cools off (40's), and I'm looking forward to snuggling under my down comforter. I changed positions throughout the night, seeking out the cool sheets. When I awoke this morning I lay there wondering why I was so hot, because the room air was cool, and I was sleeping under only the lightweight down comforter with a simple sheeting duvet cover. Nothing else, just the comforter. I came to the conclusion that I was hot on the bottom, not the top. What I expected was that the Intelli-Gel would not be hot to sleep on. With all that airspace, how could it be? When I asked someone at MyComfort if anyone had ever complained of their overlays sleeping hot, I was told "No, never." So I have refused to believe it, but what else could it be? Under me, between myself and the overlay is a fitted sheet and nothing else. No mattress pad, no mattress protector. I have a theory. The Gelastic, the elastic rubber material that Intelli-Gel is made of, would itself be a good insulator. The column walls are not air permeable, so if the columns are sealed at the top and bottom, the air inside will be trapped and would gradually heat up. On top of the Intelli-Gel is a thin quilted ticking - 1" or less of Urethane foam quilted into a stretch knit fabric. Below is another thin layer of foam, less than 1" thick. Under that is the bottom cover of the overlay, which is vinyl. My theory is that the air in the columns is trapped between the body and the vinyl, the air heats up from body heat, and has nowhere to go. Under the pressure points the columns collapse, creating even smaller airspaces. This could be a totally whacked out theory, but I AM sleeping hot, and there is no denying that. I am open to alternative explanations. I will have updates on this as my experimentation continues. |