The best cooling seat cushions can provide some relief, both in terms of support and temperature control. But you must first undergo a little bit of research before making your decision to find the right one for you! For starters, it’s important to know that there are many options as far as materials go including natural latex, memory, or gel foam.
As a general rule, the best cooling seat cushions are latex foam with a high-density base of 80 to 96 kg/m3, and a soft top layer of 64 to 70 kg/m3. Open-cell latex seat cushion processing is breathable, allowing air to circulate throughout the cushion to keep you cool.
Foam is a type of material that has the ability to contour and hug your body. These qualities are very important for people who spend long hours seated in an office chair, such as clerks or accountants.
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What is the Best Breathable Seat Cushion?
The difference between foam types can be confusing; even experts have trouble telling them apart! There’s latex foam – it usually feels soft like memory foam but with more bounce back (resiliency). Gel foams are made from petroleum byproducts combined with water-based polymers which give them similar properties to both latex and memory foams. While this sounds great on paper, Gel also contains fire-retardant chemicals so you might want to do some research before deciding what kind of cushion would best suit your needs.
Here we will examine how latex, memory, and gel foams differ in terms of cooling, resiliency, comfort, and alignment for seat cushions. Tested on hundreds of patients, we could find the best options for you or your loved one!
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Cooling Effect of Seat Cushion Foams
Natural Latex (5/5) ★★★★★
Natural latex foam is naturally cool, which means it doesn’t have the thermal problems other foams can develop. Dunlop and Talalay have the ability to circulate air throughout their materials in order to keep you cool. Natural latex is an open-celled foam that promotes airflow.
Our patients gave natural latex the best feedback regarding its cooling effect on seat cushions, pillows, mattresses, and lumbar supports.
Natural Latex also came out on top in our evaluation of comfort, resiliency, eco-friendliness, and overall client satisfaction. On its own, natural latex was not able to support the weight of the end user. We found that a multi-layered approach with a high-density foam base and a softer (comfort) layer on top was most comfortable.
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Memory Foam (2/5) ☆☆☆★★
Due to memory foam’s capacity to hold more body heat than other types of foam, some people may become uncomfortable or even overheated when sitting on a memory foam seat cushion, as well as experience a decrease in work quality.
Mattresses made of memory foam are another example. Memory foam mattress owners often complain about their beds sleeping too hot. It goes without saying that these individuals will also feel fatigued and unrefreshed when morning comes. Memory foam products, like many modern bedding products, can cause overheating problems, especially for those who have problems with excessively cold nights (or occasionally sweating) – a problem discovered by professionals during countless research studies on this topic.
As far as staying cool is concerned, memory foam was not rated highly by our patients in seat cushions, pillows or mattresses. As a matter of fact, most of our patients said that memory foam made them hotter. What is the Best Breathable Seat Cushion?
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Gel Foam(s) Seat Wedge – Gel Seat Cushion
Gel Foam is a somewhat nebulous and confusing term to consumers looking for a cooling seat cushion. This article will focus on three types of Gel foams:
- Gel/memory foam combinations
- Gel bladder cushions
- Gel honeycombs
Gel/Memory Foam Combinations (1/5) ☆☆☆☆★
This combination is a memory foam base and a silicone gel-infused top. Online you can find these types of seat cushions with a ‘U-shaped ergonomic design that conforms to your bottom, creating a cradle that supports your body’.
It is claimed that these cushions are ‘unique’ and ‘cooling’. Well, the only thing that makes it different is the outer wrapping and packaging. That’s all! We found these cushions to have the lowest satisfaction ratings from our patients when it comes to cooling, comfort, and support.
Gel Bladder Cushion (3/5) ☆☆★★★
A gel “bladder” is typically used on wheelchair cushions, and it is typically filled with pure silicone gels. Gel bladders are either layered over a high-resiliency foam or between two layers of EVA foam (ethylene-vinyl acetate). There is a general rule that the more foam layers, the stiffer and firmer the cushion will be.
These types of cushions have an initial cooling effect; however, it soon wears off because the EVA membranes can’t circulate air evenly to reduce heat. Gel bladder cushions may prevent pressure sores, but do not provide sufficient support for comfort.
Gel Honeycomb Cushions (3/5) ☆☆★★★
These types of cushions are silicone-based honeycomb structured cooling cushion foams. This gel seat cushion is better, unlike memory foam, as it has free-flowing air channels that will prevent sweating and keep you cool instead of causing you to overheat in your car seat. Silicone is durable and resilient and retains its original shape over time.
This type of cooling cushion, however, didn’t rank well when it came to comfort, support, or satisfaction. The biggest complaint was that these honeycomb-shaped cushions bottomed out easily, which was uncomfortable for the user.
What Is the Best Breathable Seat Cushion?
We found that natural latex and Gel honeycomb cushions came out on top. Here’s why:
Natural latex Seat Cushions
Natural latex foam is naturally cool, which means it doesn’t have the thermal problems other foams can develop. This natural open-cell foam promotes airflow to stay cooler. We found that natural latex was the most comfortable material as well!
Honeycomb Gel Cushions
These cushions are silicone-based structured foams and have free-flowing air channels that will prevent sweating and keep you cool instead of causing you to overheat. however, the honeycomb Gel seat cushions didn’t rank well when it came to comfort or support.
Conclusion
If you are looking for the best cooling seat cushion, it’s important to first take a look at your own needs and preferences. What is most comfortable or what will provide relief? Do you want something that is made of latex foam, memory foam, and gel-infused materials? Other factors may include affordability as well as durability so make sure to keep these in mind before making any final decisions! We hope this blog post has helped some people find their next great couch companion. For more ergonomic information and guidance visit our blog today.
