I was reading online last night about furniture construction and for kicks visisted consumer reports page. This is what they have to say about the springs in the seating deck of furniture.

"Disregard the term “eight-way hand-tied springs.” It’s no longer synonymous with comfort or high quality. Other types of springs--coil, cone, S-shaped, and grid--can be just fine; they mainly influence how comfortable the sofa feels to you. The illustrations above show two common spring designs."

All of my research has led me to believe that 8 way hand tied is the way to go for quality and Duane and others have posted in other threads this same stance on seating support. I am curious what Duane or others may think about this Consumer Reports stance. They are basically saying drop in grids or sinuous springs are just as durable as 8 way hand tied.

If what I have researched is true it leads me to believe that consumer reports is either influenced by the Ashley's of the world or they truly believe the cheaper spring systems are as durable as the traditional labor intensive 8 way hand tied spring decks.