The waterbed industry has had its ups and downs over the decades. Mostly downs if you害羞草研究所檙e looking at the past 30 years.

But its most ardent supporters are buoyed by a modern wave of beds they say could shake its kitschy reputation once and for all, and maybe even bring it back into the mainstream.

Yes, the waterbed 害羞草研究所� that once-groovy emblem of the subversive 害羞草研究所�60s and sexy 害羞草研究所�70s 害羞草研究所� is not only still around, but gearing up for a comeback to mark its 50th anniversary in 2018.

害羞草研究所淢y theory is there害羞草研究所檚 a whole generation that was spawned on a waterbed,害羞草研究所� says the bed害羞草研究所檚 inventor, Charlie Hall.

害羞草研究所淭hey害羞草研究所檙e going to swim upstream like salmon and buy another one.害羞草研究所�

The 74-year-old says he害羞草研究所檚 designed a new product for a generation that never got to experience the free-form beds the first-time around, back when his radical take on a mattress became a powerful symbol for a macrame-loving counter-culture.

A modern-day penchant for mattresses that contour and conform fits in well with the inherent properties of water, he says.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 hard to believe it害羞草研究所檚 50 years but 害羞草研究所� the whole interest (now is) conforming and comfort and pillow-tops and then memory foam and all that,害羞草研究所� says Hall, reached recently by phone on a cruise ship near Santa Cruz, Mex., as he made his way to Panama.

害羞草研究所淚f you read the ads, they read like waterbed ads.害羞草研究所�

Hall, who lives on Bainbridge Island, Wash., says his new bed will debut in February. It will be 害羞草研究所渧ery waveless,害羞草研究所� and the same size as a traditional mattress.

害羞草研究所淚t looks like a conventional bed (but) it has a more compliant top on it so when you lay down on it you get more of the waterbed feel, which was always distinctively different than a regular mattress,害羞草研究所� Hall says of his first new waterbed in more than 30 years.

害羞草研究所淎nd it controls temperature 害羞草研究所� you can have it warmer or cooler, set it the way you want, even right and left side if you have different preferences.害羞草研究所�

Missing from his pitch is mention of any sensuous attributes 害羞草研究所� the key marketing tactic that both vaulted, and possibly killed, the original waterbed.

Hall debuted his creation in 1968 at San Francisco State University where he was an industrial design student. Dubbed the 害羞草研究所減leasure pit,害羞草研究所� it generated instant media attention for its promise of sexual exploits.

害羞草研究所淚t was such a curiosity, and people had never seen anything like that that moved and was compliant like that,害羞草研究所� says Hall.

The following year, he began a two-man production in Sausalito, Calif., crafting redwood frames by hand. Innerspace Environments would eventually grow to 32 retail stores in California.

But in San Francisco, they were originally sold in head shops, says Hall.

害羞草研究所淭hey would sell a bong and a waterbed. I didn害羞草研究所檛 intend it that way, but that害羞草研究所檚 what happened,害羞草研究所� he shrugs, suspecting that too limited the market despite famous devotees including Hugh Hefner, a Smothers Brother, and a member of Jefferson Airplane.

Indeed, the bed was tailor-made for the anti-establishment of the era.

The slogan of the industry was: 害羞草研究所淲e are the sleep revolution,害羞草研究所� recalls Andre Kocsis, whose Toronto company Halcyon Waterbeds launched in 1971.

害羞草研究所淭he enemy were the people who made spring beds,害羞草研究所� says the 70-year-old. 害羞草研究所淲e called them 害羞草研究所榙ead beds.害羞草研究所� The worst thing in the world was a dead bed.害羞草研究所�

Kocsis admits that much of the waterbed industry was amateurish, citing wanton trade shows in the early 害羞草研究所�70s featuring cocaine and prostitutes.

害羞草研究所淚t was a bunch of hippies that had no business experience, that got into a product which just grew explosively. I mean, at its peak the waterbed industry was a $2-billion industry,害羞草研究所� says Kocsis, citing an oft-touted tally from the U.S. waterbed industry at the time.

害羞草研究所淭he waterbed industry was run on hype害羞草研究所�. It was kind of like drinking the Kool-Aid. We were trying to get a product accepted that had a fair amount of resistance for a fair number of reasons.害羞草研究所�

Fears over leaks, the heavy load, ongoing maintenance and seasickness kept many from trying waterbeds out. But those who took the plunge were quick converts, says Kocsis, and generated strong word-of-mouth business.

By 1980, Kocsis says he had a staff of 300 and was doubling and tripling yearly sales: 害羞草研究所淲e had a stallion that was running at full speed and all I could do was hang on.害羞草研究所�

The eventual decline would be swift, too, he says.

Appeal tapered in the late 害羞草研究所�80s and early 害羞草研究所�90s, just as society shifted to a new conservatism and focus on family values. The industry tried to adapt with soft-sided and waveless versions that mimicked the conventional spring mattresses, but it was hard to shake a reputation ingrained through taglines like those on one early ad: 害羞草研究所淭wo things are better on a waterbed. One of them is sleeping.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淭hose things all came back to haunt the industry,害羞草研究所� says Kocsis.

Interest has admittedly plummeted since then but demand persists, insists Mike Cleaver, owner of Waterbed Gallery in Barrie, Ont. He believes the time is ripe for a comeback.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 been a long time, but the core values of sleeping on water are starting to come back to people,害羞草研究所� says Cleaver, who entered the business in 1980.

害羞草研究所淲e hear on a daily basis what害羞草研究所檚 brought them back is their dissatisfaction with conventional mattresses害羞草研究所�. Mattresses went through the roof on pricing and very little reasoning to back it up.害羞草研究所�

He, too, blames much of the waterbed害羞草研究所檚 decline on the industry itself: 害羞草研究所淭he industry self-imploded.害羞草研究所� He recalls waterbed-mania breeding an increasing number of rivals, each trying to undercut the other.

害羞草研究所淲e had some competitors advertising a $99 waterbed. That害羞草研究所檚 when it got out of hand,害羞草研究所� says Cleaver, suspecting cut corners further eroded reputation.

Lots of misconceptions arose, too, says Cleaver, disputing a slew of horror stories that dogged the product from Day 1.

害羞草研究所淲aterbeds didn害羞草研究所檛 go through floors, heaters weren害羞草研究所檛 bad for pregnant women 害羞草研究所� and that magnetic field that was sent out was less than a clock radio,害羞草研究所� he says of claims that the heaters害羞草研究所� electromagnetic fields caused health problems.

New products are out there now and Cleaver says these modern incarnations address many long-standing complaints 害羞草研究所� that waterbeds were too heavy, too big, or too cumbersome to move.

Still, Edward Leon, president of the furniture chain Leon害羞草研究所檚, doesn害羞草研究所檛 see a market, calling the waterbed 害羞草研究所渧ery niche.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淚 don害羞草研究所檛 see that coming back in a big way under any circumstances,害羞草研究所� says Leon, who guesses waterbeds represented about 15 per cent of overall bedding sales in Canada at its peak.

害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 always niche players in everything so if you害羞草研究所檙e the only person selling them in Toronto you might have some success with it.害羞草研究所�

Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press

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