How to Choose the Best Pocket Sprung Mattress - Ultimate Bed Buying Guide

All cage sprung mattresses are far substandard compared to pocket sprung mattresses. They are cheap to make, uncomfortable to sleep on and, ultimately, they are a complete and utter waste of your money.

Don’t let the marketing, fancy names, sales spin or advertising fool you: Miracoil, Posturetech, Orthopaedic, Continuous Coil, Open Coil, or whatever other name you find are all cage sprung mattresses.

If the mattress does not contain pocket springs then walk away.

Are pocket sprung mattresses expensive?

A pocket sprung mattress does not need to be overly expensive, especially if you have set your budget. In many cases, they are more cost-effective than a comparable open coil unit, and in real terms they are cheaper now than they were many years ago. However, bear in mind that the bulk of pocket sprung mattresses are now mass-produced.

The ultimate pocket spring is calico encased.

Used by the likes of Vi-Spring and Savoir beds (our Artisan Range is an ideal Vi-Spring alternative). We can’t think of any other manufacturer who uses calico encased pocket springs, but there will be less than five manufacturers in this country who do so.

The best pocket spring mattress uncovered

The best pocket spring mattress will contain calico pocket springs. These are encased in a breathable natural cotton cover and are the finest method of mattress manufacture in the UK.

We have seen examples of descriptions where the mattress is described as containing calico springs when in fact they’re synthetic polyester-covered cheap springs. Complete and utter deceit! This is akin to describing a sofa as being leather when in fact it is PVC.

The bulk of all retail pocket springs are polypropylene encased mass-produced units where the individual units are glued together to make a complete spring unit.

Calico units are sewn together and are not attached to adjacent springs except by lengths of twine stringing them together. We use them in our high-end Artisan range. They are far more breathable and responsive than spunbond or other synthetic springs which is why they only ever feature in the top end of mattresses.

The best pocket spring mattress will contain:

• Calico encased vanadium coated pocket springs (in a variety of tensions to match your bodyweight).
• A thick spring insulator layer of natural fibre.
• At least 2000GSM of Natural Fibre upholstery.
• A damask chemical-free cover.
• Hand-tufted.
• Hand Side Stiched.
• Always  2-sided mattress.

4. Choosing the best mattress fibres & fillings

The next step after choosing the correct pocket spring unit is the mattress upholstery layers that then are used on top of this.

Mattress upholstery (i.e. Wool, Horsehair or Bamboo) will provide the ultimate ‘feel’ of your mattress and this is where the majority of your budget will be spent.

This part of your mattress is often referred to by independent mattress makers as the ‘comfort layer’ of your mattress, which usually consists of a number of individual fillings.

Care should be taken to find the best combination of support and comfort for your budget. If you scrimp on either of these then you may have plenty of time to regret, given the average life span of a new mattress is 7 years. The overriding factor in your choice will be your budget, which is why it’s important to know exactly what you should get for a certain price point.

There are over 5000 mattress models out there. It would be nearly impossible to go through each and everyone to see which is the most suitable for you, which is where our friendly team can help cut down this number based on your requirements.

Knowing how much to spend on a mattress will drastically cut down on the options you’re faced with. Secondly, it will enable you to avoid ‘too good to be true’ offers if you know that, for your budget, the components listed are not available (i.e. Cashmere in a £500 mattress).

Why do mattress companies hide what’s inside their beds?

There is no legal requirement to tell you any quantity of upholstery by weight in a mattress.

A description telling you that a particular mattress “contains” Wool, for example, could mean this could be as little as 5 strands mixed in with the polyester. Utterly contemptible, but quite legal. Why do they do this?

Retailers make it increasingly difficult for you to compare mattresses and know exactly what you’re buying by hiding the details.

If you knew exactly what was inside you could easily see which model was better value. You might be thinking that this is far-fetched, but it is common in nearly all mattress retailers.

These are certain keywords used by bed retailers that should be taken as an initial warning:

• contains
• includes
• blended with
• a blend of
• crafted from
• infused with
• luxurious layers of etc.

Vi-Spring, one of the top five UK mattress manufacturers, tell you exactly what the makeup of their mattresses is. They do so because they are proud to do so, and they only use the very best of mattress upholstery so they have absolutely nothing to hide.

We believe that all mattress manufacturers should tell you exactly what’s in their mattresses. When they refuse to it makes us question what they are hiding?

5. Do your mattress online research

So you’ve found a few options for your next new mattress. Before you buy your new bed online, you now need to do some digging around the company’s reputation. After all, there’s going to be a number of potential scam companies out there to take your money and deliver a pretty rubbish mattress to you in return.

When looking for a new mattress online it’s important that you check as much as possible about the retailer you’re looking at.

The very minimum checks should be:

• How long has the brand/retailer been trading?
• What is their Trustpilot review score?
• What is their Google review score?

6. Compare Mattress Guarantees

Once you’ve found a reputable mattress company and mattress model it’s time to look at the guarantee they offer.

This is where you can separate the true leaders of the mattress world from the masses.

You’re looking for a guarantee that, if the mattress is not suitable for a good night’s sleep, then you can either return it for a refund or exchange it for a more suitable model.

Given that you’ve done so much research, you need to make sure that it’s actually a bed worth sleeping on.

Most retailers will only offer you a ‘comfort guarantee’, meaning you can swap the model for another in their range. However, if their range comprises of poorly made models then this guarantee only secures you yet another poor mattress!

Other things to watch out with mattress guarantees are:

• Fees to exchange your mattress.
• Proportional warranties (where if the mattress fails only a proportion of its value is returned to you).
• Excessive requirements (such as not removing packaging to be able to return it).
• Inflated collection fees for exchanges.

We offer a 60 Day Love it or Return it Guarantee where we collect without charge. No small print. No arguing. If we provide advice and it’s not quite right we aim to help you correct that.

7. Ask the retailer for tailored mattress advice

The last step is really important as it helps you qualify whether or not the mattress choices are suitable for you.

You’ve undertaken a lot of research and know roughly which models you think will be suitable.

The last step is to ask the retailer for tailored advice based on your requirements. This will help confirm your selection.

Furthermore, it will also help you avoid retailers that just want to sell you the most expensive mattress, irrespective of suitability!

Mattress retailers and shops should always ask you the following:

• Bodyweight and heights of sleepers.
• Sleeping position.
• What mattress you’re currently on.
• What your budget is.
• What issues do you have with sleeping or sleep problems.

If they don’t ask these key questions then there is no way they can accurately recommend any mattress other than a price point. This means you’re left guessing as to which mattress is suitable or not. The same goes for any of the details we’ve talked about above.

If a retailer or salesperson can’t tell you exactly what spring unit, tension, upholstery amount or mattress detailing is in the model you’re looking at, then walk away.

Our ultimate mattress selection

Over the years, we have developed and produced a small range of fewer than 20 products and put them for sale in our online mattress shop. These have been specifically selected for:

• The finest Pocket Spring support
• The highest GSM of upholstery fillings
• Quality of build
• Price

These are the factors you should be assessing when purchasing your new mattress. Our bed descriptions are extremely detailed, including the actual weights of materials used, so you can compare. Nothing to hide: just all the detail so you can compare.

Without this detailed information, you actually have no idea what you’re purchasing.

Our handmade in the UK mattress models are split into the following ranges:

• Artisan – Natural Fibre & Calico encased vanadium pocket springs.
• Origins – Entry level pocket sprung mattress unbeatable on price and components.
• Fusion – 100% Natural Latex solid core models.
• Resilience – Heavyweight mattresses for larger sleepers, fully turnable.

We are John and Ryan; read exactly who we are and what we do. Our business and reputation have been built around our customer service, combined with our 60-day guarantee of “love it or return it” on all of our mattresses. If what we select or recommend for you is unsuitable, then it is only right and proper that we collect free of any charge and see that all your money is refunded in full.

Bed retailing is a business that still defines itself on personal service, and we want to be the best. You won’t be able to try our mattresses, which is why we give you the very next thing: our service. If you still do not want to sift through all these posts, then just give us a call with an indication of your budget and we will try and help to narrow down your options for you.

If you’re wondering what the best mattresses are for your price range then we go into even more detail below. We’ll show you which mattresses are worth your consideration and help you to avoid overpriced mattresses.

1. What is the best £500 Mattress
2. What to expect from a £750 Mattress
3. What is the best value £1000 Mattress
4. What you can find in a £1250 Mattress
5. What should look for in a £1500 Mattress
6. What you can envisage for a £2000+ Mattress

Summary

We hope that you do take the time to read through most of this site just so that you understand exactly what you are buying, but mainly to see how to sort the good from the bad and the bad from the rubbish. If you want to find out more, the next must read article will help explain just how much should you be spending on a mattress.

Are you still struggling to choose the right mattress? Then why not call our small expert team based here in Manchester on 0161 437 4419 to see if we can help.

Alternatively, you can drop us a message below to receive our tailored recommendations just for you!