Hypnos Signature Mattress Review: is it worth the price?

British Wool, Bamboo & Silk

British Wool is incredibly soft and warm yet also high wicking. We use it in the majority of our Artisan Mattresses as a softer comfort layer and during the mid-layer to give bounce to a mattress comfort layer. We believe that Hypnos have used a blended pad again here as Silk and Bamboo are far too soft on their own to serve any purpose. Especially this low down in the upholstery layers. Care needs to be taken with blended fibres. Quite often really high-end fibres are blended with Wool or cotton to stop them from compressing too much and losing loft. It also means that some mattress manufacturers can claim far more Natural Fibres in their descriptions. Even though some of the percentage blends may be as low as 1-3% of that fibre mixed in with others. We can’t be sure with this model but would hazard a guess that again its a 500gsm layer of blended Wool, Bamboo and Silk.

Solotex – the polyester white elephant in the room

Here’s where the luxury Natural Fibre story ends we’re afraid with the Signature. Hypnos then use a Solotex layer, again GSM unknown. Solotex is a newly innovated version of polyester.

It has some really interesting properties such as a higher loft, greater rebound and less chance of degrading compared to polyester. However, real care needs to be taken when discussing this fibre. It is still a version of man-made synthetic polyester.  This layer is used in the Hypnos Signature as the insulator and to help keep the loft of the upholstery layers high. As the other Natural Fibres are all very soft this Solotex layer adds bulks and stops the mattress from potentially sagging or dipping as quickly.

Solotex is a synthetic polyester derivative fibre

It also has to be pretty firm to act as a spring insulator. If you used a softer fibre it wouldn’t allow the spring unit to work correctly and could end up migrating inbetween the pocket springs. At the price point of £4,000 for a mattress, there is absolutely no need to be using polyester or Solotex. At this level Horsehair, Horsetail, Coir or Flax could be used alongside a Wool blend to far better suit this style of mattress. Solotex is nowhere near as breathable as Natural Fibres and having this layer here negates a lot of the amazing properties of the above fibres. Acting as a potential heat barrier between you and the rest of the mattress. It’s also the far cheapest component in this mattress. We would estimate that there’s 1000-1200gsm of Solotext polyester in this mattress.

The Spring Support

The spring support in the mattress is listed as a medium to firm feel but no specific spring gauge information is given on the ‘Reactive 10’ pocket springs which are exclusive to Hypnos. Ideally, you need to know the exact spring count and gauge to fully understand the support a mattress will give you. This detail is missing from their technical specs.

Reactive 10 Pocket Springs explained

We’ve already discussed Reactive 10 Pocket Springs in answering this ladies question comparing Hypnos mattresses but further detail is required here. The Reactive 10 is a 10 turn pocket spring. For context, most quality pocket springs have 6-8 turns. This allows them to compress and the extend correctly when a load (ie sleepers weight) is placed on them. We’ve studied extensively the design and manufacture methods of springs specifically for mattresses. Adding another 2 turns will allow a spring to compress marginally faster than an 8 turn spring. However, it also puts the wire under more stress. Why is this?

It’s because the average length of the pocket spring remains the same to ensure they compress in a linear fashion and don’t simply bend over sideways when a load is applied. Think the leaning tower of Piza as an example of how an overly long spring would react. It would lean. So these springs may react ever so slightly faster and make them feel a tad bit softer. Again the longevity needs to be taken into account.

There’s no detail on whether these are Calico pocket springs or Spunbond. However, given that there’s only a handful of Calico spring makers in the UK, with our models, Vispring and Savoir being the main Calico spring users we would guess these Reactive 10’s are synthetic.

Lastly, there’s no spring gauge, tension or tensile strength given for these Hypnos pocket springs. Again, making it very hard to fully compare or even give guidance on what weight range the Hypnos Signature can cope with. Hazarding another guess we would say that its a 1000-1500 pocket spring model probably in a 1.4 medium tension spring gauge suitable for 12-15 stone sleepers.

Hypnos Signature Finishing details

The Hypnos Signature has some nice finishing details such as its hand-tufted, which is usually a sign of a high-end mattress. This hand-tufting process runs a ribbon through the mattress at various increments, wool or synthetic tufts, are then placed onto the ends. These tufts help keep the fillings inside a mattress in their correct position and help compress the mattress to give a consistent feel. The mattress cover is a standard ‘Belgium Damask’ nothing exciting to report there. There’s no mention of an Organic Fire Retardancy treatment like our Artisan Range, so we can assume that the FR in this model is a chemical synthetic version applied to the cover. The mattress weighs in at 55kg for a king size and is 27cm deep which is how we have estimated the GSM. Our Artisan Bespoke 004 which is 100% natural weighs in at 61kg (6kg of more Natural Fibres) for the same depth of 27cm.

One-sided Mattress Issues

The main drawback with the Hypnos Signature is that it’s one-sided. We can’t for the life of us believe that a £4,000 mattress is still one-sided. You’ll often see these referred to as ‘No turn‘ but it does not benefit you. It means you’re sleeping on the same side night after night meaning there’s no way to even out mattress settlement which is usually done by turning the mattress each month. Meaning all the wear is on one side which can lead to increased sagging and dipping far faster than a two-sided mattress model equivalent. It’s a real shame that Hypnos has not made this model two-sided, especially given the price.

The Benefits

• This model features high wicking Natural fibres, sadly in unknown amounts
• The Alpaca optional topper is a separate component and not like the dreaded pillowtop construction method – well done Hypnos!
• The mattress features hand side stitching which is a real skill and benefit holding the mattress contents in a more stable position.

The Drawbacks

• The majority filling is Solotex a polyester
• This is one-sided mattress limiting its lifespan when compared to a 2-sided equivalent
• The fibres listed don’t have any GSM or blends referenced so there’s no way to know exactly what’s being used.
• Grey hair is a non-descript term that doesn’t specifically relate to any Natural Fibre we know of.
• The mattress topper is incredibly expensive

Summary

The Hypnos Signature has some nice fillings and features initially. However, when you look closer the lack of detail on the model starts to raise suspicion about the blends and amounts of the Natural Fibres. Secondly, the use of Solotex seems unnecessary for the £4k price point when another Natural Fibre layer would be more inkeeping and long lasting. The next issue is the fact its only a one-sided mattress. In our experience, once you get up to £1000+ for a mattress it most certainly should be a two-sided model with primarily Natural Fibre fillings like our Artisan Natural as a bare minimum expectation of both fillings and construction method.

We like the fact that Hypnos offer a removable topper compared to a Pillowtop but again for the price it seems like there are better value alternatives out there for this stand-alone topper layer. We’d love it if Hypnos would disclose exactly what’s in this mattress then we could fully break it down to help you accurately compare.

Why not get in touch with our small friendly team if you have questions on this Hypnos model or other mattresses you’ve been browsing. You can even drop us a message below and we will get back to you with guidance.