Hi Alison,

Many thanks for your question about the Noa mattress, whether it's a good mattress choice and what the alternatives are. We think a detailed and honest answer to your questions would be preferred so we're going to give you as much detail as possible to help you find a new mattress, regardless of where you buy it from.

Let's start by addressing the biggest niggle you're going to face and get that our of your way.

The main issue is budget. At £400 you're going to struggle to get any mattress that has 'true latex' or any real discernable natural fibre in it. Which is why mattresses like Noa, Eve, Casper, MADE and Emma all primarily use synthetic man-made foams. This is because their price points (probably around £100-£150 raw cost per king size mattress (inc delivery costs) don't allow for this.

These types of mattresses are usually 'created' by venture capitalists that see a trend, ie mattress in a box, and then fund extensive marketing campaigns to ride that wave. These venture capitalists usually have zero knowledge about the product of market place in which they sit they just want to invest and then get a large return on that equity.

What's the problem with that you may ask?

Well its all about selling at volume which means they are super price sensitive and usually are choosing manufacturers that can make fast and cheaply. You may have realised that this model doesn't hold much room for upholstery or furniture design/expertise. Which is why most of these models are cheap foams glued together and then given eye-catching ad campaigns and next day mattress delivery (more on why next day delivery is not something you want when buying a mattress here).

We can appreciate that your budget is limited, given the average spend on a mattress in the UK for a kingsize is now £1000. However, we certainly can provide you with lots of free advice to assist you in getting the very best for your money than wasting it on expensive marketing and advertising campaigns!

How much to spend on a double mattress?	What can I expect for my money?
Under £500	Will not get you much at best a 13.5 gauge open coil/cage sprung with a thin polyester layer or a solid foam mattress.
£500	Entry level spunbond springs with some form of synthetic upholstery. Usually one sided mattresses.
£750	The beginnings of a basic pocket springs unit with 800 – 1000 count. No substantial amount of filling other than foams and synthetic materials. Two sided models.
£1000	Should get you away from most low ranges and into the mid-range pocket spring models.
£1250	Should get you a decent pocket sprung mattress with some Natural Fibre content.
£1500	Should get you many manufacturers mid-range models with Natural Fibres
£1500-£2000	Should get you a Hand Made primarily Natural Fibre Quality Mattress
£2000+	You should expect 100% Natural Fibres and Traditional Hand Made Construction Method.
£5000+	A Bespoke Hand Made Sleep System, High-end Spring Units & Featuring the Worlds Most Luxurious Natural Fibres.

What's the Noa mattress like?

Let's take a look at the product description which always helps us delve a little deeper when reviewing mattresses. This is the bit that nearly all mattress retailers want you to avoid. Why? Because usually, they don't want to give you the specifics because if they do it allows you to compare against other mattresses! Shocking but true. Let's take a look at the Noa mattress.

Noa mattress description (taken from their website Oct 2021):
• Hand-tufted, Tencel poly-knit fabric cover.
• Layer of AirCell foam is certified.
• Layer of gel infused cooling memory foam is REACH certified.
• All foam layers are REACH certified (EU equivalent to the US CertiPur-US certification)
• Materials are low in Volatile Organic Compound (VOCs) emissions for indoor air quality (less than 0.5 parts per million).
• Foam layers are bound by water based adhesives which reduce heat retention to keep you cool.
• Supportive and durable premium pocket springs

Image from Noahome.com

Sadly as you can see there are no depths, densities or GSMs (grams per square meter) for any of the fillings or fibres.
Meaning you're left guessing as to what is really inside. With all foams you need to know the KG density of the foam. This will help indicate its firmness or hardness level. You also need to know the depth of each layer before the supporting 'Reflex' foam (which in cheaper mattresses is used in lieu of a pocket spring unit for support).

For examples - Noa mattresses  'Gel infused cooling memory foam' has no detail. It could be Coolblue foam or it maybe another completely different foam with a different feel. So you can see exactly why you need more detail so you can rightly compare Alison. If not you're just guessing and trialing beds, which no one needs the drama of.

The other thing to bear in mind is the support element ie reflex foam or pocket springs. Are these one size fits all or tailored to your weight range? You've probably guessed it but they should be tailored to your weight range!

The Noa mattress doesn't give any detail on these premium pocket springs (which are clearly spunbond springs not premium Calico) and what weights it supports and where bodyweight either exceeds or provides punishing sleeping support for lighter sleepers like you. See below for more advice on pocket springs usual weight tolerance and the detail you really need to know.

Spring Tension	Wire diameter (Gauge)	Weight Range
Soft	1.2mm	Bespoke Tension (Please Call)
Medium	1.4mm	Upto 16 stone
Firm	1.6mm	16 stone plus
Extra Firm / Orthopaedic	1.9mm	20 stone plus

The biggest draw back with the Noa mattress and others like it are two fold:

1. It's a one-sided mattress meaning you can't turn it to even out wear leading to the possibility of sagging quickly
2. It features the dreaded pillowtop which has tens of thousands of complaints online about how quickly they compress - as they can't be removed once they go the whole mattress is finished.

For the price, it's probably not a bad deal for a mattress if you're willing to accept its relatively short shelf life, the fact you can't turn it or find out exactly what's inside it. However, you may be better waiting and saving up a little bit more (£600 region) which helps you jump into a higher quality mattress territory that will far outlive these box mattresses and give you a better range of options rather than one size fits all.

Origins Pocket 1500 Latex Mattress

Our Origins Pocket 1500 Latex mattress is a firmer feel mattress. We feel it would be too firm for you at your bodyweight and preference, especially if the pillowtop Noa is feeling firm already. However, it is a good example of what to expect for your budget with entry level latex mattresses.

Natural latex is one of the most expensive mattress upholstery materials and one of the rarest in its true form for most retail mattresses. There's a lot of spin around 'latex' in the bed world with nearly 99% of all mass produced latex mattresses using synthetic latex ie completely man made.

You've guessed it retailers don't openly advertise this. Using descriptions such as 'natural latex foam' or 'organic feel latex'. Both of which can be as little as 2% natural and 98% synthetic. Unless they give the percentage ie 100% Natural latex, then you need to assume it's primarily synthetic.

Scandalous yes but true. Have a read here on all types of latex mattress and how exactly you can tell the real from the fakes.

Below is an example of the kind of mattress detail you should be looking for when comparing any mattress models.

Origins Pocket Latex 1500 Breakdown

1: 300GSM WOOL SILK BLEND PAD

2: 3CM TALALAY LATEX (60/40% BLEND) 70KG DENSITY

3: 3CM TALALAY LATEX (60/40% BLEND) 70KG DENSITY

4: ONE INCH HD FOAM

5: 1500 SPUN BOND POCKET SPRINGS (MEDIUM OR FIRM TENSION)

TOTAL DEPTH 30-33CM

We know you don't like tufts but for the kind of mattress you're looking for you would be better with our softer medium feel Origins Pocket 1500 and then add a deep microfibre topper on top, which is removable. This would remove the issue with the tufts which are there to hold to copious amounts of fibres in place. You can read more on what mattress tufting is here and why it matters for a quality bed.

In terms of your budget the best thing to do would be to save up to get you into the £500-£600 bracket and then maybe consider our Clearance section where discounts of up to 50% can be found.

 

If you have any more questions please get back in touch with us on 0161 437 4419.
All the best John & Ryan