Adam Henson Fairford Harrisons mattress review & alternative

Hi Mercedes,

Thanks for getting in touch to ask about the Adam Henson mattress that Harrisons have recently launched. You may recognise Adam from programmes such as Countryfile on the BBC. Harrisons have recently partnered up with him as a farmer to collaborate/affiliate/market with them on their new mattress given his background with wool. Harrisons are one of the best mattress manufactures in the UK. Alongside Vispring, Savoir and ourselves for making natural fibre traditionally crafted mattresses.

Image taken from www.harrisonspinks.co.uk/adam-henson

Let's have a look at the Fairford 29,000 mattress made by Harrisons to see what we can compare to.

Whats inside the Adam Henson Fairford Mattress?

If you've read any of our detailed mattress guides on our site you'll know that finding out the exact contents of a mattress is key to work out the quality, suitability and most of all to compare to other models.

Sadly there's only brief detail about this mattress listed on Harrisons site. The site lists the following detais.

• Wensleydale Wool & Viscose Blend
• Golden Fleece
• Rare Breed & Indigenous Wool Blend
• Cashmere, Wool & Silk Blend
• Egyptian Cotton
• Kapok & Alpaca Blend
• Microlution 5000 Airflow Springs
• HD 4000 Titanium Alloy Springs,
• 100% Recyclable Cortec™ Springs
• Mattress only prices from £3,099

Image taken from www.harrisonspinks.co.uk/adam-henson/range/fairford-29-400

We will start with the upholstery first. The upholstery or comfort layers provide the majority of the mattresses 'comfort rating' ie soft, medium and firm. So it's always worthwhile investigating them to see if they have a softer or firmer property to them. This is a 100% natural mattress which is great to see. Harrisons specialise, like us, in natural fibre models which are more breathable and last far longer than synthetic polyester based or memory foam mattresses.

Whilst there are lots of lovely fibres listed in the Harrisons mattress, without knowing the grams per square meter of each, its hard to ascertain how much wool, for example, is in the very top comfort layer. The same with the blended fibres, without knowing the blend its hard to know just how much soft cashmere you're getting in the mattress or whether the wool it is blended with is bringing the primary comfort.

Looking at the mix of upholstery its a medium/soft feel mattress, given there's very little in terms of robust firmer fibres like horsetail in there. You can see a list below of how fibres feel and their price point which can help to decode the information listed on all mattress models.

Pocket Springs in the Adam Henson Mattress

This mattress features 29,400 pocket springs, yes you read that correctly. Nearly 30k pocket springs. Given the fact that the maximum number in a kingsize of standard calico pocket springs is around 2000 we can establish that this mattress is using multiple layers of springs to get this figure. We've written extensively about the race for higher and higher spring counts as part of the bed retails race to win custom. However, based on our decades of experience, it's a false metric to use solely when choosing a new mattress.

The issue with increasing spring counts, sometimes to ridiculous levels, is that they take the place of beneficial upholstery. Given a mattress can only be so deep - around 35cm max. The more layers of springs you add the less upholstery you can fit in. It's always a trade-off.

This mattress uses Cortec pocket springs which feature a far thinner elongated pocket spring, which is how the amounts can increase so significantly. However, they have a spunbond / synthetic pocket spring casing, which is a shame given all the natural fibre content in the mattress. They are less breathable than a calico pocket spring. However, they are glue-free and heat bonded which allows Harrisons to state that they are fully recyclable at the end of their life. So they get points for that.

It's also topped with layers of micro springs (you may want to read our guide here). We won't use micro springs in our mattress range as in our experience they are rendered pretty much useless as soon as you lay on the mattress unless you're sub 8 stone in weight!

This is because they are so small they fully compress offering no support at all. If you imagine a fully compresses spring its just metal resting on metal. The aim of the pocket spring is to partially compress and then push back against the load (or human) applied to them. If they fully compress then the spring gets rendered pretty much defunct.

This is why quality pocket springs come in usually 3 spring wire gauges. These gauges (1.2/soft, 1.4/medium and 1.6/firm) have been made for specific weight/load ranges of the sleepers. If you choose the incorrect spring tension it either loads to quickly ie compresses or doesn't load enough meaning it is pushing back too much (too firm). So it's key you choose the right one.

It's not clear from the Harrisons Fairford 29,400 mattress which spring gauges any of the springs are. We would imagine there's a tension preference so it can be tailored to your bodyweight.

Other Details

The Adam Henson mattress features some nice finishing details such as it having a chemical-free cover. Which is always nice to see, especially with the creation of plant-based mattress fire retardants, like the one we use on our Artisan Mattress Range.

It features 4 rows of hand side stitching which helps bind the spring support layer to the side panels, aiding rigidity and making for a far better mattress with those that are only machine stitched.

What is similar to the Adam Henson mattress?

Without the GSM and other spring details its hard to provide an exact like for like comparison. However, if you want a softer sink feel and a ultra deep 100% natural fibre mattress then have a look at our Artisan Bespoke 003 for a comparitor.

It's priced at £2885 for a kingsize compared to £4,699 for the Adam Henson model. Quite the saving.

Artisan Bespoke 003

1: 1000GSM ALPACA

2: HAIRPROOF CAMBRIC COVER

3: 1000GSM BLENDED BRITISH FLEECE WOOL AND COTTON

4: 400GSM SOFT BAMBOO

5: 1200GSM PURE HORSETAIL

6: 1000GSM BONDED BRITISH FLEECE WOOL AND COTTON

7: 1000GSM COIR COCONUT FIBRE

8: 2508 (2 TIERS) CALICO ENCASED POCKET SPRINGS [56MM] [1.40MM]

TOTAL: 5600GSM

DEPTH: 27-30CM

CHEMICAL FREE COVER

Artisan Legacy 2 Mattress:

The next comparison model is our Artisan Legacy 2 mattress model. This model is the first of its type to use entirely British sourced fibres, including the only mattress that uses British Alpaca.

Legacy 2 Mattress

1: 1000GSM BRITISH ALPACA FIBRES

2: HAIRPROOF CAMBRIC COVER

3:| 1200GSM SWALEDALE WOOL

4: HAIRPROOF CAMBRIC COVER

5: 1200GSM HORSETAIL

6: 1000GSM ORGANIC FLAX

7: 1900 CALICO ENCASED POCKET SPRINGS [49MM ] [1.28MM ]

TOTAL: 5400GSM

DEPTH: 30-33CM

We hope that helps and if you have any more mattress related questions please get back in touch on info@localhost or 0161 437 4419.

Sleep well
John & Ryan