Hi AJ,

Thanks for getting in touch about the NCF mattress you've been looking at and asking for a comparison. AT £499 for a kingsize model its hard to believe how they are making a mattress with it's listed contents for that price. Unless they are selling it as an end of line or stock clearance.

If you've already browsed our site you will know that for any comparison you will need to know the following details of each mattress.

• The pocket spring count, type of spring and spring gauge
• Upholstery layer grams per square meter for each layer & blends

The NCF Ecodream mattress looks like its a white label bed made by Healtiposture for NCF. It details the beds as having:

• 2000 pocket spring unit (No details)
• Rod edge side support
• Natural cool fabric
• Wool, Silk, Cashmere (No GSM listed)
• Tufted
• Hand stitched border
• Multi layers of fillings (No actual details)
• Medium feel
• 10 year(s) warranty

Spring Unit: It doesn't state what the gauge of these springs is, whether its a 1.4 medium or 1.6 firm. You also need to know whether its one or two layers. Probably 2 looking at the spring count of smaller springs.

Rod edge side support: We've never heard of rod edge before, they presumably mean 'perimeter support' either by firmer springs or being tied to the perimeter frame of the spring unit. This is probably a typo. All pocket spring mattresses are tied or stapled to a perimeter bar (not a rod). High-end beds are hand-tied which is really time-consuming whereas entry-level beds like this are probably stapled for speed.

Natural cool fabric: This must be the mattress cover fabric. However with no detail on what exact material it is this makes it impossible to compare. At this price point, it will no doubt be a synthetic polyester-based cover.

Wool/Silk/Cashmere/Multilayers of fillings: Again without the GSM of each of these there's no way to be able to compare or even know what's actually inside this mattress. At the price point, there is no feasible way for these to be in any significant amount - have a look below at the price of natural fibres at the bottom of this answer to show you. It is more than likely that these fibres are a blend with polyester which makes up the bulk of the filing. It's not possible to get a true natural fibre mattress in a kingsize for less than £1000, so unless they are selling this at a significant loss?

Tufted: This is the method used in traditional pocket spring mattress manufacture to keep the fibres in place and stop migration. Good to see!

Hand side stitched: Looking at the pictures these look very much like machine side stitching. Given hand side stitching of a king-size will take a craftsman around 6 hours we doubt at £499 they are going to be able to do this. The pictures certainly are not hand-stitched. The way to tell is the lack of padding in each of the squares. When side stitches are done by hand the tension us pulled so the side panel upholstery is taught, this causes a padded chequerboard look. Check out the Artisan 1500 for an example and compare the difference.

Medium feel: This will be provided by the upholstery layers, again without knowing the GSM and layer composition is impossible to know for sure.

10 Year Warranty: Warranty differs from guarantee as they are proportional. So if your mattress develops a fault you only get given back a proportion of the remaining value of the bed. We use a repair or replace guarantee on all our models and not warranties.

Given the lack of detail and price point it's really hard to compare. To assist here's the exact composition of the Artisan 1500 mattress you have asked about. The one that's closest to a medium feel is the Artisan 1500 as the Origins Comfort is a soft feel in the upholstery layer. If you're looking for a medium feel natural fibre mattress then the Artisan 1500 is a great model to consider for the price point and its whopping 4300gsm of fillings.

We would need to know your height, body weight, sleeping position and comfort preference to fully advise. So do let us know so we can help refine our guidance.

Artisan 1500 Hand Made Mattress:
Artisan 1500 which features 4300gsm of fibres. 1500 pocket springs available in 3 different spring tensions. 2 rows of Genuine Hand Side Stitching. Featuring 53% Natural fibre content and a chemical-free damask cover.

 

1: 500GSM WOOL

2: 600GSM REBOUND POLYCOTTON (50/50 BLEND)

3: 700GSM POLYESTER

4: 600GSM REBOUND POLYCOTTON (50/50 BLEND)

5: 700GSM POLYESTER

6: 1200GSM CASHMERE HAIR PAD AS INSULATOR

7: 1500 SPUN BOND POCKET SPRINGS (SOFT, MEDIUM OR FIRM)

TOTAL: 4300GSM

CHEMICAL-FREE COVER

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.

Upholstery Layer	Fibre Type	How it will feel?	Price Point
Polyester	Synthetic	Soft	Cheap
White Fibre	Synthetic	Soft/Medium	Cheap
Recycled Fibre / Eco Fibre	Synthetic	Medium	Cheap
Memory Foam	Synthetic	Medium/Firm	Mid Price
Igel / Hybrid Foam	Synthetic	Medium/Firm	Mid Price
Polycotton	Synthetic/Natural Blend	Soft/Medium	Mid Price
Linen	Synthetic/Natural Blend	Medium	Mid Price
Wool (Pure)	Natural	Soft/Medium	High-End
Cotton (Pure)	Natural	Soft	High-End
Silk	Natural	Soft	Expensive
Horsehair	Natural	Medium	High-End
Mohair	Natural	Medium/Firm	High-End
Hemp	Natural	Medium	High-End
Latex (100% Natural)	Natural	Medium/Firm	High-End
Coir	Natural	Firm	High-End
Flax	Natural	Firm	High-End
Coarse Cashmere	Natural	Firm	High-End
Bamboo	Natural	Super Soft	Expensive / Exclusive
Horsetail	Natural	Firm	Expensive / Exclusive
Alpaca	Natural	Soft	Expensive / Exclusive
Cashmere (Pure)	Natural	Soft	Expensive / Exclusive
Vicuna	Natural	Super Soft	Expensive / Exclusive

We would advise that you speak to NCF or Healtiposture directly to find out more detail then let us know so we can help to provide a closer comparison for you.

 

All the best

 

John & Ryan