Hi Stephen,

Great to hear from you again and sorry to hear you're struggling with back pain due to sciatica from a gym accident.

Based on what you've said I think you're right that a firmer 'feel' mattress in the upholstery layer may help and provide you with the touch more support you may now need at your weight.

There's a handy guide below to help you with the spring tension if you want to know more.

We wouldn't advise putting you on a firm spring tension, this would be overkill. However, a mattress with firmer upholstery layers will give more support and push back for you. The Artisan Bespoke is quite a few leaps further in terms of firmness. However the Artisan 1500 maybe the sweet spot as its a step up in firmness in the upholstery layer.

The Artisan 1500 will match your requirements but not be punishingly firm for your partner. We would recommend a medium 1.4 gauge spring for you both. The Artisan Bespoke would be, in our experience too firm for her.

Another tweak you could make in the meantime to see if it helps is to add a section of plywood under your mattress. We remember it was paired with our Artisan sprung edge base so if you were to add this it will help to firm up the mattress - marginally. This may help you double-check that a firmer feel will provide you with the relief your back needs. There's an example of the boarding on a slatted base but you could do this directly on top of your sprung edge divan base then put the Artisan Naturals back on top.

So we would advise to try that first and then give us a call to discuss buying the Artisan 1500.

We look forward to hearing back from you.
All the best
John & Ryan