Otty mattress too firm, what's the alternative?

Hi Kristine,

Many thanks for your comment on your OTTY mattress. We're sorry to hear you're struggling with it being too firm and warm. We hear from many people complaining about OTTY and other boxed rolled memory foam mattress experiencing the heat retention issue that's apparent with these types of mattresses.

The reason the OTTY and other memory foam style beds such as Emma, Eve and Leesa often get customer complains and returns is that the memory and synthetic foams they use are by their nature heat retentive. Memory foam for example is a vasco-elastic man-made foam that retains and requires heat to mould. So if you're already a warm sleeper you need something far more breathable and lightweight. This is where natural fibres and more breathable synthetic fibres can help.

Out of all mattress materials, man-made mattress foam is the warmest and most heat retentive. It also, with the exception of natural latex, has the fastest settlement rate. This is because such memory foam and boxed rolled mattresses are nearly always 1-sided. Meaning you can't turn over the mattress to help even out natural settlement. Synthetic one-sided mattresses made of foam, therefore, have a shorter shelflife than a 2 sided equivalent mattress.

As a side sleeper, you're going to need a slightly softer comfort layer in your mattress. The comfort layer is also known as the mattress upholstery layer. This is what gives any mattress its perceived feel ie soft, medium or firm. Not the spring unit underneath it. This is where most retailers and shops misadvise.

• Side sleeper mattress guide
• Back sleeper mattress guide
• Front sleeper mattress guide

The pocket spring tension or gauge is based purely on your bodyweight. They have been labelled soft, medium or firm for ease but they really relate to different weight ranges. See below. Never pick the spring tension on how you want the mattress to feel. Choose it based on your body weight which is what the springs are designed for.

Then choose the upholstery to provide you with the ultimate feel of the mattress.

Mattress recommendations to replace an OTTY

Based on your bodyweight and side sleeper preference you're going to need something with a medium or softer feel in the upholstery layer. Unless you're over 16 stone a 1.4 medium gauge pocket spring will be ideal. Unless you're under 8 stone and then a spfter tension is more suitable at 1.2 gauge.

Have a look at the two models below. The Origins Comfort 1000 is a soft feel mattress in the comfort layer and uses a pocket spring support unit in a 1.4 gauge spring. It's two sided and hard to beat for the price point with 1250gsm of synthetic fillings. I has this mattress for over 7 years, as I love a soft feel mattress before upgrading to the Artisan Luxury (a wonderful soft feel mattress for side sleepers but at a very different price point to the OTTY and Origins matteress range).

Origins Comfort 1000

1: 750GSM VERY SOFT POLYESTER

2: 500GSM POLYESTER PAD

3: ONE INCH FOAM INSULATOR LAYER

4: 1000 SPUN BOND POCKET SPRINGS

TOTAL: 1250GSM

DEPTH 30-33CM

Next, have a look at our Origins Pocket 1500 mattress. It's a medium feel in the upholstery layers and far cooler than any memory foam mattresses. It too is 2-sided and features 1550gsm of fillings. As you can see the more you spend and higher up our range you go the more and higher the natural fibre content. Natural fibres are the most breathable of all mattress materials but in turn they cost far more. Food for thought though.

Origins Pocket 1500 Mattress

1: 300GSM WOOL

2: 750GSM VERY SOFT POLYESTER

3: 500GSM POLYESTER PAD

4: ONE INCH FOAM INSULATOR LAYER

5: 1500 SPUN BOND POCKET SPRINGS

TOTAL: 1550GSM

DEPTH: 30-33CM

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

Sleep well
John & Ryan