Hi Helena,

Sorry to hear you're struggling so much at night with your recent mattress purchases online with Simba and your ultra firm mattress. No one wants to be buying a new mattress every few years and it sounds like you've jumped from one extreme to the other with your recent poor mattresses.

It's not easy buying a mattress in a retail shop or even online with most companies. They hide the information you need away. Sell one size fits no one mattresses. Avoid providing proper advice on things like spring tension and they never ask you what problems you're having with your current mattress to help resolve them.

That's where we can help as we provide all of the above and hopefully, this answer will allow you make a more considered mattress purchase, from whichever retailer you choose.

Spring Tensions Explained:

The first thing that you need to get right with any mattress is picking the right spring tension. The good news is this is easy as it is dictated by your bodyweight, for both of you this should be a 1.4 medium gauge pocket spring or equivalent.

However, the bad news is most people choose the spring thinking it relates to the comfort of the mattress. It doesn't. So choosing a soft spring does not necessarily result in a soft feel mattress conversely a firm spring won't necessarily mean firmer comfort layers in the mattress.

99% of people in your situation get caught in this trap rebounding between soft or firm springs. Which are totally unsuitable, and not supportive for you at all. If you fail to choose the right spring tension you're always going to struggle with any mattress choice.

Mattress Comfort is provided by Upholstery:

The comfort that you need from any mattress is provided by the upholstery placed on top of the spring unit. Which is maybe where you've been going wrong.

Different layers of upholstery will provide you with the true feel of the mattress whether this is soft, medium or firm. It is this you need to bear in mind when selecting the right mattress for your needs.

As a side sleeper, you do actually need slightly softer fillings than say a back sleeper. However, with your Simba is sounds like the memory foam 'slow sink' is not suitable for you and your preexisting injury to your right hip. Memory foam is notorious for keeping sleepers stuck in one position during the night. Not so bad for people who like to sleep in one position all night, but most people want to move around.

Have a look below at how fibres feel when used in a mattress to examine further.

The Simba mattress uses its own form of memory foam and has the same slow sink sensation. The biggest complaint from people is heat retention, that they get stuck in one position, and because the foam is heat retentive they start to heat up uncomfortably fast! The next issue is all of these boxed foam mattresses are one-sided so you can't turn or rotate the mattress.

This results in natural settlement all occurring in the same place which can lead to dips and sags far faster than a 2 sided mattress. It's worth bearing this in mind with any future purchase.

Mattress Suggestions:

Given your weights, we know you both need a 1.4 medium gauge spring. The problem is if your partner prefers a firm comfort layer (ie firmer fibres) there is no way to have half the mattress firm half medium. This configuration simply doesn't work as the settlement rates and heights would differ making for a really uneven mattress.
In our experience, we would advise a medium to meet both your side sleeping and existing hip issue. You don't want anything too soft which may cause your hip to fall out of alignment so you need something with a slight sink for your hip but then support. A medium mix of fibres would provide this. We don't use memory foam in any of our mattresses either which you'll be pleased to know.

Choosing a pocket spring mattress will allow those micro-adjustments and the benefit of our range is they are two-sided. They will require turning each month but for that, you get a far longer mattress life span and less settlement over time.

Origins Pocket 1500:

If you’re wanting something that is forgiving whilst offering a medium feel then have a look at our Origins Pocket 1500 mattress first.

Based on your requirements we would advise you choose the Origins Pocket 1500 in the Medium tension if under 16 stone and above 8 stone.

It’s progressive enough to accommodate a front or side sleeper. It will allow more of a soft sink in the very top layer than the Sealy mattress before medium support lower down the upholstery layers. It’s also two-sided so can be turned and rotated each month to extend the lifespan compared to one sided models.

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

As this is a 2 sided mattress we recommend you turn it each month to help even out natural settlement and get the very longest lifespan out of this hand made mattress. You can read our mattress care guide here to help.

Artisan Naturals Mattress – Medium feel

The Artisan Naturals hand made mattress is one of our best sellers, especially for side sleepers. The internal upholstery is amongst the best you can get for this price range and all this combined ensure that this mattress will be exceptionally hard to beat for build, comfort and more importantly, price. It's a true medium feel with a slight sink before medium support.

Upholstery Layer 1: Blended British Fleece Wool & Cotton gives a soft yet resilient top comfort layer. With high loft, it provides a mix of comfort and light support.

Upholstery Layer 2: A hair proof cambric cover helps stop fibres from migrating between layers & will be found in all high-end mattresses.

Upholstery Layer 3: 1250GSM Rebound Polycotton helps with both support and rebound with this mattress.

Upholstery Layer 4: We used 1500GSM Mohair as the insulating layer to add a robust property to the forthcoming layer.
This has been specifically built to enable us to say “you just cannot get a better-built mattress for this price”. Support from the 1600 Calico Encased Pocket Springs (which are Vanadium coated).


1: 1200GSM BLENDED BRITISH FLEECE WOOL AND COTTON
2: HAIRPROOF CAMBRIC COVER
3: 1250GSM REBOUND POLY COTTON
4: 1500GSM 100% PURE MOHAIR
5: 1600 CALICO ENCASED POCKET SPRINGS [49MM ] [1.28MM ]
TOTAL: 3950GSM
DEPTH: 27-30CM
CHEMICAL FREE COVER

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