Hi Paul,

Many thanks for your question about the Bensons Pure Tranquillity mattress. Sorry to hear their poor customer service has caused you to cancel but you may have been able to avoid on the main drawbacks in mattress construction. The dreaded pillow top mattress method. We've written about why there are literally thousands of complaints online about pillowtop mattresses failing.

Bensons Pure Tranquillity Mattress Details:

Let's take a closer look at the description from Bensons on the Tranquility mattress.

• 4000 premium pocketed springs for superior support
• Posture Perimeter Plus for true edge to edge support
• Luxurious layers of natural British wool, cashmere and silk
• Hand-tufted for a firmer, supportive feel
• Easy care, non-turn mattress

Whilst there seems to be a lot of detail when we look closer there's actually very little discernable detail that we or you can use to help assess this mattress model.

Bensons Mattress Upholstery Explained:

For example, there's no detail on the weight of the upholstery, one of the key parts of understanding exactly what's inside any mattress. You really need to know the GSM (grams per square meter) to be able to see how the mattress feels and whether its good value for the price. This is why we detail exactly what's in our entire mattress range so you can see inside to make an informed decision. It's worthwhile remembering that the mattress comfort is always provided by the upholstery and not the spring unit.

Although this model 'contains' natural fibres, looking at the price it's going to be very minimal and also looks like they are blended. Given that it is a medium firm feel mattress there must be some polyester in there to help firm up the softer wool, cashmere and silk blend. Have a look at the table below to see more on upholstery types and costs. This will help you assess whether the price being asked can actually contain fibres.

Pure Silk in a 500gsm level for example is usually only found in mattresses at £2000 plus. So will it really feature in an £1000 mattress other than a few fibres blended wth other cheaper synthetic ones?

Bensons Pocket Springs Explained

There's been a recent race to get more and more springs in mattresses which we've covered in detail in the video below. Mainly why you should avoid using the spring count as a metric for choosing a mattress. Mainly because spring counts over 3000 use micro springs which are pretty much useless in a mattress for support or comfort. They are often used instead of comfort layers, ie upholstery just to increase the spring count.

You also need to know the spring gauge of the pocket springs to known if they are suitable for your bodyweight. Pocket springs are made for weight ranges so you need to know which gauge, 1.2, 1.4 or 1.6 is suitable for your bodyweight. When retailers don't disclose this it can make choosing a new mattress a complete guessing game.

Pillowtop and One Sided Mattress Issues:

We would always advise avoid pillowtop mattresses for the reason they are always one sided and once the fabric upholstery in the pillow layer compresses there is nothing that can be done to salvage the mattress. As this layer cant be removed or turned to even out settlement. I have never actually heard of a 2-sided pillowtop mattress. As such we don’t retail any mattress close to this.

Alternative to the Bensons Pure Tranquility Mattress:

For a medum feel natural fibre mattress that is two sided Paul have a look at our hand made Artisan Naturals mattress. This is a true medium feeling model in the top layers providing a slight sink but not too much. This mattress is constructed with 85% natural fillings, which will provide a cool sleep surface. We also disclose all the GSM, Spring and mattress detailing to allow you to compare.

Artisan Naturals Mattress

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