Hi Mike,

Many thanks for your comment asking about Vispring mattress alternatives. It's great to hear your Vispring Herald has lasted since 1987. A true testament to a quality mattress outlasting cheaper alternatives.

The Vispring Herald or Herald Superb is one of Visprings firmer feel mattresses. This means that the upholstery layers placed on top of the springs, known as the comfort layers, use firmer natural fibres to achieve this feel.

People often mistake the spring tension in a mattress for the feel of the mattress.

The mattress spring tension should always be chosen on your body weight alone. Not the comfort you're looking for.
If you pick the spring tension alone to provide the feel of the mattress by mistake the issue you quickly run into is either a complete lack of support or a mattress that’s providing to much support. Both of these lead to awkward uncomfortable sleeping positions during the night.

The spring tension should always be selected based on your bodyweight. Then its the job of the upholstery layers on top of this that will provide you with a soft feel mattress, not the spring tension. For example, a soft 1.2 spring tension is only suitable for people 8 stone and under, for people heavier than that it will compress to quickly and cause you to sleep at an awkward position during the night.

Have a look below at the bodyweight and spring tension table for clarity on the tension you should be choosing.

What mattress feels like the Vispring Herald Superb?

The closest comparison we have the Vispring Herald Superb is our Artisan Bespoke mattress. Available in three spring tensions based on your bodyweight. Given the age of your mattress, it will feel potentially feel very different. Given the settlement your current mattress will have gone through any new mattress is going to feel really different.

We always advise that when you buy a new mattress it can take up to 30 days to get used to it.

The Artisan Bespoke has an incredible 5100GSM of 100% Natural fillings.

The Horsetail, Horsehair and Cashmere insulator gives the mattress a firmer feel in the top upholstery Comfort Layers like the Herald Superb by Vispring.

Two layers of Wool and Blended British Wool and Cotton provide a slight sink giving this a firm but forgiving feel.
The Bespoke has three rows of Genuine Hand Side Stitching & Hand Nested Springs. 8 padded turning handles on a Kingsize model.

1600 Calico encased Pocket Springs [49mm] [1.28mm] Sewn-in individual calico pockets and hand-formed into a honeycomb-nested unit. We also zone the perimeter sides (2 rows) of the mattress with a slightly firmer spring to aid the edge support. This stabilises the mattress when sitting on the edge.

The Woven mattress cover is completely Chemical-Free using a Natural plant-based fire retardancy protection.

Artisan Bespoke Mattress

1: 500GSM BRITISH WOOL

2: 1200GSM BLENDED BRITISH FLEECE WOOL AND COTTON

3: HAIRPROOF CAMBRIC COVER

4: 1200GSM PURE HORSETAIL

5: 1200GSM HORSEHAIR

6: 1000GSM WHITE CASHMERE INSULATOR

7: 1600 CALICO ENCASED POCKET SPRINGS [49MM] [1.28MM]

TOTAL: 5100GSM

DEPTH: 27-30CM

CHEMICAL FREE COVER

Do I need to turn my Vispring mattress?

In terms of turning your mattress the quick answer is yes. You will need to turn it every month to help even out natural settlement and also get the best lifespan out of your mattress. All of our Artisan mattresses are two-sided so you can use both sides. Given the time scale you've had your original Vispring mattress for I'm guessing you've been following this guidance on turning already!

You can read more on mattress maintenance here.

We hope that helps and gives you further mattress buying guidance. It may be best to give us a call to discuss further to make sure we’re meeting all your requirements and you can either order online or over the phone when you’re ready.
If you have any more mattress related questions please get back in touch on info@localhost or 0161 437 4419.

Sleep well
John & Ryan