John Lewis Natural Collection Egyptian Cotton 5900 Review

We spend a lot of time in mattress retailers to see just how their models stack up against their specification sheets. Here we give you our expert review.

The John Lewis mattress range has recently been revised to be more environmentally friendly and features some new technology. This review guide is based on our expertise, the technical specifications that John Lewis provide and also a test in their showroom of the Egyptian Cotton 5900 model. We tested this model in Autumn 2019.

The Benefits

• This model features high wicking Natural fibres in small amounts
• There is no polyester in the top comfort layers helping increase breathability
• This is a lightweight mattress at 42kg making it easier to lift
• It’s glue-free – like our Artisan Range

The Drawbacks

• This is one sided mattress limiting its lifespan when compared to a 2-sided equivalent
• The fibres are blended with multiple other fibres diluting their individual benefits somewhat.
• This model uses micro springs which we have found are pretty useless in mattress construction

What’s inside the Natural Collection Egyptian Cotton 5900?

The Egyptian Cotton 5900 is made by Harrison Spinks for John Lewis and is a Natural fibre and pocket sprung model. It’s a one-sided mattress that features:

• Hemp, Cotton, British Wool, Linen, Egyptian Cotton
• Cortec pocket springs
• Micro Springs
• Quilted Side Panels

Let’s have a look in more detail on the technical specifications of this John Lewis mattress in more detail.

Upholstery Layers

When we tested this mattress in the showroom it has a softer feel in the top layer before medium support which was true to the description. When we look at the fibres we can see that it contains a number of Natural Fibres but unfortunately, they don’t disclose the grams per square meter that you need to make a true like for like comparison. We can, however, use our expertise to give an estimate of these layers based on the technical specification on testing.

British Wool & Viscose Blend

This is the primary comfort layer which gives the initial soft feel to the mattress. It’s a shame that there’s no GSM given or breakdown of the blend. The Viscose is a plant-based fibre from plant celulose which has a similar feel to soft polyester and is what we would call an ‘in-between’ fibre that has similar properties to both a synthetic and natural fibre. It’s used to help increase loft in otherwise softer materials like wool. It can also be used to bulk up mattress layers. We would imagine from the mattress cutaway that this is a 500-800gsm layer.

Egyptian Cotton, Hemp, Flax & Cotton Blend

This is the next comfort layer before the support layers. It provides the mattress with a firmer feel after you’ve sunk through the blended Wool and Viscose. What’s interesting is the blend again is missing. Having such a broad blend of fibres can mean that you’re getting a small amount of each of their properties. Flax, for example, is a very supportive firm fibre whereas Cotton is very soft with a low loft.

We would guess that they have used a blend to help keep the loft high without increasing the GSM, ie keeping the amounts low for the price point. We tend not to use blends of more than 2 fibres as you can end up diluting their individual properties and lose the value of them. It does, however, allow you to state that there are lots of natural fibre ‘types’ in a mattress without having the benefits of them each being their own layer. We would estimate this pad to be 700-1000 GSM.

The Spring Support

The spring support in the mattress is listed as a medium feel but no specific spring gauge information is given. The micro springs again have no gauge given making it hard to do a direct comparison but we will move onto why we don’t rate high-density springs next!

2.5k High Density (Micro) Pocket Springs

We’re going to be honest, we never see the point in Micro Springs in mattress construction. In the most part, they are simply used to bulk up the spring count so it can be used as a marketing tool. As the competition for ‘which mattress has the most springs’ develops. In our experiments, these mico springs compress almost instantly when used in mattresses making them pretty much useless. As they are just over an inch in depth they provide little to no resistance once they have compressed. A horsetail layer would be far better here for support and resistance.

Cortec™ pocket spring system

The main support system is provided by Cortec pocket springs. There’s no count given but taking the 2,500 HD springs away from the 5900 figure we can estimate its around 3,400. Cortec springs are a relatively new development where pocket springs have been reduced in size and made thinner. The argument is that they are lighter and can be more responsive. However, a springs sole function is to compress and extend dependant on the forces put on it. A sleeper in the case of a mattress. We’re not sure whey they need to be thinner or what the benefit is other than being able to cram more in a mattress.

The maximum amount of pocket springs you can fit in a king-size is 2,000 in a single layer. Meaning that anything above this means reduced sized springs or layers of tiny micro springs. To find out what spring tension you require we have a handy table below. Remember: Your bodyweight dictates the spring tension, not the comfort feel of the bed

Your bodyweight dictates the spring tension, not the comfort feel of the bed