Free Mattress Buying Guide

TAKE OUR MATTRESS QUIZ

John Lewis Mohair mattress comparison

Melissa Vernon asked
14th January 2020

Hi Ryan and John,

I spoke to your team recently about a super king mattress. I am finding the whole process extremely confusing and since reading your comments I realise I am not alone in this.

Me and my partner have been looking at John Lewis ‘Mohair’ mattress but this was mainly as a local John Lewis ‘seconds’ retailer told me he could get this mattress for £250. I did think at the time that this seemed a little too good to be true and all he has come up with is a Myers ‘Memory Grand’ and a Slumberland mattress which I am struggling to find a comparison for.

Anyhow to cut a long story short we tried the ‘Mohair’ mattress and loved it in the medium firmness but neither of us wanted to pay £2,500 for a mattress and were sure that we could find something similar for a better price.

We’ve been looking at your Artisan mattresses with Mohair. After discussions, I think that both these mattresses are more than we want to spend at the moment. Could you possibly recommend something around the £600 mark? Is that even possible for a Mohair mattress?

My partner and I are 14 stone and 16stone. I suffer from bad neck/shoulders which I now think are as a result of sleeping on a mattress that is too hard. We thought at the time that this was a good thing for back problems. What else do you suggest we look at?

Thanks for your help and advice. It’s been a godsend in a really confusing mattress world. Regards, Melissa
.

1 Answer
Lee Staff
answered 12 years ago

Hi Melissa.

Updated 2020: Welcome to our world of all things mattress and great to hear from you! For your budget you’re really going to struggle to get any 100% natural fibre mattress as they simply don’t exist for under this price point. Many retailers will claim they ‘contain natural fibres’ but most of these are blends with only 1%-5% of any natural fibre content.

In order for you to adequately compare – you have to understand fully what you are comparing it to and then make the necessary compromises for your budget.

The upside is, you actually know what you want – but unfortunately, your bed budget doesn’t stretch! Let’s have a quick look at what you can expect for tour price point of £600 before we move on.

How much to spend on a double mattress?What can I expect for my money?
Under £500Will not get you much at best a 13.5 gauge open coil/cage sprung with a thin polyester layer or a solid foam mattress.
£500Entry level spunbond springs with some form of synthetic upholstery. Usually one sided mattresses.
£750The beginnings of a basic pocket springs unit with 800 – 1000 count. No substantial amount of filling other than foams and synthetic materials. Two sided models.
£1000Should get you away from most low ranges and into the mid-range pocket spring models.
£1250Should get you a decent pocket sprung mattress with some Natural Fibre content.
£1500Should get you many manufacturers mid-range models with Natural Fibres
£1500-£2000Should get you a Hand Made primarily Natural Fibre Quality Mattress
£2000+You should expect 100% Natural Fibres and Traditional Hand Made Construction Method.
£5000+A Bespoke Hand Made Sleep System, High-end Spring Units & Featuring the Worlds Most Luxurious Natural Fibres.

Let’s start by dissecting the John Lewis Natural Collection and then you will be able to see exactly what can be realistically done to fit your budget.

John Lewis Naturals Description:

The Premier mattress features the Revolution® HD springs/”>pocket spring system, with each pocketed spring containing an additional inner spring for extra support. There are 7000 of them in the kingsize mattress.

Above is an example of springs within springs and micro springs all which come at the sacrifice of the upholstery layers above as they take up far too much space in a mattress in our opinion.

It is handmade in Yorkshire, using Egyptian cotton, horsehair, locally sourced wool for superior temperature regulation and resilience and hemp, a strong natural fibre which provides resilience to give cushioned recovery and breathability.

Fine mohair is also added for a sumptuous, luxurious feel. These natural fibres have been used to reduce environmental impact. It also contains natural lavender to help promote restful sleep.

Recommended bed base: True Edge Divan Bases.Suitable for use on all our slatted bedsteads. The mainspring unit is Revolution ‘Spring in Spring’ and this is topped off with HD mini springs [blankets of mini springs laid on top and bottom of the main unit].

Spring counts explained:

There is a massive marketing exercise at the moment to see just how many springs one can fit into a mattress. It needs to be taken with caution as there’s only so many springs you can feasibly fit into a mattress (2000) before you have to start reducing their size or squeezing in tiny pointless springs.

How many actual Revolution® springs contained can only be answered by Harrisons or John Lewis. My guess is that there are 1000 with 3 rows of HD springs above and 3 rows of HD springs below to make up the 7000 count.

Spring TensionWire diameter (Gauge)Weight Range
Soft1.2mmBespoke Tension (Please Call)
Medium1.4mmUpto 16 stone
Firm1.6mm16 stone plus
Extra Firm / Orthopaedic1.9mm20 stone plus

If Harrisons and John Lewis are counting ‘Spring in Spring’ as two springs then I would assume that there will be 2 layers of HD springs above and below.

Without an accurate description, it’s hard to know and we don’t know why they don’t just specify the actual spring and GSM amount.

Secondly, to put this particular mattress in some sort of perspective, I would draw comparison to The Spink and Edgar Prestige: This boasts 2200 more ‘springs’ also based on the Revolution® and HD combo [total 9.200].

Mattress Upholstery Explained:

Also featuring Horsehair, Hempure, Cashmere and Wool [although the precise weight/content and/or mix is not divulged for some reason] The point I am making is that the retail price of this particular model is RRP £5053 a cool £2.553.00 more than the model you are looking at. So what is missing in your mattress apart from 2000 or so mini-springs that allow JL to sell it so cheap – or on the flipside – what is in The S&E Prestige [apart from 2000 or so more springs] that could be worth paying £2500 or so more for?

Finally, on to the fillings. As I have said time and time again, your confusion exists because manufacturers will not give you the weights of components used in their mattresses. You really should know the GSM [grams per square meter] of the cotton, the GSM of the horsehair, the GSM of the Mohair.

Only when you are armed with this absolute essential information will you be able to make an informed choice as to who is offering you more irrespective of brand. Our Superking Artisan Naturals is just over £1500 with the key Mohair component being 1500gsm each side utilising a pocket spring unit that can be considered as amongst the very best.

We think this is a well priced, well-built mattress. Our price is not overinflated and then reduced to infer some super pseudo Sale.

If you are looking for natural fibres, why not have a look at our Artisan Range

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the office on 0161 437 4419

John and Ryan.

Trustpilot