Loaf mattresses vs John Ryan By Design which are better?

Hi Nico,

Thanks for your question asking us to compare our Hand Made mattress models to Loaf’s mattresses. It’s really promising to see that they have given you the GSM. Hooray! We have been championing other retailers to finally disclose what’s in their mattresses for years. Hopefully, Loaf will start listing it on their website so other customers can compare their mattresses properly.

Ok we’re going to assess our range against Loaf’s mattresses against the nearest feel and composition.

First up the Loaf Perfect Mattress. Which contains 2000gsm of fillings. The majority of these fillings are synthetic and super loft fibre is just a fancy word for polyester or white fibre. These are all synthetic man-made fibres which allow this model to come in at this price point of £595 at a Kingsize. It’s worth noting that it’s only one-sided. This is really important as it means you can only ever sleep on one side of the mattress. We have written about this extensively here. Unless you’re paying half the price you should always avoid a one-sided mattress if possible. It’s a fake benefit. It just means your bed will settle and compress faster reducing its ultimate shelf life.

On another note, a 200gsm layer of any fibre is neither use nor ornament. The lowest gsm you should be looking for is at least 300, if the final top comfort layer. Placing 200gsm in the middle of the mattress will serve no comfort purpose at all as the other layers will instantly crush it. It’s the same with placing silk under polyester or superloft fibre. It’s pointless. That layer should be the last comfort layer closest to your body to have any effect. You’re sleeping on top of polyester rather than silk. I’m not sure if they have gotten the layer order confused with this one.

Our Origins Pocket 1500 is our closest comparison. In total it comprises of 1100gsm more fillings and is two-sided so can be turned and rotated. We use 300gsm of wool in the top final comfort layer which is more breathable than polyester. There is nothing wrong per se with polyester at this price point. However, it shouldn’t be the final comfort layer if there are natural fibres available. We use a one-inch foam pad as a spring insulator. This stops all the other fibres from compressing and sagging around the pocket springs You need this to provide a level playing field for all the other fibres. It’s strange that Loaf has discarded this insulator component.

Upholstery Layers	Loaf Top Dog Mattress	Artisan Tailored Pocket 2000	Loaf Perfect Mattress	Origins 1500
1	1200gsm Superloft white fibres (Synthetic)	1200gsm Blended British Fleece Wool & Cotton	200gsm super loft white fibres (which they describe as being microfibre)	300gsm Wool
2	1000gsm Cotton	Hairproof Cambric Cover	500gsm Silk	750gsm Soft Polyester
3	1000gsm Cashmere & Silk (No blend percentage given)	1250gsm Polycotton	200gsm Cotton	500gsm Polyester Pad
4	NA	1500gsm Pure 100% Mohair	1100gsm Polyester	One Inch Foam Spring Insulator
Total GSM	3200gsm	3950gsm	2000gsm	1550gsm
Springs/ Support	2200 Synthetic Pocket Springs (No gauge given probably 1.4 Medium)	2000 Dual layer spun bond Pocket Springs (Soft, Med or Firm tension)	1400 Synthetic Pocket Springs (No gauge given probably 1.4 Medium)	1500 1.4 gauge Spun bond Pocket Springs
Sides	2 Sided	2 Sided	1 Sided (can't turn)	2 Sided

Now onto the Loaf Top Dog Mattress. This model uses a dual spring or twin up pocket spring system. In mattress design, this helps give a mattress a far more progressive and somewhat lively feel as there are two rows of springs reacting to you and each other. The Loaf mattress has 3200gsm of fillings again a mix of synthetic and natural fibres. From the look of this, it will have a medium feel based on the fillings. It’s hard to know what spring tension they are using as they don’t provide the gauge. Have a look below at the spring tension table to assist. They use a polyester insulator on this model whereas we use Mohair a Premium Natural fibre. The Loaf mattress is two sided which is great, another hooray!

Our Artisan Tailored Pocket 2000 is our nearest comparison which features significantly more GSM with 3950gsm reflected in the slightly higher price. It also features Mohair which is a Luxury Natural fibre and Wool & Cotton for a forgiving feel in the top layer. We use a polycotton blend above the mohair to help provide some loft. It’s more breathable than synthetic super loft or polyester as it’s blended with a natural fibre. It’s blended so we can keep the price competitive. If you want entirely Natural fillings in a dual spring Calico encased pocket spring mattress then have a look at our Artisan Bespoke 002. This will also show you the price point you would be looking at to go completely natural with a Vanadium coated top end spring unit.

Artisan Bespoke 003	Mattress Dimensions	Weight
Single	3′ x 6’3″ (90cm x 190cm)	40kg
Double	4’6″ x 6’3″ (135cm x 190cm)	58kg
King	5′ x 6’6″ (150cm x 200cm)	68kg
Superking	6′ x 6’6″ (180cm x 200cm)	78kg

Spring Tension	Wire diameter (Gauge)	Weight Range
Soft	1.2mm	Bespoke Tension (Please Call)
Medium	1.4mm	Upto 16 stone
Firm	1.6mm	16 stone plus
Extra Firm / Orthopaedic	1.9mm	20 stone plus

We hope that is of help in assessing which mattress is right for you. Ideally, we would need to know your body weight and height to give a properly tailored mattress recommendation. Please drop us an email or call Nico to chat through the suitability of mattresses.
[email protected]
0161 437 4419

All the best