Which tension in the Bespoke 004?
Many thanks for your helpful comments above and emails. I have decided to go for the Artisan Bespoke 004 – Double. The only problem I am having is deciding whether to go for the soft tension or medium tension. When I tested the Vi springs beds at John Lewis, I found the soft did not feel supportive and I especially did not like the way the side of the bed had no support, so it felt like I was going to roll off the bed as the sides of the mattresses slumped so much. But I do want to achieve that feeling of sleeping on a cloud. But on the other hand most people say a soft mattress is not good for your back. So I am a bit eeny meeny miny mo at the moment!
I am intending to go back for another trial, but try other beds that are soft and medium so that I can determine whether I should be buying a soft bespoke 4 or a medium tension bespoke 4. >
Hi Robert,
Thanks for your question.
The right support for your body weight is crucial so please just don’t guess. The ‘Soft’ you tried on the Vi-Spring mattress does not give an attributed ‘spring gauge ‘ our soft spring for example is in the region of 1.28mm.
| Bodyweight | Spring tension |
|---|---|
| Upto 16 Stone / 50-101kg | Medium (1.4mm) |
| 16 Stone / 101kg Upwards | Firm (1.6mm) |
| Available in Bespoke Products (Please Call) | Soft (1.2mm) |
Also, thought has to be given to the upholstery layers used as well. A lot of upholstery when compacted and sewn up to be contained within the mattress will have an effect on the overall mattress tension. All these things have to be taken into consideration to come to the right product choice.
The Artisan Bespoke 004 is very much a true medium feeling model in it’s top layer providing that slight sink but not too much. It also has the benefit of being constructed with 100% natural fillings.
You make a good observation about the edge support on Vi Spring mattresses. Vi Spring manufacture their mattresses without an edge support other than Hand Side Stitching. This removal gives the mattress an equal level of support across the entire sleep area – however, it does give you that roll off feeling you have experienced. This is not a problem when the mattress is either Superking or bigger but when the sleep space of two adults is minimised as on Double or King size beds it can be problematic.
The addition of an edge support rod edge may make the mattress tension slightly firmer on the perimeter but the pros of this far outweigh the cons.
The sleeping on a cloud level of comfort is difficult to achieve within the mattress alone. Is this cloud like comfort going to be obtained by a soft spring which may not be supportive enough for your bodyweight or is it going to be achieved by the use of very soft upholstery layers – such as all wool as in the Vi Spring Coronet for example?
Extra comfort should be obtained by use of a separate topper. Please see our article here on mattress toppers.
Once you start meddling with the support elements sooner or later when settlement occurs things can go wrong – becomes too soft! A mattress can be adapted to be softer through the use of a topper but nothing can be added to make a mattress firmer.
I hope this has answered your questions fully but if you do have any further queries please don’t hesitate to contact our office on 0161 437 4419.
Kind Regards, John and Ryan.
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