Shopping for a firm mattress

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Hello,
I am after a single firm mattress, the firmer the better. However, I know nothing about the technical side of the mattress world, and I don't want to spend a lot of money. There is probably an optimum between price and quality, and a good, midrange manufacturer that produces what I am after. All I have to do is find out who that is and what's the optimum price.
Please could you share info/experience on the mattresses you have/had, comfort, durability, price, etc.
Once again, I am after a really firm mattress, and not looking for Rolls-Royce grade pricing.
Thank you in advance for your advice.

CurlyTop

The only thing I can add about mattresses is for firmness but not rockhardness, is a pocket sprung mattress. This is where the mattress is made up of lots of springs that are individually sewn in. They provide great support. I have a double bed unfortunately and can't give you any guidelines as to cost but I remember when we decided to upgrade our bed and get something decent, the man in the shop was really helpful and he said that for a double bed, anything with 1600 springs is good, so for a single would think approximately half of that. At the time, I got our bed reduced from £1000 to £600 (that was 10 years ago) and its still going strong, in respect of no dipping in the middle, etc. I'll be looking to replace it this year I think, mainly cos of the length of time we've had it and I wouldn't hesitate to get another one. Our make was Millbrook I think - mattress is too heavy for me to turn over to look at present.

The_Biff

Go to Ikea with your weight. They have graphs etc which show the degree of firmness required. They give you more info than any other company & also have the longest guarantees.
We have a large Ikea bed with 2 single mattresses on it. Firm for me (horsehair & organic cotton) & medium for the wife.

Pinkypants

Just go for a firm open coil spring around the £150 mark. There is little point having a pocket sprung mattress very firm unless you are very heavy or large. Very firm pocket sprung mattress defeat the object of pocket sprung. The spring are design to give and mould around the body and that can only happen when the spring is slightly softer.

But then again it all depends on your perception of firm. That's the trouble with talking about this type of product. There are over 100 companies in the UK making mattresses and NO industry standard of firmness.

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Pinkypants wrote: »

Just go for a firm open coil spring around the £150 mark. There is little point having a pocket sprung mattress very firm unless you are very heavy or large. Very firm pocket sprung mattress defeat the object of pocket sprung. The spring are design to give and mould around the body and that can only happen when the spring is slightly softer.

But then again it all depends on your perception of firm. That's the trouble with talking about this type of product. There are over 100 companies in the UK making mattresses and NO industry standard of firmness.

I don't think I am really large (163cm, 54kg), but I am not sure I want the mattress to mould around my body. You see, once I had a great mattress; it was firm enough that I could do yoga asanas on it, but I have forgotten what the make was, otherwise I would just get another one of those. And, if I get the firmest matterss, I can always soften it with a pad.
I read Myers is a good company, with reasonably-priced products.
Milbrook looks like a premium brand, and they don't seem to do many mattress-only deals, they do complete beds. Sealy seems to get good reviews too.

Just_landed

I swear by Silentnight, 29 cm deep and if you shop about you should get one for less than £140 On the double which I have, do you remember the advert for a Hippo on one side and a duck on the other, so no roll. Their are quit a few different ones to choose from. The one I purchased recently is a firm one and is called Regal Supreme Mattress. What a good night sleep much better than the Bubbles one we used for 3 years.

:j:j:j

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Just_landed wrote: »

I swear by Silentnight, 29 cm deep and if you shop about you should get one for less than £140 On the double which I have, do you remember the advert for a Hippo on one side and a duck on the other, so no roll. Their are quit a few different ones to choose from. The one I purchased recently is a firm one and is called Regal Supreme Mattress. What a good night sleep much better than the Bubbles one we used for 3 years.

:j:j:j

Thank you very much for this info. I have a pragmatic question.
Say we have one of your Silentnight mattresses - firm, with Hippo/Duck feature, for £140, and then we have a Sealy or some such brand for double the price.
Are we just paying for the brand name? Are we paying for theoretical technical specifications? Or are we paying for tangible design aspects that really make the mattress better?
Ikea mattresses were mentioned by one of the members who replied. I considered Ikea, but their mattresses seem to be getting mixed reviews. How does Ikea compare to Silentnight, or Myers for example?

seafarers_wife

I love my ikea mattress, but it was expensive compared to the ikea bed we bought. It is so firm friends have said "I've slept on softer bricks" but they prefer a soft mattress. This s the one I've got

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90180662/

Go to bed shops and try out mattresses so you get an idea of what you like.

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seafarers_wife wrote: »

I love my ikea mattress, but it was expensive compared to the ikea bed we bought. It is so firm friends have said "I've slept on softer bricks" but they prefer a soft mattress. This s the one I've got


Go to bed shops and try out mattresses so you get an idea of what you like.

Thank you, I saved the info of this mattress.
Over time, did you notice any sagging or any loss of firmness of the mattress?

seafarers_wife

Have only had it since may but haven't noticed anything like sagging etc. the only downside is the mattress is very very heavy. You really need 3 people to help carry/position the mattress on the bed.

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Excellent! The Ikea mattress suggested by seafarers_wife is so far the closest thing to what I am after. It's priced at £400 for a single, but I'll still put it on my wish list.
If anyone knows of a brick-hard mattress at a better-than-£400 price for a single, I'd be grateful for your suggestions.