Best type of mattress

Maysie

i have a memory topper my matress was getting very uncomfortable its so comfrtable now . It was on ebay also for around £30ish. It did smell funny for 2 weeks or so but now its just fine.

Horasio

They are very comfy but if you sweat a lot, it can stink

jammiev

Emuchops wrote: »

Im confused! In desperate need of a new kingsize mattress but there seems to be so many types -memory foam, pocket sprung etc. Can anyone recommend a good "all rounder"-we have no back problems or special requirements-thanks. PS our base is the wooden slatted type and our current one is a Silentnight-about 7 years old.

here is the report on memory foam ones from which:
Best Buys

Memory foam mattresses are increasingly popular because they are good at relieving pressure on painful joints.

Navigate this report

• Overview
• Best Buys
• Features explained
• Compare products

Good for joints they may be, but they're more expensive than ordinary mattresses, with prices from £240 to more than £800 for a single.
Memory foam mattresses are made with layers of high-tech material, called visco-elastic, originally developed for NASA. This temperature-sensitive foam is attached on top of springs or thick polyurethane foam. As it's put on only one side of the mattress, most mattresses can't be turned over. Instead you rotate them to ensure they wear evenly.
The sprung type tends to be thicker and heavier than the foam type, so is harder to turn. It also has fixed covers, which cannot be washed. But both types offer similar support and pressure relief.
Sinking in

It takes time to get used to a memory foam mattress because the foam softens in response to body heat, moulding to your shape as you sink into it. It means more of your body is in contact with the mattress.
People who find it painful to lie down in bed should find memory foam comfortable because the body's weight is spread more evenly on the mattress. But the high surface contact can leave you feeling engulfed by the mattress; you may also find it harder to turn during the night.
Which? tests

Most of the memory foam mattresses we tested are well built and offer good body support.
But our Best Buys stand out because they have the best overall combination of body and lumbar support, and didn't sag or lose much firmness in our harsh test for durability, which involved passing a roller over each one 60,000 times to simulate around ten years of use.
Best Buys
Healthbeds Memory Flex

• Price: £450
• Score: 82%
• Type of Mattress: Foam only

The Healthbeds is the best choice if you don't like the idea of being swallowed by the surface of your mattress.
It's the softest of the foam-only Best Buys. You'll sink into it less than the others, without losing the pressure-relieving benefits of the foam.


Body Impressions Spa Sensations

• Price: £499
• Score: 79%
• Type of Mattress: Foam only

The Body Impressions offers the best body and lumbar support and is the best choice if you want a medium-firm mattress that will stay that way. But you'll sink into it more than the Healthbeds.
The cover is removable and can be washed at 40°C and drip-dried.


Sleepshaper Memory Regular Feel

• Price: £629
• Score: 78%
• Type of Mattress: Foam only

The Sleepshaper is another good mattress and the only Best Buy with washing instructions on its cover.
The cover is machine washable, which makes it particularly suitable for people who have dust-mite allergies and want to clean the cover regularly.


Kaymed Classic Original

• Price: £650
• Score: 77%
• Type of Mattress: Foam only

The Kaymed is also a medium-firm mattress and is the heaviest of the foam-only Best Buys, which makes it harder to rotate.
There are no washing instructions for the cover but Kaymed says you should wash it at 40°C or lower, with a short spin.


Healthbeds Memory Med 1400

• Price: £560
• Score: 74%
• Type of Mattress: Spring and foam

The Healthbeds is a pocket-sprung memory foam mattress that is the thickest and heaviest of the Best Buys - making it harder to turn, despite the four handles.
It feels soft and provides the best body and lumbar support of the sprung mattresses.

Chris25

..................if it's of any use, the February edition of BBC Good Homes magazine has a comp to win a king size foam mattress

Lips

I've just bought a new mattress and it's bliss! It's a Relyon Memory Foam 1250 from Bensons for Beds, and it was £599 for a king, which I think is great value. It's part sprung (1250 relates to the number of springs), but with a memory foam top. It is also a coolmax fabric so you don't get the same oppressive heat retention that memory foam is blighted with.

I would highly recommend it.

Hope this helps...

- Lips

Tim_Deegan

kazzieg wrote: »

i always had a sprung mattress then decided i wanted a new bed. Splashed out on a superking with a memory foam mattress and i wouldnt go back to a spring mattress ever again.

There appears to be a popular belief that memory mattresses don't contain springs. The fact is that the best type of memory foam mattresses do contain springs as well as memory foam.

Tim_Deegan

Maysie wrote: »

i have a memory topper my matress was getting very uncomfortable its so comfrtable now . It was on ebay also for around £30ish. It did smell funny for 2 weeks or so but now its just fine.

I'm afraid it is a false economy to try and revive an old worn out mattress with a memory foam topper. The mattress can actually damage the topper.

Tim_Deegan

Lips wrote: »

It is also a coolmax fabric so you don't get the same oppressive heat retention that memory foam is blighted with.

I would highly recommend it.

Hope this helps...

- Lips

I'm afraid that coolmax on a bed is yet another sales gimmick. It will feel cooler when you first get into bed, but after a while it will warm up. Coolmax is great for outdoor clothing where is is constantly being cooled by the wind. But unless you have been eating loads of baked beans it is unlikely that there will be much of a breeze to cool your mattress.

There are a couple of reasons that some people say that memory foam makes you too hot:

a) some manufacturers use very deep layers of memory foam, and tell people that the deeper the foam the better. The truth is that the optimum thickness for memory foam is 2" to 2 1/2". Less than this and it won't be enough to contour to your body. If the foam is too deep, then you will sink into it, and it will wrap around you making you too hot.

b)mattresses with Reflex foam and memory foam don't allow air to circulate under the memory foam to remove the heat. This obviously isn't an issue with pocket sprung and memory foam mattresses. Memory foam does actually absorb heat from your body which then reacts with it to soften it. So as long as the heat can then disperse there is no problem.

Personally I find that I sweat less with my memory foam mattress than I did with my previous one.

BlackBladder

I don't like the memory foam ones. I tried out an £800 mattress in store and I found it the most uncomfortable thing ever. I don't think there is a "best" mattress. Find one that is comfortable for you and buy that.

Tim_Deegan

BlackBladder wrote: »

I don't like the memory foam ones. I tried out an £800 mattress in store and I found it the most uncomfortable thing ever. I don't think there is a "best" mattress. Find one that is comfortable for you and buy that.

Memory foam is like marmite.....u love it or you hate it.

Memory foam won't siut people who like a soft mattress as it needs to be high density to work properly.

Remember that an £800 mattress in a store could quite easily be £300 or less on the net.