Hello Dear Mattress Underground,
Once again the torment of choice.
This will be mattress number 8 or 9 for me in a 20 year period. As you can see I haven’t done very well to date.
Previous disasters were latex (the push back sensation I experienced kept my muscles activated all night and I rarely slept deeply) Memory foam (my heavier hips made the mattress dip and put my back out of alignment …more pain) Gel (similar to the foam)
Also a series of too hard mattresses (due to then living in Asia where hard - most likley a western extra firm - is the norm) which, as a part time side sleeper, put serious pressure on shoulders and hips and meant I got to know a series of pysiotherapists very well .
Now back in Europe I have access to a much wider selection of beds and beds of different firmnesses etc But which to choose ?
I think old school (flippable, pocket sprung, natural fibres - just not rubber!) is probably the way to go for me. The most comfortable bed I have ever slept on was a Vispring (30 yrs old at the time and long out of production) and something equally ancient in my mum’s guest room (hand made, pocket sprung, filled with wool and horse hair )
I tried out some Vi spring here in the uk but was put off by the fact that three models in the showroom had a noticeable valley/hump formation on the double beds, also the on line reviews which echoed this criticism (and a few more)
Then I turned to Hypnos which is not a brand I am familiar with but also feels old school and probably a good bet IF I can navigate and find the right one.
I looked at their new(er) ortho range, but the showroom models gave me pause for thought. One labelled firm (correctly) was softer than the medium/soft.
I have found less negative reviews with Hypnos beds than Vi spring but there still seems to be a pattern of Hypnos mattress buyers who had issue with the firmness level as given by the company. Most were complaining that the beds were softer than they had been graded. This is making me wonder if I should actually buy a firm not medium/firm.
The only other (and totally different) bed which has caught my eye came out as one of the top ‘Which’ contenders in 2024 (and maybe this year too) Is the “Jay-Be 2000 Hybrid e-pocket true core eco- friendly” Its a hybrid, pocket spring (no gel or latex or memory foam but it does use recycled plastic). It is sold in a soft/medium and firm setting. Which’s test result was quite impressive, but as a bed-in-a-box mattress its unlikely that I would be able to test it out. So a leap of faith purchase for sure. I’ve only tried one bed in a box before, The Emma, in its very early incarnation. I hated it, not nearly enough support. Once again, I can’t decide if this is a warning sign for me ( avoid all boxed beds especially one that has a non natural fibre like plastic in it ) or means nothing at all ; boxed hybrids have come along way.
This is a longer read, so thank you for getting this far. I’d be really interested to hear from anyone who has bought a Hypnos mattress or knows anything about the Jay be brand ? (Apart from the Which ? write up I can’t find much on line )