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Getting a hybrid mattress may very well be the best decision you can take to improve your sleep experience.
Combining pocket spring coils with memory foam, the hybrid design takes the best elements of each mattress type, making it the best of both worlds. The resulting mattress is supportive and responsive without feeling too plush or firm.
However, just like hybrid mattresses, there are layers upon layers of considerations to be mindful of when purchasing them. With the market seeing an abundance of options in recent years, the task may feel a little intimidating. But that’s no cause for worry.
Following are the five best mattresses that you can find in the UK, detailed with what makes them great and where they fall short. Let’s find out which mattress comes out on top.
Nectar’s hybrid mattress features adaptive memory foam that is designed to target specific pressure points in your body for maximum comfort and better spinal alignment. It’s neither too firm nor too soft, rated 6.5 out of 10 in the mattress firmness scale. This makes it the perfect middle-ground for people who prefer a medium-firm bed. The Nectar Hybrid Mattress boasts minimal motion transfer, enabling a disturbance-free sleep.
It is compatible with nearly every bed frame type, so you will not be limited by the kind of frame you own. With zero transfer and proper airflow, Nectar has committed to making your sleep as comfortable as possible. This brand is confident in the quality of the mattress by providing a lifetime warranty, a rarity in the industry. The mattress will always be repaired or replaced by Nectar without any questions.
It may not provide enough lift to the hips of stomach sleepers, resulting in a sub-optimal sleeping posture.
Nectar’s Hybrid Mattress proves itself to be one of the best options on the UK market, offering superb comfort with its six layers. Its bed frame-friendly design makes it extremely versatile, making it suited for nearly every home.
Simba’s flagship hybrid mattress is a product that the company claims to be ‘the perfect mattress’. It’s a bold claim for any company to make and we have put it to the test. Made of five distinct layers, the Simba Hybrid caters to every person’s preferred flavour of comfort. The key to the mattress’ comfort are micro-springs in the third layer. Crafted from titanium, the pocket springs are thinner and more durable than a typical hybrid mattress.
The Simba Hybrid Pro mattress is completely recyclable, making it environment-friendly. Old mattresses are never sent to a landfill to be discarded; instead, they are refurbished or repurposed, making their carbon footprint neutral. Moreover, Simba offers a 10-year warranty on the memory foam mattress, offering repairs or replacements when necessary. Combined with the make of the mattress and superb body support, the Simba Hybrid does come in range to be the best mattress.
The mattress cover may be a little loose, which may cause problems when you spread a bedsheet on it.
The Simba Hybrid does come very close to being the perfect mattress with its edge-to-edge support and Aerocoil comfort layer. It also provides excellent body support while being quite breathable and comfortable, ensuring a good night’s sleep.
Dreamcloud’s luxury hybrid mattress aims to bring the best of both worlds as it combines memory foam with pocket springs for excellent support. No matter the bed size, the Dreamcloud memory foam mattress will prove to be a fine companion for your bed. Much like the Simba hybrid mattress, the Dreamcloud mattress features five layers. Dreamcloud’s pocket springs cover the mattress from one edge to the last, minimising the motion transfer for undisturbed sleep.
This is a medium-firm mattress, scoring a 6.5 out of 10 on a softness-firmness scale. The firmer mattress is ideal for older people as it offers ample support to every body part, no matter the sleeping position. With a lifetime warranty and a 365-night home trial, the brand has shown a lot of confidence in its product.
The Dreamcloud Luxury Mattress is somewhat heavier than other hybrid mattresses, which may be an issue when you need to move it.
The Dreamcloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress offers superb support for every body part and acts as a tension reliever for your body. It is the mattress that couples may prefer, with its minimal motion transfer and breathable fabric.
Emma Premium Hybrid Mattress finds a middle-ground in the number of layers it involves in delivering the maximum comfort, sitting at a cosy six. For optimal spinal alignment, Emma has employed a pressure-relieving memory foam, namely the dubbed Halo Memory Foam that supports your body as required. The elastic Airgocell layer wicks moisture and directs body heat away, making your nights cooler and more comfortable.
If we were to grade it on the softness-firmness scale, the Emma mattress rates similar to the Nectar Hybrid Mattress at around 5.5-6. The mattress gradually softens as you continue to use it with a break-in period of only a few days. Comfortable for back and side sleepers, the Emma Premium will also surprise you with its soft support. Moreover, the company offers a 10-year warranty on the product, along with a 200-night trial period.
You may detect chemical odour emanating from your Emma Premium mattress when it is new.
Emma’s Premium Mattress finds its place on the best hybrid mattress (UK) market as the all-rounder that does everything well but does not excel anywhere in particular. It still remains a solid choice for those who prefer a mattress that is at the dead middle of the softness-firmness scale.
Brook and Wilde has made an impact on the hybrid mattress segment with the Lux Mattress, boasting a premium design at an affordable price. Designed with deeper comfort layers and zone-based support for spinal alignment, the mattress features no less than five layers of innovation. The Lux Mattress also features 1,000 pocket springs that provide a nice bounce and pushback when you sit or lie down on it.
It ranks in the dead centre of the softness-firmness scale, scoring a 5 out of 10, making it a softer mattress than the other hybrid mattresses on the list. Like the Emma Premium, the Lux Mattress comes with a 10-year guarantee, covering repairs and replacement. Moreover, the mattress can be recycled as well, reducing its carbon footprint.
The cover cannot be removed for washing purposes, making it somewhat inconvenient to clean.
The highlights of the Lux Mattress have to be its softness and temperature regulation capabilities. It finds a sweet spot that will please sleepers of all kinds, providing ample support while retaining a plush quality to it.
There is no single benefit that can be pointed to as the definitive reason to choose a hybrid mattress. Instead, there are several, listed in detail below.
Hybrid mattresses will provide you with better quality of sleep than standard memory foam mattresses. They are called so due to them featuring pocket springs as well as memory foam. The two systems work in tandem to create a support system that will give you a relaxing night’s sleep, no matter the sleeping position.
The mattresses direct body heat away from the surface, regulating the mattress temperature and giving you the rest you need. Gel-infused memory foam layers perform this task quite well. Lastly, the mattress cradles your body with proper spine alignment as you sleep, keeping your joints from aching in the morning.
Between the super-soft memory foam and the extremely firm polyfoam mattresses, the hybrid mattress strikes the perfect balance when it comes to its density. While sleeping on a hybrid mattress, you won’t sink into the foam, nor will you feel its firmness in the morning.
The pocket-coil layer of a hybrid mattress provides it with a much-needed bounce while keeping motion transfer at a bare minimum.
Hybrid mattresses still contain a layer of memory foam which embraces your body as you sleep, which works in tandem with the pocket springs. The resistance given by the springs may create a weightless feel for some, which is a soothing experience.
These mattresses provide ample support while having you feel as if you were floating in the air, crafting a unique sleeping experience.
Every hybrid mattress brings its own spin to the formula, creating a different experience for its user. Since they don’t run their course for a long time, hybrid mattresses are worth investing in.
Choose the mattress of your liking and customise your sleeping experience to be as good as it can be.
Hybrid mattresses give you an option that a foam or spring mattress simply can’t: customizability. You can choose between an innerspring system and the typical pocket springs. Or simply opt for the memory foam layer to be entirely made out of something else. There is even an option for an additional quilted cushioning layer.
These mattresses can be tailored to be made specifically for you.
Companies make a big deal out of their mattresses having minimal or no motion transfer and for good reason, too. No one likes frequent motion on the other side of the bed to disturb their sleep.
Hybrid mattresses feature the pocket springs, which act separately and react to the pressure on the bed individually. This is in stark contrast to innerspring systems, which are not great for motion transfer due to all the springs moving at the same time.
Three layers are the bare-minimum for any hybrid mattress, including the base, a layer of pocket springs and one of memory foam. This makes it about 10-15 inches thick, depending on the size of the memory foam layer and the foam base.
Most hybrid mattresses on the market have at least five layers to provide superior comfort and temperature regulation. Let’s peek into the inner makings of a mattress and see how each layer functions.
Comfort layer, as the name suggests, is the layer most responsible for the comfort a mattress provides. This layer resides just below the mattress protector cover, obscuring where the mattress layers end.
By compressing around your body, the comfort layer provides pressure relief and supports your sensitive body parts. Moreover, the layer is a deciding factor in the firmness of your mattress. Softer foams like memory foam give your mattress a plush feel, while the opposite is true for firmer ones.
These are the most prominent materials used to make the comfort layer.
Made from the sap of the rubber tree, latex foam ensures cooling and responsiveness. The durability of natural latex is unmatched and it will likely contribute to your hybrid mattress lasting for a long time. It’s also made completely natural, making it the most environment-friendly foam on the list.
Chiefly, there are three kinds of latex foams for mattresses: dunlop latex, talalay latex and synthetic latex. Each of these will give you a different kind of feel and durability.
The dunlop and talalay foams are used the most of the three, with dunlop being the most durable and dense while the talalay being the most breathable. Synthetic latex mattress is often less responsive and offers limited temperature control, making it not as desirable.
Memory foam is the most desirable material used to make the comfort layer of a hybrid mattress. It compresses around your body and cushions it accordingly, providing optimal support and comfort.
Comfort layers made with memory foam are often the most breathable and their relatively lower cost makes them more appealing as well.
You can find three kinds of memory foam that are used to create a comfort layer: open-cell, gel and plant-based memory foam. Each of these has a distinct specialisation.
Open-cell memory foam has thousands of small pockets for maximum breathability, allowing for extra airflow to regulate your body temperature.
Gel memory foam achieves the same, but its method of doing so is slightly different. The gel additives used during the manufacturing process wards off body heat to keep you cool through the night.
Lastly, plant-based memory foam employs very few petroleum products, resulting in a breathable and responsive comfort layer. The responsiveness also allows it to retain its original shape faster than traditional memory foam.
Support layer consists of pocket springs that increase the responsiveness and air circulation of your mattress. The coils used in hybrid mattresses differ from those in traditional mattresses, as they prevent heat from being trapped in the mattress while providing you with extra bounce.
These springs are surrounded by foam or fabric sleeves to reduce the noise and motion transfer of your mattress. Since foam and fabric allow the passage of air freely, this maintains the temperature and airflow, making this layer a crucial component of the mattress.
The factors that contribute to a support layer’s feedback are coil count, coil gauge and edge support.
Coil count is the number of coils used in the support layer. One would assume that the higher the number of coils used in the mattress, the better, but that is not the case. Too many coils are unnecessary and do not add much to the bounce of the mattress. But, if the number of coils is too few, the support layer won’t be sufficient.
The thickness of each coil in the support layer is known as its coil gauge. A typical support layer will have a coil gauge of 12 to 15, with 15 being the least firm kind. The higher the gauge, the softer and less durable the layer will be.
Lastly, the edge support is the mattress’ ability to retain its shape around the edges. If your mattress collapses when you sit on the edge, it has poor edge support. Good edge support is vital to prevent you from sliding off while sleeping.
Base layer serves to protect the bottom of the support layer from damage, making the mattress more durable. Being the foundation atop which the other layers rest, the base layer is a crucial factor in reducing motion transfer and noise even further. It acts as a cushion underneath the coils as you move around.
Hybrid mattresses are extremely versatile and suitable for nearly all types of sleepers. They are especially effective for those suffering from back pain, and have trouble finding good sleep.
Here’s who a hybrid mattress is great for.
The support layer of a hybrid mattress will do wonders for your back, thanks to the pocket-coil spring system. Your mattress will compress in all the right spots and give your sensitive areas the push they need to provide ideal comfort.
The breathability of a hybrid mattress enables it to provide you with proper airflow, warding off body heat and keeping you cool. When combined with a breathable comfort layer made of latex or gel foam, a hybrid mattress can be cooler than any other mattress on the market.
Reduced motion transfer makes a hybrid mattress preferable for couples. Since the mattress coils act independently, each partner can get better body support from the mattress than a traditional pocket sprung mattress or memory foam mattresses.
Hybrid mattresses are an ideal for your bedding, but that does not mean they are perfect. There are a couple of areas where they visibly lack.
A major drawback of hybrid mattresses is their price. While you can mix and match the materials used in your mattress to mitigate the cost, the result is still relatively expensive. If your budget is relatively low, a hybrid mattress may prove to be a bit pricey.
Poor motion transfer can particularly become a nuisance for light sleepers, making them less than ideal. This can be overcome by looking up reviews of your preferred mattresses and checking the manufacturer warranty.
Another drawback is their weight, as they contain layers upon layers of different materials for a great sleep experience. If you live in a temporary place or need to move frequently, a hybrid mattress may make things slightly more difficult to manage.
So, make sure you consider these factors before deciding on a hybrid mattress. Nonenthess, its positive attributes definitely outweigh these minor downsides.
Hybrid mattresses show promise when it comes to the ideal sleep experience. These mattresses have the potential to cater to everyone’s needs, no matter the kind of sleeper. Naturally, this makes picking the best mattress difficult, as everyone has different preferences.
Overall, the mattress with the best comfort and most versatility is the Nectar Hybrid Mattress. With its medium-firm feel, six layers of comfort and universal compatibility with bed frames, it proves itself to be better than most mattresses. The carbon neutral footprint is simply the cherry on the cake.
The DreamCloud and Simba hybrid mattresses don’t lag far behind either, with both mattress brands offering a different flavour of comfort and breathability. Your choice of the ideal mattress may vary, and these two are perfectly valid alternatives to the Nectar.
That brings us to the end of this review, hopefully allowing you to make an informed decision when purchasing your hybrid mattress!
