Bed Mattress

Slatted bases are at the cheaper end of the market. Sprung edge bases, by the nature of their construction, more expensive. A mattress will work better with full support underneath compared to being supported by just a few 3" slats. The sprung divan also adds another layer of suspension which works with the mattress springs.
See if you can find a slatted base from Harrisons, Vspring or Savoir. You won't and there's a reason for that.
 
Slatted bases are at the cheaper end of the market. Sprung edge bases, by the nature of their construction, more expensive. A mattress will work better with full support underneath compared to being supported by just a few 3" slats. The sprung divan also adds another layer of suspension which works with the mattress springs.
See if you can find a slatted base from Harrisons, Vspring or Savoir. You won't and there's a reason for that.
As I said, the rest of the world must be wrong when I was growing up. Never seen any such constructions until I came to the UK....But hey let's agree to disagree. Whatever floats your boat, I've been there (still are with a nearly £3K divan/pocketsprung system in superking) but my wife (English) now also agrees that actually it doesn't do anything.

But each should get the system they want, I still think it is daft to put MDF onto of slats, that just doesn't make any sense.
 
But each should get the system they want, I still think it is daft to put MDF onto of slats, that just doesn't make any sense.

It seems straightforward to me. Slats don't provide support under the total surface of the mattress. This will shorten the life of the mattress.
Pocket sprung, memory foam and latex mattress all work best with a flat base, ideally a sprung base.
Finally, the better the mattress, the heavier is generally is and will need a more solid base.
 
As I said, the rest of the world must be wrong when I was growing up. Never seen any such constructions until I came to the UK....But hey let's agree to disagree. Whatever floats your boat, I've been there (still are with a nearly £3K divan/pocketsprung system in superking) but my wife (English) now also agrees that actually it doesn't do anything.

But each should get the system they want, I still think it is daft to put MDF onto of slats, that just doesn't make any sense.

What do you think the advantage of a slatted base is then? I remember many years ago I was looking to buy a new mattress and was told I would get the best out of it if I covered the slats on my existing bed base with a single solid piece. For whatever reason I didn't end up purchasing a mattress at the time but the advice stuck in my mind. Shortly after, when moving furniture due to a house extension, I tried using the existing mattress directly on the floor for a while without the slated base and there's no doubt it felt more comfortable that way, so I figured the guy knew what he was talking about.
 
I bought a latex mattress from Ikea for the single guest bed in my house. Latex is supposed to be the firmest of the foam type matress but also the coolest.

Spent a few nights on it a few weeks ago while waiting on a new bed being delivered. Woke up every night absolutely boiling, sweating and generally too hot to be comfortable.
Had to get up and shower a couple of times as I was to uncomfortably sweaty.

It's firmness is good and it's actually quite comfortable but the heat it retains makes it unuseable for me.
I'll stick with a pocket sprung mattress.

About 8 years ago I bought a pocket sprung mattress with 2 inch thick memory foam on top and would wake up feeling like my legs were on fire. The seller promised returns/exchanges if not happy so I tried to exchange for a regular pocket sprung but he convinced me to go for a pocket/memory combo again only with climasmart fabric over the memory foam. This stuff is supposed to keep the mattress cool. The new mattress I ordered was also a firmer model and I ended up keeping it but to this day, I don't know if it's the magic fabric that has stopped my legs catching fire or if it's because the mattress is firmer and I'm not sinking into it so much and trapping heat. Either way, I've been reasonably happy with it.
 
What do you think the advantage of a slatted base is then? I remember many years ago I was looking to buy a new mattress and was told I would get the best out of it if I covered the slats on my existing bed base with a single solid piece. For whatever reason I didn't end up purchasing a mattress at the time but the advice stuck in my mind. Shortly after, when moving furniture due to a house extension, I tried using the existing mattress directly on the floor for a while without the slated base and there's no doubt it felt more comfortable that way, so I figured the guy knew what he was talking about.
Back support, pressure distribution, ventilation, and then you can also have adjustable systems such that a bed can be perfect for you in different settings.

Everyone will have their own preference for their own perfect bed. But MDF on top of slats is just daft and nothing more than a silly hack. If you want a flat closed in non circulating support then get the proper bed frame to do so. I'f seen the photo on the aforementioned recommended bed site, and that seems to be a hack as their mattresses aren't suitable for anything else and they still want to sell them.
 
It seems straightforward to me. Slats don't provide support under the total surface of the mattress. This will shorten the life of the mattress.
Pocket sprung, memory foam and latex mattress all work best with a flat base, ideally a sprung base.
Finally, the better the mattress, the heavier is generally is and will need a more solid base.
More solid and weight carrying than an arch? LOL That is basic architectural science :) I've now seen the blog post on the aforementioned website, seem to me nothing more than a heck to sell their mattresses where otherwise they wouldn't be deemed suitable. I.e. to overcome a short coming in their product...
 
Back support, pressure distribution, ventilation, and then you can also have adjustable systems such that a bed can be perfect for you in different settings.

Everyone will have their own preference for their own perfect bed. But MDF on top of slats is just daft and nothing more than a silly hack. If you want a flat closed in non circulating support then get the proper bed frame to do so. I'f seen the photo on the aforementioned recommended bed site, and that seems to be a hack as their mattresses aren't suitable for anything else and they still want to sell them.

Adjustable systems makes sense but I'm talking about the regular beds that most people have. Now you mention ventilation, the chap I had spoken to did suggest drilling a few holes might be beneficial. I'm not sure I see how slats could be better for back support or pressure distribution though!
 
More solid and weight carrying than an arch? LOL That is basic architectural science .

It's a bed, not a bridge.;)
Put a mattress on a slatted bed and a portion of the mattress has nothing but free air under it and is not supported.
Put it on a platform and it is supported throughout the structure.
Put it on a sprung edge platform and it is not only supported, but the pocket springs in the base work with the mattress to support and cushion the user.

Its not really that difficult to understand.

.But I'm more used to the European style slatted bases like these for example, Bedbodems
Which supports the earlier comments...the slatted beds are, in the main, at the cheaper end. The more expensive ones have more support with individual springing.
 
But MDF on top of slats is just daft and nothing more than a silly hack.

It is a hack, I agree with that. But it does allow someone with a perfectly good base to use a quality pocket sprung or foam mattress without shortening the life of the mattress.
I did it for a period until I replaced the base with a proper pocket sprung base. The difference was immediately noticeable.
 
I have to agree that a slatted base is not of much use, unless of course you want to shorten the useful life of the mattress for reasons that have already been stated.
 
I have to agree that a slatted base is not of much use, unless of course you want to shorten the useful life of the mattress for reasons that have already been stated.
I really think a lot of people in the UK seriously never experience a good slatted base bed...Just take a look at the examples I've provided above. Provides more support, much better for your back, can carry a huge weight, aren't that far apart to damage a mattress falling in between, actually provides ventilation for the matter and the list can go on and on and on...

It's like carpet in the bathroom, you don't see that anywhere else in the world. Whose great idea was that :p
 
How does it provide more support, think about it, and who the hell puts a carpet in a bathroom that's just a dirty idea, certainly not me or anyone else I Know, it's obviously a bad idea.

A properly made bed will provide the correct airflow, a pure foam (memory or latex or combination) one will not, and the more you sink into anything and get enveloped the hotter your sleep will be it's simple.
 
I really think a lot of people in the UK seriously never experience a good slatted base bed

You've asked them all, have you? :rolleyes:


It's like carpet in the bathroom, you don't see that anywhere else in the world. Whose great idea was that :p

Whoever it was, they want a good shoeing :laugh: Though you tend to only see carpets in bathrooms with avocado bathroom suites :eek:
 
Sealy terramo, it's crap
Still not getting on with it then? No real complaints about mine but I also don't think it's anything special either.

As for slats v solid base, the critical thing seems to be the distance between slats, not slats themselves. Having too large a gap will invalidate warranty.

Interestingly Which? rate mattresses differently for people who sleep on their back or side, with some being better suited to one or the other. Although not much use is two of you are opposites.
 
Oh lord no, I hate the thing, I think what I am feeling is not the springs but the ridges in the latex top bit but the springs are too firm for my liking anyway and the combination of the too hard springs and the top are not giving me a great sleep.

I don't know about you but afaic the pocket spring unit being posterpedic is an orthopedic one and orthopedic usually means hard in my experience and I am used to a medium spring from all my previous beds by the looks of things.
 
We have a Leesa mattress

UK Double

Best £400 I've spent to be honest. I was having terrible shoulder pains with my old spring mattress. We stayed at my sister in laws and slept on a tempur memory foam mattress and wow what a difference.

Couldn't afford a tempur one so opted for the Leesa and with the 100 days guarantee I thought why not.

I no longer have shoulder pain. I can sleep on my front now where I could not before.
 
It might just be me, but I have noticed loads of online mattress advertising on TV. From an untrained eye, they all appear to look the same with the "white top and grey base". Just with a different company name. The adverts I've seen this week were:
Emma
Simba
Casper
Eve

Its not you, I'm only surprised at how many of them all doing the same thing there are. Still I think the eve adverts are the best, if only for the look of that cake the bloke knocks off the table for the cat. heresy! I looked into them a while back, didn't consider the others for no reason in particular other than that, and the annoying American-voiced Casper advert put me off.

the Eve ones are made with 3 layers, so you don't get the problems with standard memory-foam mattresses (ie they trap your body heat and you bake. The missus might like it, but you probably won't), so they have a big layer of thick foam at the bottom, then an inch of "open pore technology" foam that is supposed to keep airflow going, and then there's a layer on top that is the usual memory foam that give you the squidgy comfort.

And they'll send you a topper if you think its all too firm, which i suppose is because the bottom majority of the mattress is thick and firm!

But considering they'll deliver it and take it away if you don't like it (or, as I'm told, if you're a student and only want a 'free' mattress for a 3 months term.....) there's little downside to trying one if you were thinking of getting one anyway. That's what I'd do.
 
All I can tell you is we bought two Ikea "Hyllsestad " firm mattresses at £250 each for our two daughter's new Ikea "Malm" standard double beds at home and they are really good for the money. We preferred them to the more expensive £390 "Hokkasen"model.

By the way the reason our daughter's got double beds at home is where they are at their respective universities they sleep on doubles and don't like going back to single beds and for no other reason, in other words over my dead body.... at our home. They come with a 25 year warranty / guarantee :confused: although in practice on average one should replace them every eight to ten years.
 
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Does anyone know who makes "Healthopaedic" mattresses?
I stopped reading when I saw 'materials used by NASA' in their description...Likely the same Chinese factory as many others is my interpretation...
 
I stopped reading when I saw 'materials used by NASA' in their description...Likely the same Chinese factory as many others is my interpretation...

Oh yes, it boils me too, Nasa never used it they tested it and rejected it as not good enough so why they say that is beyond me.

And what is used now is not even the same stuff as that anyway.
 
Makes you wonder how humans managed to survive the past million+ years sleeping on dirt, rocks and the odd pile of leaves ;)

Not sure if any of the archaeological digs have found any fossilized Jurassic mattresses yet ;)

Personally from what I can see, cavemen around a million years ago, didn't have it too bad considering.

black-swan-inn-luxurious.jpg
 
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About 8 years ago we wound up with a Healthopaedic Memory 1000 Cashmere Mattress. It worked well enough for 5 or 6 years, but definitely needs replacing now. I'd like to do a bit more shopping around this time -- but was hoping to understand a bit more about our old mattress (to be able to head in a better direction). . .
 

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