The best pocket sprung mattresses of 2023 for complete body support, tried and tested

Publish date: 2024-06-04
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Mattresses have come a long way, with the proliferation of memory foam and hybrid types, but there’s a lot to be said for the traditional pocket sprung variety. They have an interesting history. The first pocket sprung mattress was invented in Toronto in 1899 by British engineer James Marshall. 

When his wife fell ill, he created a handmade mattress to make sure she slept comfortably. Marshall wrapped coiled springs inside muslin and quilted the mattress with horsehair, inventing what would become the most popular type of mattress in the world. Two of his staff brought the design to the UK in 1901, founding Vispring which to this day vies with the likes of Dreams, Silentnight, Sealy and others to sell the best sprung mattresses.

Pocket sprung mattresses support the entire body with hundreds, often thousands of tiny springs enveloped in fabric pockets. Each spring works independently, relieving pressure and minimising motion transfer. This is particularly effective if you’re a side sleeper, since the springs support your hips. If you have back pain, a higher spring count will give tailored support so that your weight will be evenly distributed. The bounce you feel as you roll around is the load transferring from one spring to another.

I’ve spent a month testing the leading companies’ best and newest pocket sprung mattresses. You can read my reviews below, followed by some advice from sleep specialists on how often you should turn them, and other frequently asked questions. If you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick look at my top five:

The best pocket sprung mattresses of 2023, at a glance

Is a pocket sprung mattress the best choice for me?

“A pocket sprung mattress is suitable for people who want a combination of comfort and support, as it offers a medium-firm feel,” says Hayley Thistleton, sleep and bedding expert at Sleepseeker.

Fabio Perrotta, director of buying at Dreams adds that they’re a great choice for couples who sleep together because each spring can move independently. He explains, “You’re less likely to feel the movement of a partner tossing and turning in the night and more likely to sleep well.”

Another perk of a pocket sprung mattress, Perrotta explains, is that pocket sprung mattresses use more natural fibres compared to memory foam. For that reason, pocket sprung mattresses generally have natural temperature regulation and better suit sensitive skin.

How I tested the best pocket sprung mattresses

Testing pocket sprung mattresses at showrooms (the 'press test' with a balled fist helps to gauge support)

Here on The Telegraph’s Recommended channel we now have four separate articles reviewing mattresses (plus reviews of the best mattress toppers, best pillows, best duvets and best electric blankets). The truth is: we’ve run out of beds on which to test mattresses at home.

Instead, I spent a week visiting showrooms around London to try as many pocket sprung mattresses as I could. The best mattress for you massively depends on your weight, height, pressure points, sleeping position and whether or not you share a bed.

I judged the pocket sprung mattress based on objective criteria, including the number of pocket springs and tangible support, materials and sustainability, bounce and comfort. Here is what I found, starting with my favourite.

The best pocket sprung mattresses

1. Country Living Dallington Mattress

£2,499 for a double, Dreams

Best pocket sprung mattress overall, 10/10

We like: the Princess And The Pea level of comfort

We don’t like: it’s heavy, making it difficult to flip

Country Living: UK craftsmanship and all-natural materials

The Country Living Dallington Mattress was the most comfortable, natural and high quality mattress I tried. It doesn’t come cheap, but – I hate to say it –you do get what you pay for. It looks opulent, with a dramatically dimpled egg box design and is ridiculously comfortable.

Made in the UK, the Country Living mattress has 1881 pocket springs, which positions it at a medium level of firmness. The pocket springs are set in a double layer, which is rare for a mattress with less than 2,000 springs. The bottom layer absorbs any movement while the top layer moulds to the shape of the body for support.

The springs are encased in a mixture of lambswool, cotton, bamboo and alpaca. These are all natural fillings, which regulate temperature without any added tech. The mattress is double-sided, with the layers of springs right in the middle for equal support on both sides, but weighs 48kg so I wouldn’t want to be the one to flip it. 

As long as you have someone on hand to help flip it and can swallow the investment, I wholeheartedly recommend the Country Living Dallington Mattress.

2. John Lewis Classic No.2 Pocket Spring Mattress 

£399 for a double, John Lewis

Best value pocket sprung mattress, 9/10

We like: the perfect level of firmness

We don’t like: it’s quite basic (to be expected at this price point)

John Lewis: free from animal products and certified by The Vegan Society

If you want value for money on a mattress, I’d always recommend buying a cheaper option from a well known brand. That way you know you can trust the brand’s quality and often the only difference is a couple of layers of tech. 

This John Lewis mattress is one of three from the affordable collection (No.1 is medium-firm and no.3 is medium, no.2 is firm.) I’m not usually a firmer mattress fan, but I thought this one felt more like a medium tension than firm - the softer ones felt too soft for me. It’s worth noting that there is no industry standard for how firm brands label their mattresses, so John Lewis’ firm might be Dreams’ medium.

Unlike most other mattresses on this list, this is made from entirely animal-free materials, favouring recycled polyester over wool, and is certified by The Vegan Society. The double version has 1,044 tightly coiled pocket springs which adapt as you move. This wasn’t quite as luxurious to lie on as others I tried, but I thought it to be excellent value for money.

John Lewis

3. Hypnos Pillow Top Aurora Deluxe Mattress

£1,199 for a double, Mattress Next Day

Best pillow-top pocket sprung mattress, 9/10

We like: no need to buy an additional mattress topper

We don’t like: the pillow top bit isn’t removable, so if it starts dipping the whole thing will need replacing

Hypnos: holds a Royal Warrant to the King

Hypnos, named after the Greek god of sleep, (wouldn’t we all like that job) holds a Royal Warrant and is the only bed maker to supply every Royal residence. It therefore comes as no surprise that they produce one of our favourite pocket sprung mattresses.

This is a pillow top mattress, which means it has a pillow layer, like a soft mattress topper, permanently stitched onto the top. Unlike others, this makes it a single-sided mattress – meaning it doesn’t need flipping. It does still need regular rotating, which is made easier by handles on the side. The pillow top also adds depth, so you’ll need to invest in a deep fitted sheet.

This mattress is probably the most technical I tried, made using Solotex, a natural and breathable recycled fibre and eOlus, fibres which provide a layer of breathable full body support. It acts and feels like foam, but doesn’t heat or sweat.

Overall, this Hypnos mattress is an excellent midrange option with lots of natural materials and excellent body support.

Mattress Next Day

4. Silentnight Revive Eco Comfort Flex 1650 Spring Mattress

£583.20 for a double, John Lewis

Best 1,000-pocket sprung mattress, 9/10

We like: the hygienic materials used

We don’t like: it’s slightly softer than the medium rating suggests

Silentnight: antimicrobial technology to target bacteria and and viruses

Pre-Covid, mattress innovations focused on temperature regulation. Post-pandemic, we’re seeing a pivot to materials which target wiping out bacteria and viruses. It’s perhaps a move more geared towards the hotel market, where multiple people use the same bed within a week, but there’s no doubt we’re all looking at changes we can make in our daily lives to be more hygienic.

This Silentnight mattress has been treated with an antimicrobial agent to reduce microbes. Its fibre filling is made from sustainable fibres including recycled bottles. Inside the mattress is a pocket spring core, topped with a mini pocket spring zone on top.

I found this mattress comfortable and very springy. You could certainly feel the difference of having two layers of springs. However, it was a bit softer than what I’d call a medium tension mattress, so firmer fans might want a mattress topper.

John Lewis

5. Vispring Woolacombe Supreme 2000

£4,355.10 for a double, John Lewis

Best 2000 pocket sprung mattress, 9/10

We like: how luxurious it looks and feels

We don’t like: the price tag

Vispring: a super-luxury mattress made in Devon

Vispring has an enviable pedigree. As I mentioned at the top of the feature, it was originally the Marshall Sanitary Mattress Company – named after its founder, the inventor of the pocket spring – and it provided mattresses for some of the biggest ocean liners in the world, including the Titanic and Olympic.

Today they sell ultra-luxury mattresses, handmade in Plymouth, with 30-year guarantees. This Woolacombe mattress immediately struck me as one of the most comfortable I tried. I found the pressure-relief impressive too, thanks to compressed layers of wool and 1,736 springs (2,000 in the king size).

There’s no hiding the fact that this Vispring mattress is a significant outlay. The three-decade guarantee goes a long way to make up for it, but I’m not entirely convinced there’s enough difference between this and the Dreams Country Living mattress at the top of this list to justify the more than £2,000 difference.

John Lewis

6. John Lewis Luxury Mohair Pillow-Top Mattress

£2,499 for a double, John Lewis

Best high spring count pocket sprung mattress, 8/10

We like: the pillow top is soft, but you still get enough support from the base for pressure relief

We don’t like: you may want to consider buying a cooling cover for summer

John Lewis: highest density of pocket springs you’ll find

Where memory foam and hybrid mattresses are all about the latest technology, pocket sprung mattresses strive to be the most natural and eco-friendly on the market, and none more so than John Lewis’ Luxury Natural Collection. 

This Luxury Mohair Pillow Top Mattress is another pillow-top mattress, meaning it has a soft extra layer on top. The rest of the mattress is made from a combination of wool, cotton, linen and hemp, the latter is naturally hypoallergenic and resistant to bed bugs.

It has impressive sustainable credentials too. The springs have been sealed with heat instead of glue, so they can be reworked for future use and the wool is all traceable from British farms. John Lewis promises to recycle the mattress themselves after you’ve finished with it.

I absolutely sank into this mattress and it’s incredibly supportive, sporting 13,600 tiny high density pocket springs in multiple layers. My one worry is that it might be too warm for summer.

John Lewis

7. Sealy Steeple Ortho Firm Support

£314.96 for a double, Mattress Online

Best orthopaedic pocket sprung mattress, 8/10

We like: you can trust the medical claims to reduce back pain, given the heavy research

We don’t like: it’s probably too firm for side sleepers

Sealy: springs get firmer with pressure, for maximum support

Sealy Posturepedic mattresses have been designed alongside orthopaedic surgeons and use patented technologies to promote spinal alignment. For that reason they’re very, very firm. I’d only recommend this mattress to someone who needed a firmer mattress for medical reasons.

For all the research that’s gone into these mattresses, I actually think they’re excellently priced. This one had the best edge-to-edge support of any I tried (that is, with no ‘rolling off the edge’ feeling) and as I lay on my back, the springs supported all the right bits.

As a side sleeper, this mattress was a tad too firm for me, but I can imagine it to be a great option for back or front sleepers.

Mattress Online

8. Next Superior Deluxe Hybrid Pocket Sprung Mattress with Pillow Top

£950 for a double, Next 

Best medium/firm pocket sprung mattress, 9/10 

We like: The 2,000 ‘nano pocket spring’ layer in the pillow top

We don’t like: The pillow topper may make this mattress too soft for some 

Next: good motion isolation compared to other sprung mattresses

Reviewed by Emily Peck 

Next sells a selection of soft, medium and firm pocket sprung, memory foam and hybrid mattresses to match its range of bed frames. The mattresses are standard sizes and will fit any bed frame, not just their own - unlike some stores such as Ikea.

This traditional-style pocket sprung design comes in both medium-firm and firm versions. I opted for the medium-firm as I prefer a cosier sleep. I was able to get it delivered within the week for a £15 fee.  The delivery team were polite (taking their shoes off) and took the mattress up a flight of stairs. 

There are seven layers, including a pillow topper with 2,000 micro pocket springs. This gives the mattress a nice bit of bounce while still remaining structured and supportive. The topper doesn’t come off, so make sure you choose  the right firmness for you. The one I tried would not suit someone who needs a firm mattress.

Both versions come with ‘Actipro Anti Allergy fabric protection’ and the pillow top layer is filled with fibre layers and fine 100% British wool, which is biodegradable and has a natural protection against allergens, dust mites and odours. This reassured me as I have asthma. Wool also keeps the mattress breathable, so you stay warm in winter and cool in summer.

At the core of this mattress are 1,000 full-sized pocketed springs and 1,500 mini springs, positioned between comfort layers. My body felt light, relaxed and well supported. There’s none of that sinking-in feeling you can get with some memory foam designs. 

More importantly, I found it easy to switch from side to side without my partner waking. One drawback with pocket-sprung mattresses is that they’re not always great at limiting motion transfer. This one is. That’s good news for anyone with a grumpy, sleep-deprived partner.

Pocket sprung mattresses FAQ

What is a pocket sprung mattress?

You probably have a fairly good idea of what a pocket sprung mattress is if you’ve read down to here, but just to sum it up, sleep expert Hayley Thistleton explains: “A pocket sprung mattress consists of individual springs placed in separate fabric pockets. The springs work independently, which provides better support and reduced motion transfer.”

She adds, “They’re ideal for couples with different sleep preferences and body types. They also offer pressure-relieving support, which is good for those suffering from chronic back pain.”

How often should you turn a pocket sprung mattress?

You should turn a pocket sprung mattress at least every three months but ideally every four weeks, to ensure even wear and tear, says Thistleton. 

Director of buying at Dreams, Fabio Perrotta, adds, “This depends on whether your pocket sprung mattress is single-sided or double sided. If it’s single sided we would recommend rotating head to toe weekly for the first three months, then every month thereafter. If it’s double sided, do the same rotating schedule as the single sided, but also flip regularly.” 

The care instructions that come with your mattress when you buy should give you more detail.

Are pocket sprung mattresses sustainable?

Pocket sprung mattresses tend to be more sustainable than memory foam or hybrid types, because they are made from natural and organic materials. There is no naturally-occurring memory foam, wheras cotton, wool, bamboo and animal hair are all sourced naturally. 

Be aware of cotton: although it is natural and bio-degradable, it requires a lot of water to grow, especially in arid countries like India. Also keep an eye on polyester filling, which is not bio-degradable and often ends up in landfill - look for mattresses which use recycled polyester, if at all.

Steel is usually used for the pocket springs. It is considered a sustainable material, because it’s easily recyclable.

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