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This article is written in collaboration with Eve Sleep, who gifted my mattress after I reached out and told them how much I loved their product when searching for the best value mattress for my budget. All opinions are 100% my own – a huge thank you to Eve Sleep for making such an amazing product that I’m thrilled to be able to share with you all, and for your generosity in helping my frugal home experience a little lighter on my budget.
So, as anyone who follows this blog will know from the recent influx of frugal home articles I’ve been posting, I’ve recently moved flats.
Being a researcher to the core, I’ve put a lot of time and effort into finding the best products for my new home, offering the best value for money while still looking great, fitting my style, and making my flat comfortable to live in.
When it comes to bigger pieces of furniture that I use every day, my priorities are:
- Quality (will it last longer than a few months?)
- Comfort (am I actually going to enjoy owning this item?)
- Price (am I getting the best bang for my buck?)
Choosing a mattress is an important decision – the average person spends a third of their life sleeping, so it makes sense to do your research to find the best mattress for you.
I took a lot of care finding the best mattress for me. For those who don’t know, I’m a freelance writer for a living.
One of my past clients was actually a major sleep product review website, and that means I’ve spent a lot (a LOT) of hours writing about some of the best – and worst – mattresses on the market.
It’s served me well – when I started looking for my own mattress, I already had a good idea of the best value mattress brands, the most affordable mattresses, and what kind of mattress I wanted.
If you don’t really know where to start, though, I’ve listed a few key features to think about when shopping for the best mattress for you.
What to consider when buying a mattress:
Type
The two most popular types of mattress on the market are memory foam, and innerspring.
Innerspring mattresses have been around for decades, and tend to be the cheapest type of mattress out of the three. They’re good for providing a bit of ‘bounce’ to your mattress, can sleep cool, and some pocket-spring systems do offer good body support as you sleep.
However, innerspring mattresses to tend to have less durability, and provide less contouring and pressure relief than memory foam or latex mattresses.
Memory foam mattresses are typically made from multiple layers of foam, designed to contour to your body weight for improved pressure relief and support. These mattresses tend to be very good at evenly distributing your body weight, and can range from mid-range to very high-end prices.
Potential downsides to memory foam can be the price, plus some mattresses can sleep quite hot.
Firmness
Mattresses can be soft, medium, medium-firm, and firm (as well as very firm, very soft etc in some cases).
What firmness is right for you really depends on your preferences, although your weight is also a contributing factor in this decision-making process.
A 300-lb person, for example, is going to find a mattress a lot softer than a 100-lb person, as their weight will cause them to sink deeper into the mattress.
Sleep style
Do you sleep on your side, curled up in ball? Do you sleep on your back, taking up as much room as possible? Maybe you sleep face-down with a pillow over your head!
Whatever your sleep ‘style’, different mattresses are better suited to different styles. For example, softer mattresses tend to be better for side sleepers, while stomach sleepers may find a firmer feel more suitable.
Price
Obviously, price is always going to be a key factor. The thing is though, you pay for what you get.
If you spend £50 on a cheap mattress, you’re almost guaranteed to get a mattress that will lose it’s shape quickly, offer very little pressure relief or contouring, and will probably be in need of replacing within a year. When you spend so much time sleeping, I think a mattress is one of those items you’re really better off paying a little more for to know you’re going to get a good night’s sleep for years.
Why I chose the Eve Sleep mattress
There were a few contenders when I was researching the best value mattress for my needs, but ultimately I went with the Eve Light mattress.
I knew I wanted a memory foam mattress – in my opinion, they offer unparalleled pressure relief, support, and contouring compared to innerspring mattresses. On my innerspring mattress, I frequently wake up with a stiff neck and struggle to get comfortable when sleeping on my side.
So, I knew that when it came to buying a mattress for my new flat, I wanted to invest a little more in a quality memory foam mattress that is comfortable, supports my body, and hopefully helps me get a better night’s sleep.
About Eve Sleep
Eve Sleep is one of the most popular UK mattress brands (we’ve all seen that super cute sloth advert, right?). They currently sell five different mattresses: the original, the hybrid, the light, the premium, and the premium hybrid mattress.
Are Eve mattresses any good?
Even before I started my own research, I’d read really good things about Eve mattresses from my typing working with the sleep products review website.
The mattresses consistently receive strong reviews on the level of support and comfort provides, the 100-night sleep trial you get with every purchase, and the overall quality of the mattresses.
Getting the mattress
Eventually, I opted for the Eve Light mattress. They describe the Light mattress as “perfect for foam first-timers” as it’s suitable for all sleepers, designed with light relief in mind (so you don’t sink into the mattress too much), and uses the same evecomfort® foam used in the Original mattress.
What I really liked about the Eve Light mattress is that they use the same quality materials, but slightly fewer layers than in the Original mattress to create a product that’s “heavy on quality, but lighter on price”.
For someone who hasn’t purchased a memory foam mattress before (and is also buying a bunch of other furniture for a new flat at the same time!) this was perfect. I got a high-quality memory foam mattress but felt comfortable that it wasn’t for a high-end price.
The mattress arrives delivered to your door in a big white and yellow box (the trademark Eve colours that are also on the actual mattresses).
You simply slide the mattress out of the box and then lift the rolled-up mattress (kept in shape by plastic wrap) onto your bed frame. Then, carefully removed the two layers of plastic wrap and the mattress just expands before your eyes!
Eve say you can sleep on the mattress straight away, and that it takes between 4 – 5 hours to expand to its full height – that being said, I didn’t notice a huge difference in the initial expansion compared with the mattress a few hours later.
Eve also says that there may be an initial smell after unboxing the mattress which is totally normal, but I didn’t notice anything!
My Eve Light mattress sleep experience
I’ve been sleeping on my mattress for one full week now, and I really do think it’s the best value mattress I could have gone for.
On my old mattress, I felt like I used to toss and turn for ages before falling asleep, and would often find it uncomfortable to lay on my side to get to sleep.
On my Eve mattress, I feel like my hips and shoulders are just supported enough to sink comfortably into the mattress on my side, without feeling ‘stuck’.
I’ve been sleeping great – the one negative is I’ve been getting quite hot, but in all honesty, I think that’s because I’ve been sleeping with my duvet and super comfy quilt, rather than it being anything to do with the mattress!
One thing about this mattress is just it is slightly thinner than the Eve Original – so my bed is fairly low. This doesn’t bother me, but might be something to consider if you struggle to get in and out of a low bed.#
My buying process to find the best value mattesss:
I looked through a number of mattress reviews before selecting my mattress. Websites I found very informative include:
However, I also read a lot of customer reviews from the different brands I was considering. I tend to find customer reviews the most helpful in influencing my buying decisions, so I always try to give back and do the same, whether it’s reviewing a mattress or a restaurant!
A few other factors that helped me narrow down the best value mattress for me included:
- Price range: I didn’t want to spend more than £600 on my mattress. However, I also knew that I wanted a quality mattress, and that meant a high price. £250 was around my minimum spend (although most I looked at were around £400+).
- Sleep trial: If a brand didn’t offer at least a 100-night sleep trial, I typically discounted it. Most bed-in-a-box retailers offer long sleep trials and these are really worth it if you want to test your mattress before buying.
- Bed frame suitability: Some mattresses are only suitable for a certain type of bed frame or foundation (many memory foam mattresses have can’t be placed on slats measuring wider than a certain amount). I already had my bed frame, so wanted to be sure my mattress would fit on there.
Other contenders
I finally decided to go with the Eve mattress because overall, you can’t beat the price combined with the quality and fantastic reviews the Eve Light receives.
I reached out to Eve and was delighted that they were willing to work with me on creating this post.
For full transparency, I think it’s only fair I mention the other mattresses that were top contenders. I narrowed my search down to three mattresses:
- Eve sleep
- Nectar mattress
- Casper mattress
Ultimately, the Eve Sleep was the best price and seemed to be the softest option (important for me as a side sleeper), which is why I decided it was the best value mattress for my requirements. The other two brands also looked great, in my opinion, and are well worth looking into for a quality mid-range priced memory foam mattress.