In the world of mattresses at the moment, foam is undoubtedly the hot topic. If you happen to be a pocket spring devotee, the idea of sinking into the doughy surface of a memory foam mattress might seem slightly unnerving. But there is so much to love about foam in this context: it offers gentle support by moulding and contouring to the shape of your body, and insulating you from anyone else moving around in the bed. Having had some really rather good nights' sleep on hotel mattresses that turned out to be topped with the squishy stuff, this writer decided to road test one of the latest generation of hybrid mattresses. This new species combines a base layer of pocket springs with a comfort layer of foam on the top, meaning that you get the immediate support of one and the foundational support of the other.
DUSK memory foam mattress: is it worth buying?
Dusk.com was already one of our favourite brands for high quality bedding, with their ‘Marseille’ range of bedlinen much praised within the House & Garden team for its combination of style, quality and affordability. So when they launched mattresses a few years ago, it seemed like a no-brainer to try one. The company currently offers only two mattresses, both of them hybrid. One has 2000 pocket springs, the other has 4000 (in a king size). The former usually comes in at £489, while the latter is priced at £789, so both are very affordable (and frequently on sale).
The ‘Cool Gel Foam 2000 Pocket Sprung Hybrid Mattress’ was the one that eventually made it to my door. The mattress is made up of four layers: two layers of foam on the outside, along with cooling gel foam and a layer of pocket springs. The whole thing is wrapped in a soft, stretchy knit fabric, attractively styled in grey and white with Dusk's pink piping around the middle. If you're interested in looking at your mattress, it's an aesthetically pleasing model, that's for sure, and the fabric is allergy-friendly, to boot.
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The mattress will slowly puff up to its correct size over a couple of days after delivery, but is perfectly fine to sleep on after a few hours, and while there is a mild foamy smell (off-gassing is normal in new memory foam mattresses) at the beginning, this soon wears off. The experience of sleeping on the mattress is a bit odd if you're used to springs alone; you do sink into it in rather a strange way, and if you're sitting on the bed, rather than lying on it, you might think it is much more pudding-y than it actually is. Once you're stretched out, the mattress lives up to its medium-firm name, and feels no less supportive than the firm sprung mattress that was its predecessor, but with a comforting plushness to its texture. In theory the 4000-spring version would offer greater support, but I found that the 2000-spring one was just what I needed.
There's also no need to turn this mattress - indeed it would be a bad idea as you'd end up with gel on the bottom and springs on the top - just a rotation every few months will keep it in shape. A few weeks in, and the mattress seems to get more and more comfortable, its yielding yet firm surface a welcoming presence.
If there is a downside, it's that foam keeps the surface of the bed warmer beneath you than springs do. This is really quite pleasant in the winter, but if you run warm, you may find it tricky to adjust to in summer. The Dusk mattress is made with ‘Cool Gel Foam’, which claims a more open structure, and thus improved airflow, than traditional memory foam, and it's certainly not uncomfortably hot, but there is a difference and that's worth bearing in mind.
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How much does a DUSK mattress cost?
Dusk's Cool Gel Foam 2,000 Pocket Sprung Hybrid Mattress costs £489, but is currently on sale for £303.
Fact file
- Trial period: All DUSK mattresses come with a 100 night sleep trial, so you can be comfortable with your choice of mattress.
- Country of manufacture: All DUSK mattresses are made in Yorkshire, England.
- Sizes available: Double, king, super king.
- Pocket spring count: 2,000.
- Machine washable: Removable zip cover can be washed at 30 degrees.
Delivery
One of the advantages of the new generation of mattresses is that they can arrive in a relatively portable box. It's still heavy and unwieldy, of course, but it really only takes one man to get it in place, and then the unboxing is quite straightforward. Once out of the box, you'll find the mattress rolled tightly and vacuum packed within two layers of plastic. Simply slice open the outer layer, make sure the mattress is correctly positioned, and then release the layer of vacuum packing. A word of warning though: make sure you don't cut through both layers at once, or the mattress will be struggling free from its vacuum packing while you're still trying to remove the outer layer. This process can start to feel as if you're being attacked by a large, flat alien.
Dusk mattress verdict
Supremely affordable and deeply comfortable, this mattress offers the best of both worlds. Buy it for yourself or buy it for a spare room – you can't go wrong.
