Emma hybrid mattress review: Is it really suitable for every kind of sleeper?

Sizes available: Single, small double, double, king, super king

Mattress depth: 25cm

Material: Memory foam and springs

Trial period:200 nights

Guarantee: 10 years

Buy now £809 for a double, Amazon.co.uk

Design and features

The bottom layer (the chunkiest), is an HRX foam – a zoned, cold foam base layer that’s specially made to provide overall stability and support both the rest of the mattress and your spine.

Then comes a viscoelastic memory foam which contours to your body and distributes pressure and adapts to your shape.

Third – and this is what differentiates it from the Emma original – is the breathable (because air can so easily circulate) pocket sprung layer with 2,000 springs and a zoned system that tailors support to the main pressure points.

Next up is the breathable and patented Aigocell open-cell foam layer that absorbs moisture, keeps air flowing, provides pressure relief and limits motion transfer.

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Finally, on the top, there’s a zip-able, washable (at an impressive 60C), moisture-wicking and hypoallergenic polyester cover that comes in Emma’s signature colours of grey and white.

Comfort and performance

It never ceases to astonish us how tightly these hybrids get packed into a box. With pure foam, it stands to reason, but once you add springs into the mix, it’s pretty impressive. At 25kg (for a double) and 45cm x 45cm x 110cm dimensions for the box, we found this one reasonably easy to move about (even upstairs) and to unpack (but have scissors at the ready), with the mattress ready to sleep on in just three hours. As with many mattresses containing foam, there’s some off-gassing, but nothing that lasts more than a few days.

Comfort wise, it’s a bit softer and bouncier than others we’ve tried – we’d give it a 7.5 or eight out of 10 (if 10 is the softest). That doesn’t necessarily make it better or worse, but it’s something to consider if that’s your preference and probably helps explain why it’s not a great mattress for anyone very big or overweight. The mattress also seems to perform better on a solid base than a slatted base – with the latter, you feel like you’re starting to move into blancmange territory.

Support and pressure relief are also superb, especially for people like us who are average weight and sleep on their front and sides. You really feel supported yet well cushioned in those key pressure point areas of knees, hips, lumbar and shoulders, but without compromising on comfort. And – hallelujah to this – this also goes for back sleepers, again provided they are average weight or lighter.

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As any back sleeper will know, getting the right zoned support is no mean feat and most mattresses just don’t cut it. But be warned that the heavier you are, the more these benefits get cancelled out.

Your sleeping partner won’t have to huff and puff when you move in the night as this mattress excels at absorbing movement. Again, this gains major brownie points from us as so many mattresses fail on this point.

Breathability is an important factor, especially if you tend to get hot at night, and you shouldn’t be disappointed in this regard – we found the mattress stayed cool, without feeling cold, even when the room was really warm, although if we were nit-picking we have found other mattresses even more cooling.

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Longevity is exceptional – you’ll get no sagging even years later. In fact, it should feel as good as new for even longer than other hybrids.

It’s a no-flip mattress – great news if that’s one of your least favourite aspects of getting a new mattress – and you don’t even have to rotate it, although there are handles to help if you want to (also useful for pulling up the mattress when it comes to sheet changing day).