How to choose your mattress

Faced with all the mattresses well aligned on the shelves, you quickly feel a little lost. With springs, foam, latex, shape-memory ... the choice, the technologies used and the prices are so varied that it is not easy to navigate, whether in-store or on the Internet . Especially since the quality of the mattress is closely linked to the quality of sleep. It is better to ask the right questions before buying rather than relying on the seller's arguments or the roaring names of technologies.

The key to choosing your mattress is to try it! There is no ideal mattress. The choice of a mattress is very personal and depends on many criteria, among which the morphology, the habits, but also the feeling, a very subjective criterion. A good mattress must be comfortable and, above all, provide good support for the spine to avoid back pain. So that our mattress test results apply to the greatest number, our tests are carried out with two people of opposite size, a small and thin woman and a corpulent man. The support and the absence of deformation of the spine are measured in dorsal and lateral position. But a mattress that is suitable for one person may be considered uncomfortable for another. In other words, when we sleep in pairs, we try the mattresses in pairs before buying, and taking our time:

Lying on the mattress, you try to pass your hand between your kidneys and the mattress. If we succeed, it is a bad sign: it is too firm.
Then we change the position. If it is laborious, it is too flexible or its shape memory layer is too intense.
Finally, we push the elbow into the mattress. If the hollow remains marked, we eliminate the model, it is too soft.
The choice is then a matter of feeling, feeling of well-being, even price.

The Maintenance and Firmness of the Mattress

Maintaining the mattress should not be confused with its firmness. The maintenance corresponds to the sagging of the mattress, its resistance to sinking, but also to its stability and its damping. Proper support of the spine will in particular prevent back pain. Best mattresses

Firmness corresponds above all to the feeling of comfort when you lie down on the mattress. This is also called reception. It depends on many factors such as the fabric or the lining thickness of the surface. There are different levels of firmness:

Very flexible
Flexible
Balanced
Closed
Very firm

Whatever level of firmness you want, you should not rely on the wording on the label. As there is no standardized firmness scale, each manufacturer defines it in their own way. A "firm" mattress for one can be described as "soft" by another. The only good way to assess the firmness of a mattress is to try it out. Note that many manufacturers present tables relating to the morphology and firmness of the mattress. There is no hard and fast rule! It is up to everyone to choose according to their preferences. The important thing is to choose a mattress that holds your body well and in particular your spine.

Is a thick mattress more comfortable?

The thickness and density of the mattress depend above all on the type of mattress: springs, foam, or latex, on its filling, but also on whether it is a daily or extra bedding. Generally, foam and latex mattresses are thinner than spring mattresses. Thus, the foam mattresses are of an average thickness of between 18 and 25 cm. This can vary depending on the layers (shape memory, for example). Between 14 and 18 cm, they are more suitable for an extra bed or a child's bed. The spring mattresses are 25 cm or thicker.

But if thickness and density can modify the reception, it is not a guarantee of quality and good maintenance! This is why we evaluate the maintenance of the mattresses during our tests: we calculate the resistance to sinking by applying a force to the center of the mattress, it must resist without compressing strongly. This test provides information on the ability of the mattress to absorb movements without hampering them.

Does a mattress topper offer better support?

The mattress topper is placed directly on the mattress. It is then protected by the draw sheet and held in place with the fitted sheet. It provides more comfort in terms of reception and further protects the mattress. On the other hand, the mattress topper changes nothing in terms of support: the support of the spine is identical, whether there is a mattress topper or not.

In our tests, we have verified that the Groundhog presents the correct independence of beds since the movement on one side is not transmitted to the rest of the mattress. Therefore, it is a good option if two people are going to sleep in the bed.

Please note that the Marmot mattress is designed to tolerate a load per person between 30 kg and 115 kg. However, if you weigh more than 95 kg, we advise you to choose another mattress model with a higher firmness, as this mattress would possibly seem somewhat soft to you.

As for the cover, it can be easily removed by the zipper that completely separates the top and bottom and is suitable for dry cleaning.