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- Choice of firmness options
- Great temperature regulation
- Excellent lumbar support (firm option)
- Edge support could be a little better
- Delivery charge of £49
Bensons for Beds stock mattresses for a number of brands (having notably acquired bed-in-a-box brand Eve Sleep a few years ago), and the Slumberland Air Memory range includes some of the retailer’s best sellers. The Air 6.0 is the most popular model, sitting in the middle of the range and offering customisable options to suit a wider variety of sleepers. There’s a lot to recommend here but the mattress does come with a premium price tag, with prices starting at £750 for a single.
Is it worth the outlay and how does it compare to the best mattresses we’ve tested at Expert Reviews? I’ve been sleeping on the Slumberland mattress for the last six weeks, testing it for support, comfort and temperature control in particular. Here’s what I think…
Slumberland Air 6.0 Memory Mattress: What you need to know
The first thing you need to know about the Slumberland Air 6.0 Memory mattress is that it’s made to order. This inevitably means that it won’t be delivered immediately, as with some bed-in-a-box mattresses. Expect to wait at least a couple of weeks for delivery and possibly longer during busier periods. Once it’s ready, the mattress is delivered flat by a two-man team who will put it in your bedroom, as with the REM-Fit Natural Luxe Hybrid that I reviewed recently. Somewhat annoyingly (and quite unusually in today’s mattress market) there is a £49 delivery charge. And for an extra charge, there are a range of recycling services you can add to your order, such as mattress recycling for £50. You’ll be notified of a two-hour delivery window in the afternoon three days before delivery.
Delivery was excellent and the mattress was taken to our bedroom quickly and efficiently. As it’s not rolled and vacuum-sealed, there’s no unpleasant off-gassing smell to deal with – there was a slight factory smell on opening the plastic it came wrapped in, but this faded within a few hours.
One of the mattress’ key selling points is the choice of “firmness ratings”: firm, medium or soft. This is something that’s offered with the entire Slumberland Air range, and we tested the firm version of the Air 6.0 Memory mattress. It’s not the first time we’ve seen this choice offered with a mattress, but it’s still a thoughtful perk you don’t come across all that often.
The Slumberland Air 6.0 Memory mattress has a quilted “stretch-knit” cover and uses “Sensaform” memory foam with air channels that, according to the brand, help the mattress to be five times more breathable than standard memory foam (more on the temperature regulation later). This memory foam layer is zoned across seven layers in order to provide targeted pressure relief and contouring. Below this is a dual spring layer, combining 1,500 mini pocket springs and 1,050 full height pocket springs (these numbers may vary depending on your mattress size). According to Bensons for Beds, the mattress is also an MTick accredited menopause-friendly mattress – as endorsed by the GenM group with which Bensons is partnered with – and can help to control night sweats.
You’ll get an eight-year guarantee with the Slumberland mattress, as well as a 40-night sleep trial. This is very short compared to most bed-in-a-box mattress brands, with other companies such as Emma and Simba offering 200 nights. But it should be adequate to get a feel for how it sleeps.
Price and competition
The Slumberland Air 6.0 Memory mattress starts at £750 for a single, rising to £900 for both a small double and double (which I tested). A king sees the price tag exceed the four-figure mark at £1,050, while a super king costs £1,250. It’s not a budget option but it’s rather reasonably priced when you consider the aforementioned customisation options (the different firmness ratings do not change the price of the mattress) and that it’s made to order. It’s a little bit more expensive than the Silentnight Premier Inn 2.0 mattress, which I’d say is its closest competitor and is priced at £749 for a double.
Like the Silentnight, the Slumberland mattress relies on synthetic materials to help keep the price down in comparison to mattresses that are made using natural materials. The Simba Earth Source, for example, uses plant-derived viscose and a lot of British wool, and costs £1,199 for a double. The Simba Hybrid Pro, which also uses several layers of wool and is one of Expert Reviews’ favourite hybrid mattresses, costs £1,149 in the same size.
Elsewhere, the REM-Fit 600 Lux Elite Hybrid – my top pick for back pain – also costs £900 for a double, but is a bit cheaper than the Slumberland mattress in a king size at £950.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that you’re likely to see sales and discounts offered at Bensons for Beds that will cut the price of the Slumberland Air 6.0 Memory mattress – particularly around peak sales periods such as Black Friday and the new year.
Comfort and performance
As I said, one of the big selling points of the Slumberland mattress is the firmness options: a rare perk that opens the mattress up to a far larger range of sleepers. Despite being lightweight, I tend to gravitate towards medium firm or firm mattresses due to ongoing back issues. For me, lumbar support is key, which is why I opted for the firm option when I ordered in the Slumberland. I’m a combination sleeper and from the first night on the Air 6.0 Memory mattress, I found it extremely comfortable for back sleeping. The lumbar support is exceptionally good, and I woke up completely back pain free. I’d argue that this is one of the best firm mattresses on the market, which will suit back sleepers and stomach sleepers alike. I did, however, find the mattress a little too firm for side sleeping, particularly around my hips. While I can’t attest to the feel of the medium and soft options, these should offer more cushioning for those who need it.
I carried out some sinkage tests to see how far a stack of 2.5kg weights would sink into the mattress. With 10kg of weights on the bed, I was surprised to see that the mattress sank by 30mm at around shoulder height. This is quite a lot compared to the Silentnight Premier Inn 2.0, which sank 20mm and the REM-Fit 600 Lux Elite, which sank just 12mm. On reflection, I think this is down to the top memory foam layers providing a little initial sinkage. On the firm version of this mattress, the springs underneath this foam layer kept me supported.
I also carried out sinkage tests on the edge of the mattress, where 10kg of weight caused a sinkage of 20mm. Again, we can compare this to the Premier Inn 2.0 (25mm) and the REM-Fit 600 Lux Elite (27mm). Edge support on the Air 6.0 Memory mattress is impressive when you’re lying down, but feels a bit less supportive when sitting on the edge of the bed. There is decent support thanks to the slightly raised seam running around the bed, but I did notice a little sinkage behind it. I think this is due to the foam sinking a little at the outside edge, but the seam preventing the whole structure from collapsing. This is, in fairness, an absolutely tiny niggle but it’s worth noting. Motion isolation was also surprisingly good for a firm mattress, but I do think very light sleepers could be slightly disturbed by a restless sleeper.
Lastly, I carried out temperature tests to see how well the Slumberland dissipated heat (see our how we test mattresses guide for more details). These tests were carried out in a room with an ambient temperature of 17.1°C. During the body temperature test, the temperature dropped from 30°C to 18.7°C after a couple of minutes and fell to 18.5°C after 10 minutes. The heat pad test saw the temperature drop from 50°C to 23.2°C after three minutes, dropping to 21.1°C after 10 minutes. These results were hugely impressive, rivalling those of the best cooling mattresses we’ve tested. In fact, it even beat the body temperature test results from the Dreams TheraPur ActiGel Glacier 3800 Combination mattress, which is specifically designed as a “cooling” option: this dropped to 20.4°C after 10 minutes.
My husband, who is the hot sleeper in the family, finds the Slumberland Air 6.0 Memory mattress great for temperature regulation and he’s never felt clammy or too hot at all while sleeping on it. On the flip side, as a natural reptile, I’ve never felt too cold on the mattress either – this is perhaps thanks to the airflow afforded by the foam’s “channelled” design as well as the sprung layer.
Verdict
I was very pleasantly surprised by the Slumberland Air 6.0 mattress. Because of its synthetic materials, I feared it might be a problematic option for hotter sleepers. Quite the opposite, of course, as this is one of the best mattresses for dissipating heat that I’ve slept on.
And even though I’ve not been able to compare the different “ratings”, it’s a joy to see a choice of different firmness options that may suit those with different preferences, sleeping styles and body weights. And, with a 40-night sleep trial, there’s just about enough time to exchange for a different firmness if needs be. Considering these options and how supportive the mattress was for my back, I have no hesitation in awarding it five stars.
