John Lewis Mattress Comparisons

John Lewis has 156 mattresses in their own branded range. These are manufactured for John Lewis by numerous manufacturers, one of them being Harrison Spinks. The sheer amount of choice for John lewis mattresses is somewhat daunting, so we’ve written this article to compare and give you better alternatives.

John Lewis mattresses categories:

• Essentials (Entry-level)
• Naturals (Natural fibre)
• The Ultimate (Luxury mattress)

We have listed 3 John Lewis mattresses from their brand to compare to our Winston’s mattresses. All comparisons are based on the natural fillings and tension of each mattress. Prices are of July 2021 from the John Lewis website comparing king size mattresses.

The John Lewis Swaledale Wool 11400 is one of their most popular natural fibre mattresses with a blend of natural fillings and Cortec pocket springs; it has a comfortable medium feel. The core spring system has a high-density pocket spring support system produced in a smaller and more tightly coiled format to give more individual contact points with the body. The specification lists the 8,000 springs as being made from 4k micro springs. Looking at the inside of the mattress cutaway, the Cortec pocket springs look like they are 3,400 in quantity. Still, there’s no specification of the gauge or spring wire diameter or the GSM of natural fibres; with the total depth of the mattress being only 23cm, we would be safe to assume you are getting a very low GSM of upholstery.

The Winston’s Premium Cotton 1500 has a similar pocket spring system, and the upholstery is far superior as it contains 4550gsm. The Winston’s Premium Cotton 1500 also comes with a 200-night trial, 30-year Guarantee and 5-year bed care plan.

The Winstons mattress shows the GSM expected at this price point and is an excellent choice to consider against the John Lewis Swaledale Wool 11400 model.

This model has a medium feel with two layers of micro springs. We’ve discussed the benefits of a higher spring count, but this is only a suitable construction method if you have the correct amount of upholstery compared to the spring count. The drawback of this john lewis mattress is they only seem to have two layers of upholstery on either side of the mattress, which may cause the mattress to indent and dip quicker.

The closest alternative we have to this mattress is our Winston’s Premier British Wool 1500, which is available in soft, medium, firm and extra firm. Using 2000 GSM of Pure New Woven British Wool gives a softer responsive feel to the mattress, whilst the Natural Hessian insulator provides a firmer feel.

Our Winston’s Premier British Wool provides a softer and more supportive feel in the top upholstery layer. The mattress is 100% Natural, Handmade in the UK, has a 30-year guarantee and 200-night trial, unlike the John Lewis mattress, which has a 7-year guarantee and does not state the GSM of upholstery.

The Ultimate Collection Cashmere model has 32,000 micro springs and a core of revolution springs with no spring count detailed. We’ve discussed on numerous occasions the ratio to spring counts in a mattress, after which the number becomes irrelevant. Any spring count above 13500 brings no extra support to the mattress, and this is why we don’t put no more than 13500 springs in our mattresses as you are then just paying for bells and whistles.

A kingsize mattress can only contain so many layers of springs before the natural fillings GSM and value begins to be diminished. This is because springs are taking up space where deeper natural filling layers could be. In the John Lewis pocket sprung mattress cashmere 32000, for example, 32,000 of the total spring count is made up of micro pocket springs, which does not leave much room for the primary support system.

We’ve never used more than 12000 micro springs as they take up valuable space where natural fillings can give comfort.

We avoid using more than 12000 micro springs as we find them to have little to no value when more are used in this method.

The Winstons No1 uses 13500 encased pocket springs, 6350GSM of 100% natural fibres and is the world’s first 7-row hand-stitched mattress.

Several manufacturers make John Lewis’s label mattress range. One being Spinks and Edgar; you may recognise this from the mattress manufacturer brand Harrison Spinks. Harrison Spinks makes the following bed ranges, Somnus, Harrison and Spink & Edgar. Hypnos also produce an ‘exclusive’ mattress for John Lewis.

John Lewis mattress range is towards the higher end of mattress manufacturer and detailing. Unfortunately, they will not disclose the GSM or blend of natural fibres they use, making it rather difficult to compare accurately. You need to evaluate the springs and fillings to determine whether the mattress is suitable for you and worth the money you are paying.