What Is a Pocket Sprung Mattress?
In a pocket sprung mattress every spring is sewn into its own fabric pocket, so it compresses independently of the ones around it. That single difference is what the whole category is built on.
Why independence matters
In an open-coil unit the springs are wired together, so pressing one pulls its neighbours down with it. Press one pocket spring and the springs beside it barely move. Two consequences follow:
- Movement does not travel. One person turning over does not lift the other. This is the main reason couples buy pocket.
- The surface follows a body. Springs under the shoulder compress further than springs under the waist, so the mattress takes your shape instead of averaging it.
Spring counts, honestly
Counts are always quoted for a double and scaled for other sizes, so a 1,000-spring King has more than 1,000 springs. That is standard practice, not a trick.
What is closer to a trick is the arms race. To fit 3,000 springs into the same space each has to be thinner, so each does less work. Past roughly 1,500 in a double, adding springs stops changing how the mattress feels. A 1,000-spring unit with six centimetres of good comfort layer beats a 3,000-spring unit with two.
Where high counts do earn their keep is in micro-spring layers: a second, much smaller unit sitting above the main one, doing the job a foam comfort layer would do but with independent movement. Our MicroPocket uses 1,600 of them above the main unit.
The comfort layer decides the feel
This is the part most buyers miss. The spring unit provides support; what sits on top of it decides whether the mattress feels soft, firm, warm or cool. The same 1,000-spring unit can be finished with memory foam, latex, or wool and horsehair, and the three feel nothing alike.
So when comparing pocket mattresses, read the layer list before the spring count.
Gauge and zoning
Two more variables worth knowing:
- Wire gauge. Thicker wire, firmer spring. A firm pocket mattress is usually firm because of gauge, not because of the foam above it.
- Zoning. Firmer springs under the hips, softer under the shoulders. Useful; not magic. It only helps if you are roughly the height the zones were designed for.
When pocket is the wrong answer
- A guest room. You are paying for motion isolation nobody will use. Open coil costs less and does the job.
- A very shallow build. Below about 16 cm there is not enough height for a spring unit worth having. Latex or foam behaves better.
- A very short bed. Fewer than about eight rows of springs and the zoning does nothing.
Common questions
Is pocket sprung the same as hybrid?
"Hybrid" means springs plus a foam comfort layer, which describes most pocket mattresses sold today. It tells you almost nothing on its own.
How long does a pocket unit last?
Ten to twelve years in normal use. The comfort layer usually gives up before the springs do.
Can pocket springs be too firm?
Yes — gauge and comfort depth both matter. See firm vs medium vs soft.