Sleep Innovations Shea 10-inch Memory Foam Mattress
Sleep Innovations are well known for offering a wide range of memory foam mattresses at competitive prices. Their products use a variety of materials including gel-infused and SureTemp foams. One of the most popular models is the 10-inch SureTemp mattress, which we’ve reviewed and rated.
Size
The 10 Inch SureTemp Mattress is available to suit most of the popular bed sizes. Currently, it’s offered in these five form factors:
- Twin
- Full
- Queen
- King
- California King
Construction
Core
This is a two-layer mattress. The base is a 7-inch slab of high-density support foam. On top is 3 inches of Sleep Innovations’ proprietary SureTemp memory foam. This is open-cell foam, but the cells have thicker walls than most competing products. Sleep Innovations say this adds more support to the mattress as well as enhancing airflow.
We’ve looked at several two-layer mattresses and most of them have a two-inch layer of memory foam. The thicker 3-inch layer on this one is a nice feature, giving more shaping ability than normal for a mattress this thickness. The benefits of that were obvious when we looked at comfort ratings.
Cover
The cover is a poly cotton fabric, and it’s a very neat fit. There’s a zipper but the warranty leaflet states that if the cover is removed the warranty will be voided, which is a pity. We prefer covers that can be removed for washing, and while Sleep Innovations say this one can be spot cleaned as required it’s not as good an option as being able to give it a proper wash. Therefore we recommend you use an overlay or protector with this mattress to minimize the need for cleaning.
On the positive side, the cover looks good and fits closely, and is very well made with a lot of attention to detail. The poly-cotton fabric also seems to assist with ventilation and keeping the mattress cool.
Comfort
This mattress is rated as medium firmness by Sleep Innovations. The 12-inch version has the same rating, but the 10 inch seems to be slightly softer while still offering enough support for anyone who likes a firm bed. We think the 3-inch memory foam layer takes the credit here. That’s up to 50% thicker than the memory foam on most competing mattresses. The result is this mattress can shape itself to your body much better without allowing you to come into contact with the springier, less yielding support foam underneath.
Some reviewers who suffer from back pain found that the 10-inch mattress didn’t offer them quite enough support; if this applies to you it might be an idea to go for the 12-inch version or one of LinenSpa’s Lucid models. On the other hand, this one is a very comfortable mattress for everyday use.
One point that we’ve heard about several SureTemp mattresses is that if the room is cool the foam is very firm when you first go to bed, but gradually softens as it warms up. This seems to be a characteristic of the foam itself.
Ventilation
Like many manufacturers, Sleep Innovations deal with memory foam’s typical heat retention by making their mattresses from open-cell foam. The closed-cell foam prevents air from flowing and traps heat close to the body, which can quickly become uncomfortable in warmer weather. Open-cell foam allows heated air to escape. The SureTemp foam used in this mattress has thicker cell walls than most memory foam; the idea behind this is that the gaps between cells remain open, increasing the airflow.
So how does it work? Most reviewers were very happy with the ventilation of this mattress and had no problems with overheating. We think the polycotton cover also helps with this; it’s a naturally cool fabric.
Features
The 10-inch SureTemp mattress arrives vacuum packed, which means it’s a lot more compact for shipping. Once unpacked it takes a few hours to expand to its full size – Sleep Innovations recommend leaving it for a full day and we would agree with that. The paperwork also says there may be a chemical smell when it’s first unpacked and many people did notice this. However, it dissipates quickly; it’s barely noticeable after a day and has usually disappeared completely in three or four days.
One nice touch with this mattress is the inclusion of two free pillows. These are also made from memory foam and complement the mattress perfectly.
This mattress comes with a 20-year limited warranty.
Conclusion
This is a well-priced mattress that compares well with its competitors on both price and features. If you suffer from back problems you may prefer the LinenSpa model if you want a 10-inch mattress, but for most people, we think this is well worth the small extra cost. The 3-inch comfort layer makes a real difference to comfort levels, and the two free pillows are a nice bonus. This is highly recommended.