Despite its name, the Emma Original isn’t the company’s first bed-in-box mattress, at least not in the UK. That title goes to the Emma Hybrid, which, as its name suggests, employs a combination of pocket springs and foam.
Instead, the Emma Original is constructed entirely from foam, like rival mattresses from Casper and Leesa. The company claims the new mattress is the product of its latest research and customer feedback and that it suits all types of sleeper, offering high levels of both durability and support.
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Emma Original mattress review: What you need to know
The Emma Original’s construction is very simple, comprising only three layers of foam. On the top, there’s 25mm of “Airgocell” foam, which aims to relieve pressure while promoting ventilation. Next, there’s 20mm of memory foam that provides pressure relief and support.
Finally, the mattress has a firm foam foundation. This final layer is the thickest at 195mm, with the aim of ensuring the mattress keeps you adequately supported, regardless of your and sleeping position and weight.
The three layers are encased in what the manufacturer calls a “climate regulating” cover, which splits into a breathable top cover and a grey side cover. Unlike most of its rivals, the top section of the Emma Original’s cover is removable and machine washable, so you can keep the mattress clean more easily at all times. The Emma Original also bucks another trend among its bed-in-a-box rivals in that it has handles on its sides, which make turning and moving the mattress much easier.
Like most bed-in-a-box mattresses, the Emma Original’s unique layering means that you should never flip it and unusually the company website doesn’t even recommend turning it during the break-in period. Doing so certainly wouldn’t do any harm, but the lack of instruction to that effect suggests the company is confident in its durability.
Emma claims its Original mattress is suitable for people weighing anywhere between 50kg and 130k and it’s guaranteed for ten years. As with the majority of its rivals, you can test the Emma Original for up to 100 days and, should you not get on with it, the company will pick it up and refund you in full.
Emma Original mattress review: Price and competition
Emma claims its Original mattress takes advantage of the “latest developments in foam quality” and that’s reflected in its price. At £429 for a single, £649 for a double and £699 for a king size, it’s the most expensive bed-in-a-box mattress we’ve tested to date.
All-foam UK rival Leesa is the same price in king size, but £30 and £50 cheaper in single and double sizes, respectively. The Simba Hybrid follows the same pricing model of Leesa, but Casper, another all-foam mattress, is cheaper still with prices ranging from £375 for a single, to £650 for king size.
The Otty Hybrid, my favourite bed-in-a-box mattresses, is considerably cheaper at £350 for a single, £350 for a double, and only £500 for a king size. However, while the company is British, Otty’s mattress is manufactured in China.
Emma Original mattress review: Comfort and performance
As with all bed-in-a-box mattresses, the Emma Original comes vacuum packed, rolled up and boxed. After sliding it from its cardboard box and using the cutting tool provided to remove it from its polythene bag, the mattress quickly rises to its full size. Typical of most memory foam mattresses, the Emma let off a rather pungent chemical smell for the first few days out of the bag but this quickly disappeared after that.
At first, when I pushed my hand into the Emma Original I was surprised by how much softer it felt than some of the hybrid bed-in-a-box mattresses I’ve tested recently. Compared with the Otty and Eve Hybrid, which both have firm, pocket-spring foundations, the Emma Original’s all-foam construction let me push some way further before meeting significant resistance.
As you’d expect, this also translates to it a less firm feel when lying on the Emma Original. I’d score it no higher than a 6 or 6.5 for firmness where 10 is the firmest rating. To my surprise, though, the mattress provided adequate levels of support in all sleeping positions.
Indeed, where some less firm mattresses allow your hips to drop too far when you lie on your front or back, I didn’t find this to be the case with the Emma Original. Instead, my hips remained supported and I could also feel its comfort layers gently pushing against my lumbar when lying on my back.
And, because it’s that little bit softer, it’s easy to make the case that the Emma Original is better suited to people who sleep on their side than some of its firm competitors. That’s because, simply put, the mattress needs to accommodate more of your hips for you to maintain a straight spine position when sleeping this way.
The only downside to the extra sinkage, coupled with the fact the Emma Original is made entirely from foam is that the mattress does sleep noticeably warmer than its hybrid rivals such as Otty. Having said that, the mattress’ cover and top comfort layers did a good job of ensuring that I never woke feeling damp or clammy and I didn’t notice any significant change in the levels of support as the bed warmed up, either, which can be a problem with some foam mattresses.
It’s worth pointing out here that I weigh around 75kg, so if you’re much heavier or lighter than this, you’ll likely find it feels softer or firmer respectively.
Similarly, although the manufacturer says it’ll work on any bed base, the platform you use can also change the way the Emma Original feels. Although I found there to be adequate support on a sprung, slatted base (unlike the Eve Hybrid), the mattress felt noticeably bouncier and less stable when set up in this way compared to using a solid platform.
Emma Original mattress review: Verdict
The Emma Original is an incredibly versatile bed-in-a-box mattress. Regardless of whether you sleep on your back, side or front, or indeed a combination of all three, it offers excellent levels of support and comfort. Not only that, but it’ll work with any type of bed base and never needs to be turned or rotated.
If you like a firmer feeling mattress or you get very warm at night, it might not be the right mattress for you, though; have a look at traditional pocket sprung mattresses instead or perhaps hybrid foam mattresses. Otherwise, it’s easy to recommend the Emma Original, especially for couples who are struggling to find the right compromise in terms of firmness.
