Hand-nested pocket springs: why every spring works on its own

In 1901 the English engineer James Marshall was the first to sew steel springs into individual fabric pockets. The effect: every spring moves independently of its neighbours. Where a continuous spring core makes the whole surface move, with pocket springs only the point carrying weight yields.

In practice that means you do not feel it when the person beside you turns over. And shoulder, waist and hip are supported differently instead of being treated as one surface.

In industrially made mattresses the spring pockets are glued together by machine. Hand-nested means the pockets are tied to one another with twine, row by row. That takes time, but it holds without adhesive and lets the spring core stay flexible.

Then there is the hand-side-stitching: the border of the mattress is sewn through by hand so that the edge stays firm and the mattress does not break down at the sides over the years. Vispring has made its beds in Plymouth since 1901 and received the Queen's Award for Enterprise in 2012.

The spring count alone says little. What matters is wire gauge, the number of spring layers and what lies above them. Two spring layers, as in the top models, do more than a high count in a single layer. Ask to see the builds in cross-section; that explains more than any number.