When we tested the Bensons For Beds Pocketflex 800 Pocket Sprung Mattress it was being sold at £599 in a double size. The king size was just £20 more and the super king was just £50 more than the double. The single size was £399. 

Firmness level on the Bensons For Beds Pocketflex 800 Mattress

This mattress is rated as soft and that was certainly my experience when I climbed onto it. I would give it a rating of 3/10 or 4/10 for firmness with 10 being firm and one being soft.

Lying on my back, I found it much too soft and didn’t feel it provided enough support for my weight and build. That’s not a criticism of the mattress, but it’s essential that you find a mattress that matches your own body shape. I weigh stone and I’m about six foot tall. 

To confirm this, I carried out the simple test of placing a flat palm underneath my spine. It was quite difficult to get my hand underneath my back, which indicates that it is too soft for me. 

I’m a front sleeper usually, and so tried lying in this position as well. Again, the mattress was too soft for me. 

When in a side sleeping position, I found the firmness to be much more suited to me. I would probably say it was still slightly too soft for my tastes, but it was certainly closer to the level of support that I would require. 

A bit of bounce!

I would add that the Bensons For Beds Pocket Flex 800 Pocket Sprung Mattress is a particularly bouncy mattress. Most mattresses nowadays have a lot less bounce to them, which I believe is a result of the extra layers that sit on top of the springs. 

The feel of this mattress reminded me of one that I used to sleep on at my grandparents house quite a few years ago.

Edge support on the Bensons For Beds Pocketflex 800 Mattress

I then lay on my side and wriggled right to the edge of the mattress. This test gives a good indication of whether the mattress offers the same level of support all over or if most strength is towards the middle. I found that I quite easily lost my balance and nearly fell out of the bed during this test. 

Of course, most of the time you do not sleep on the edge of the bed so it is not a big problem. However, I would say that premium mattresses that I have tried tend to offer more strength to the very edges. In the case of pocket sprung mattresses this is often because they are designed with something called hand side stitching. I don’t believe this mattress has that feature although it does have something called ‘reinforced edge support’. 

Motion transfer rating on the Bensons For Beds Pocketflex 800 Mattress

The next test is a bit of a tricky one to carry out as we were testing a single size version of this mattress. Motion transfer is the essentially the wobbliness of a mattress. I’m sure there’s a more technical explanation but that’s the gist of it. It gives an indication of how much you will feel someone else in the bed. 

As mentioned earlier, this Bensons For Beds Pocket Flex 800 Pocket Sprung Mattress is quite a bouncy mattress and so we did notice a little more motion transfer than on some other models. 

We normally test this by getting two people to lie side by side. We couldn’t do that in this instance so I’m really going on how it felt to me rather than anything more technical or scientific. 

It’s worth mentioning that motion transfer is much less of an issue if you don’t share a bed or if you are lighter than average. 

Handles on the Bensons For Beds Pocketflex 800 Mattress

The strength and construction of the handles on the side of mattress probably seems like a small thing to show an interest in. However, I have a theory that it’s a good way to examine the stitching and is also a point where some mattresses can get ripped. Handles are tugged and stretched over the years because a mattress like this needs turning over regularly. 

I have found that some single mattresses nowadays don’t come with handles at all. Personally, I find that quite frustrating particularly if you are storing it underneath the bed and using it as a spare. In this instance the single version did come with handles and they seem to be robust. That’s a definite thumbs up for this mattress.

Construction and design of theBensons For Beds Pocketflex 800 Mattress

You may have guessed from the name that this mattress has 800 pocket springs. That number usually refers to the number on a king size model, with smaller versions having a lower number. 

Personally, I prefer a mattress with 1000 springs or more. I often find that with 800 springs you do get something more of a wobble to the mattress. If you are significantly heavier than me, then you may want something a little higher than 1000.

It also uses something called a quilted top. The alternative on a sprung mattress is called a tufted finish and looks like it has little buttons on the top. A quilted finish offers a nice flat surface but a tufted finish tends to be seen as a stronger and more upgraded model. 

Final thoughts on the Bensons For Beds Pocketflex 800 Mattress

Personally, I found this mattress too soft for me and a bit too bouncy. I would say this is a suitable mattress for you if you are quite a light person who wants a mattress with a traditional springy feel rather than the ‘sinking’ feeling of memory foam. The handles on the side are well constructed but we have found that other models had slightly stronger edge support than this one.

As always, I would encourage you to test a mattress out for yourself to get a better idea of how it performs with your own body shape.