When we tested out the Dream Team Ashbourne 2000 Pocket Wool Mattress, it was being sold for £599 in the single size or £699 as a double or small double. The king size model was £799 and the super king size was £899. 

Firmness rating of the Dreams Ashbourne Pocket Sprung Mattress 

Let’s start with firmness. I would say that is the trickiest thing to get right when you’re looking for a mattress, particularly if you’re buying online. 

Dreams describe this mattress as being soft. Personally I would give it a rating of 5/10 for firmness with 1/10 being soft and 10/10 being very firm. 

Testing out firmness for yourself

If you’re visiting mattress shops for yourself and getting a bit overwhelmed, then I would suggest that you do a few simple tests. 

Firstly start with the Spine Test. Lie on the mattress on your back and slide your hand underneath, so it’s facing down. You then want to get a sense of how easy or hard it is to get your hand underneath. If it’s very easy, the mattress is too firm for you. If it’s very difficult then the mattress is probably a bit too soft for you. You won’t be able to figure this out from the first mattress you test, but after you’ve tried out a few you’ll get the hang of it. 

In the case of the Dreams Ashbourne Pocket Sprung Mattress, I found it was quite difficult to get my hand underneath, which suggests that it’s too soft for my weight and build. This didn’t surprise me as I am 13 stone and am about 6 ft tall. I usually find that medium tension mattresses are about right for me. I’m yet to find one that is just right that is described as soft. 

However, I would say that I did find this mattress to be exceptionally comfortable. You may be slightly confused at this point and wondering why I wouldn’t immediately buy a mattress that I describe as ‘comfortable’. 

What I mean by that is that it felt good quality to me but that the level of support provided wasn’t right for my weight and build. If you are lighter than me and perhaps if you sleep on your side, then there’s more chance that this mattress will be what you need. 

More tests on firmness of the Dreams Ashbourne Pocket Sprung Mattress 

After my initial test of lying on my back and putting my hand underneath, I then moved on to some other simple tests that you can do. 

I like to try a mattress on my front, on my back and on my side. I’m a front sleeper most of the time, but it’s good to know how it feels in different positions. 

On my side, I would say this mattress was about right for me. It offered the right level of support and – as I said earlier – it felt comfortable. The amount of pressure on my shoulder and hip whilst I lay on my side felt about right. My spine felt that it was in a natural curved position rather than something awkward. 

However, on my front and back it just felt too soft. As I said earlier, it felt comfortable but I was in a slightly unnatural position and so would probably wake up feeling aches and pains. 

Comfort and support to the very edges on the Dreams Ashbourne Pocket Sprung Mattress 

Whilst wandering around mattress shops, I would also encourage you to try this simple test. Lie on your side on the very edge of the mattress and see if it reacts in the same way as it does when you’re in the middle of the mattress. Of course, what you want is a mattress that offers consistent support all over. 

I found that this is more often the case with a firmer mattress, but it’s also an indication of how it has been constructed. In the case of the Dreams Ashbourne Pocket Sprung Mattress, I felt that its performance was average when I lay on my side at the edge of the bed. I didn’t feel unstable as I have done on some mattresses, but I also didn’t feel it was quite as consistent at the edges as some models.

I then followed this up with the simple test of sitting on the edge as if I was getting dressed in the morning. I call this the Custard Slice Test. 

Again, its performance was average with a fair amount of compression (but not as much as a custard slice). This is not surprising on a softer mattress, but I have seen both better and worse performances. 

Handles on the Dreams Ashbourne Pocket Sprung Mattress 

Forgive me, if you will, for drifting into what may be the world’s most tedious subject – mattress handles. 

I always take a look at the mattress’s handles to see if they look like they will last for many years. We had one mattress that ripped on the handle and I think it’s a general indicator of workmanship and quality 

The Dreams Ashbourne Pocket Sprung Mattress is a good performer in this regard. The stitching is strong and the fabric is thick, so it gets a thumbs up from me. 

Motion transfer on the Dreams Ashbourne Pocket Sprung Mattress (the Wibble Wobble Test)

Some would say that this area of discussion is even duller than the previous section about handles. However, if you’ve ever woken up your spouse whilst creeping to the toilet in the night, then you need to get a grip on the issue of motion transfer (or wibble-wobble).

This is the extent to which movement on the mattress transfers elsewhere. 

This mattress uses pocket springs, which in my opinion sits somewhere in the middle on motion transfer. They are significantly better and less wobbly than open coil mattresses but have more sideways wobble than some high quality foam mattresses.

This particular mattress has a high number of pocket springs, which can also reduce the amount of motion transfer, in my experience. However, it does have a fairly soft feel to it, which can add to the wobble a little. 

Overall, I would put the Dreams Ashbourne Pocket Sprung Mattress as a pretty good performer on motion transfer. I would not be too concerned about waking up my wife when I’m creeping out of this bed. 

Construction and design on the Dreams Ashbourne Pocket Sprung Mattress 

As mentioned 30 seconds ago, this mattress uses a pocket sprung design. It combines this with a simple use of natural materials, including wool and some synthetic materials. It is fairly similar in design to some of the top brands such as Vispring and Hypnos, which tend to go for simple quality rather than complicated designs with baffling scientific descriptions. 

Of course, this is an own brand model, which doesn’t come with the same prestige and reputation as those brands but I was impressed with the look and feel for the price.

Final thoughts on the Dreams Ashbourne Pocket Sprung Mattress 

Buying an ‘own brand’ retailer’s mattress such as this one can offer a good saving on similar mattresses from big brands. For me, this mattress was a little bit firmer than I expected but was still a little bit too soft for me. I was still very impressed with the quality and it has a good specification for the price. I felt it could have been slightly more supportive at the edges, but it feels robust thanks to features such as it’s tufted finish (the little buttons on top).