IKEA Hovag Mattress Review
IKEA's pocket sprung mattress and the one worth buying from them, provided you have measured your bed frame first.
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Verdict
IKEA's pocket sprung mattress and the one worth buying from them, provided you have measured your bed frame first. The construction is reasonable for the price and the sizing is the entire risk.
Buy it if
You are buying an IKEA frame and mattress together, and you want pocket springs at a low price.
Avoid it if
You are replacing a mattress in an existing UK-sized frame. The dimensions will not match.
See the current IKEA offer
IKEA sells direct only. Check current trial and guarantee terms, which have changed over time.
No code needed. The discount is applied automatically at checkout. Opening the site in a new tab.
IKEA on Amazon UK
IKEA does not sell through Amazon. Not a route for these.
No code needed. Prices on Amazon change frequently, so check the seller and the returns terms before you buy. Opening in a new tab.
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Pocket sprung |
| Sizing | European dimensions, not UK |
| Guarantee | Long by category standards. Check current terms. |
| Trial | Generous change-of-mind period. Check current terms. |
| The risk | A European mattress will not fit a UK frame or take UK fitted sheets |
The scores
Reasonable pocket springs at a low price, with a sizing trap attached.
Genuinely cheap for a pocket sprung mattress from an established retailer.
Proper pocket springs rather than foam or open coil.
A pocket spring unit moves air.
Ordinary at this price.
Individually pocketed springs.
Among the most generous terms attached to any cheap mattress in Britain.
Measure before you go
European sizes, not UK sizes
| Size | UK | European |
|---|---|---|
| Single | 90 × 190 | 90 × 200 |
| Double | 135 × 190 | 140 × 200 |
| King | 150 × 200 | 160 × 200 |
A European mattress in a UK frame either will not fit or will leave a gap. UK fitted sheets will be the wrong size. And a future UK replacement will not fit the IKEA frame.
Buy the frame and the mattress together, or do not buy the mattress.
Full dimensions in the UK mattress and bed sizes guide.
Pocket springs at this price is the argument
Most mattresses at IKEA's price point elsewhere are foam or open coil. The Hovag is pocket sprung, which means the springs respond individually rather than as a linked unit.
That matters most if you share a bed. On an open coil mattress, movement on one side travels across it, which is the single characteristic couples most often want to avoid. Individually pocketed springs do not do that.
Combined with IKEA's unusually generous change-of-mind terms, that makes the Hovag a genuinely sensible purchase for a spare room, a rental or a first flat, provided the sizing works.
A correction worth making
Commonly repeated, and wrong
IKEA mattresses are compared against UK brands on price and specification as though they are interchangeable purchases, and the sizing makes them structurally different. A European king is 160 by 200 centimetres against a UK king at 150 by 200, and a European double is 140 by 200 against a UK double at 135 by 190. A cheaper mattress that does not fit your frame, will not take your sheets and locks you into one retailer for replacements is not the saving it appears to be.
Should you buy it?
Yes if you are buying the frame too. Pocket springs at this price with generous return terms is a sound purchase for a spare room, a rental or a first flat.
No if you are replacing a mattress in an existing UK frame. Measure with a tape before you go anywhere near it, and read the IKEA mattress review for the wider picture.
Questions people ask
Will an IKEA Hovag fit a UK bed?
Often not. IKEA uses European dimensions: a European king is 160 by 200cm against a UK king at 150 by 200, and a European double is 140 by 200 against a UK double at 135 by 190. Buy the frame and mattress together, or do not buy the mattress.
Is the IKEA Hovag any good?
For the price, yes. It is pocket sprung rather than foam or open coil, so the springs respond individually rather than as a linked unit, which matters most if you share a bed. Combined with IKEA's generous return terms it is a sound spare room or rental purchase.