Rem-Fit 500 Ortho Mattress Review

The 500 Ortho is a retired name

Rem-Fit used to run a 400, 500 and 600 line-up, with the 500 Ortho as the firmer orthopaedic option in the middle of it. That naming is gone. The current range uses Pocket 1000, 3000, 4000 and 5000, and the brand sells a Natural line alongside it.

As with the Rem-Fit 500 pillow, the practical effect is that a large amount of published material now describes products using names the manufacturer has stopped using. Retailer listings lag too, which is how a shopper ends up comparing a current mattress against a review of something discontinued without realising the two are not the same object.

The numbers changed meaning, which is the real trap

This is the part that costs people money, and almost nobody spells it out.

In the old system the number was a tier. A 500 was a step up from a 400 and a step below a 600, in roughly the way trim levels work on a car. The number told you where the model sat in the hierarchy and very little else.

In the current system the number refers to the spring count. A Pocket 1000 and a 5000 are describing how many pocket springs are in the mattress, which is a specification rather than a rank.

There is a second-order point here about spring counts generally. Beyond roughly two thousand springs in a king, each additional spring has to be made smaller and from thinner gauge wire to fit the same area. You gain finer contouring and better motion isolation, and you lose individual spring strength. High counts suit plush mattresses. On a firm or orthopaedic build, which is what the Ortho name was pointing at, they add considerably less than the number implies.

The closest current model

If the 500 Ortho was doing its job because it was firm and supportive, the model holding that position now is the Rem-Fit 4000 Ortho Elite Hybrid. The Ortho designation carried across, which makes it the honest match on purpose rather than on digits.

If the appeal was price rather than firmness, look at the Pocket 1000 Hybrid instead, and read the spring-count point above before deciding that fewer springs means worse.

The full current line-up, and how the models genuinely differ, is on the Rem-Fit brand page. Before buying, check the Rem-Fit discount page, because the brand runs key worker, senior and student schemes at 10 per cent each. It publishes no criteria for them, so the only way to find out whether you qualify is to start the verification.

If you already own a 500 Ortho

A discontinued model name does not weaken your position.

Rem-Fit has historically sold with a long replacement guarantee, and a guarantee given at the point of sale survives the model being withdrawn. Dig out the paperwork and read what it actually promises, because the length quoted in marketing and the conditions attached in the document are often further apart than buyers expect.

Separately, and more usefully in most disputes, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 puts your claim with the retailer who sold you the mattress rather than with Rem-Fit. That runs up to six years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and five in Scotland. If you bought through a third party retailer, they are your route and cannot pass you to the manufacturer.

What to compare instead of a model number

Model names are marketing and they move. These do not.

• Spring count and where the springs sit. A tall pocket unit forming the support core is a different mattress from a thin micro-spring layer sitting on a foam base, even though both are sold as hybrids.
• Foam density, if the brand will publish it. It is the single number that predicts how long a foam layer lasts, and most brands do not state it. One that does is telling you something.
• Total depth. It constrains everything else and it determines whether your existing fitted sheets still work.
• Firmness, as a number the brand commits to in writing. Still relative to your weight, but it beats an adjective.
• The guarantee conditions, not its length. Fifteen years with a base requirement you cannot meet is worth less than eight years without one.

Compare on those five and a renaming becomes an inconvenience rather than a problem. Compare on the name and every range refresh puts you back to the start.

Questions people ask

Is the Rem-Fit 500 Ortho still available?

No. Rem-Fit retired the 400, 500 and 600 numbering and now sells a Pocket 1000, 3000, 4000 and 5000 range alongside a Natural line.

Is the Rem-Fit 5000 the replacement for the 500?

No, and this is the common mistake. The old numbers were tiers and the new numbers are spring counts. The 500 Ortho sat in the middle of the old range, so jumping to the 5000 moves you to the top of the new one. The closest match on purpose is the 4000 Ortho Elite Hybrid.

Is 5000 springs better than 1000?

Not straightforwardly. Fitting more springs into the same area means each one is smaller and thinner gauged. You gain contouring and motion isolation and lose individual spring strength. High counts suit plush mattresses and add much less to a firm or orthopaedic build.

Is my guarantee still valid on a discontinued Rem-Fit model?

Yes. A guarantee given at the point of sale is not cancelled by the model being withdrawn. Your statutory rights are separate again and sit with the retailer who sold it to you, for up to six years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and five in Scotland.