Soak & Sleep Mattress Review
A UK bedding specialist, and the reason to shop one rather than a general retailer is information.
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Verdict
A UK bedding specialist, and the reason to shop one rather than a general retailer is information. Bedding is sold almost entirely on adjectives, and a retailer that publishes fill power, staple length and weave lets you compare things that actually differ.
Buy it if
You are buying bedding you intend to keep, and you would rather compare specifications than descriptions.
Avoid it if
You want the cheapest possible bedding. A supermarket or a clearance section will beat a specialist on price.
See the current Soak and Sleep offer
A UK bedding specialist that publishes more specification detail than most retailers.
No code needed. The discount is applied automatically at checkout. Opening the site in a new tab.
Soak and Sleep on Amazon UK
Not directly comparable.
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 | UK bedding specialist |
| What a specialist adds | Published specification: fill power, staple length, weave, tog |
| What to compare | Those four, rather than thread count or adjectives |
| Range | Duvets, pillows, linen, towels and toppers |
| Returns | Standard terms. Check for the specific product. |
The scores
The information is the product. Bedding is unusually hard to compare without it.
Not the cheapest. You are paying for the range and the information.
Broad, and deep on the things a specialist should be deep on.
Publishes what most retailers leave out, which is the reason to shop here.
Standard terms. Check for the specific product.
Standard. Bedding is easy to ship.
Better than a general retailer on the questions that actually matter.
The four numbers that describe bedding
Bedding is sold on adjectives, and four figures do almost all the useful work.
Fill power, for down. It measures how much space a given weight of down occupies, so high fill power reaches a tog with less weight. Two 10.5 tog duvets can be completely different products: one light, lofty and breathable, the other heavy and dense. Most retailers do not print it anywhere.
Staple length, for cotton. Long staple cotton, sold as Egyptian, Pima or Supima, makes smoother and stronger fabric than short staple at any thread count.
Weave. Percale is a one-over-one-under weave: crisp, matte, breathable, the hotel sheet feel, and the better choice if you sleep warm. Sateen floats threads for a smoother, warmer finish.
Tog, matched to your bedroom rather than the season. Seven to 10.5 is the most broadly useful for a UK home.
And the number to ignore
Thread count is the most misused figure in bedding.
Up to about 400 it correlates with quality. Beyond that, a single-ply cotton weave physically cannot fit many more threads into a square inch, so very high counts are achieved by twisting several thinner threads into multi-ply yarn and counting each strand. A 250 count fabric woven from four-ply yarn gets marketed as 1,000.
The thinner threads are weaker. A genuine 300 count long staple percale will outlast and outperform a 1,000 count multi-ply sheet, and usually costs less.
So on a listing that states thread count and nothing else, you have been told the one figure that means the least.
A correction worth making
Commonly repeated, and wrong
Bed linen is compared on thread count, and above roughly 400 it stops meaning what buyers assume. A single-ply cotton weave cannot physically fit many more threads into a square inch, so very high counts come from twisting several thinner threads into multi-ply yarn and counting each strand. The thinner threads are weaker, and a genuine 300 count long staple percale will outlast and outperform a 1,000 count multi-ply sheet.
Should you buy it?
Yes if you are buying bedding to keep and you want to compare specifications rather than adjectives. Fill power, staple length, weave and tog are the four figures that matter.
For cheap basics, a supermarket or a clearance section will beat a specialist on price. See the Dunelm review for deep fitted sheets and the Kirkton House review for value.
Questions people ask
What should I look for when buying bedding?
Four numbers. Fill power for down, staple length for cotton, weave, and tog matched to your bedroom. Those do almost all the useful work, and most retailers publish none of them.
Does thread count matter?
Up to about 400. Beyond that a single-ply weave cannot fit more threads into a square inch, so high counts come from twisting thinner threads into multi-ply yarn and counting each strand. A 300 count long staple percale outlasts a 1,000 count multi-ply sheet.