Eve Mattress UK Review

Disclaimer: This is my personal honest review of my Eve Mattress which I bought myself as this was the only way to get hold of mattress for review. There are no affiliate links back to the Eve website as I was asked to remove them by Eve. The effect was to remove my ability to earn anything back from my reviews on the Eve Original Mattress. However this will not stop me reviewing the mattress. If you would like to support my website and youtube channel by buying through my links I would suggest the nearest in feel (firmness) to Eve is Emma Original and Otty!

The Company

Made by Eve Sleep who started as Eve Sleep ltd in October 2014 before becoming a PLC with the website going live in December 2014. Founded by Jas Bagniewski, Joe Moore, Kuba Wieczorek and James Fryer. They are a London based company but selling throughout Europe, United States and Canada. In June 2018 Jas Bagniewski left by mutual consent after a decline in profitability despite rising sales.

The Headlines:

Bed in a box, 100 night trial. Free pickup if you don’t want to keep it. 10 year warranty. CertiPUR® certified. Mattress exchange for different size allowed within trial period (less handling and shipping fee). 0% finance option.

Regional Differences

The Eve Mattress is one of those mattresses where the regional differences are huge. Basically the USA/Canada version is a different mattress to the one in Europe and the UK. This according to the company is because the USA prefers a softer mattress and the in UK they prefer a firmer feel. The Eu versions also differ.

Eve Mattress: Thoughts

How it all works:

Eve has evolved from a single mattress into a whole system of bedding and associated products. Today the Eve system includes the so called ‘Original’ mattress reviewed here, a light mattress, a hybrid mattress and also a bed frame. Its a far cry from the original days of selling a single product for the savings this gave and not being found in high street stores. Of course this is another bed in a box mattress that these vacuum packed  mattresses have been termed. Your mattress like most online companies will arrive in a large box weighing about 3kg plus the mattress weight. Easiest way to remove the vacuum packed mattress is to lay the box on the side and pull the mattress out. Maybe having another person lift the end of the box up slightly. It’s then just a matter of cutting the plastic wrapping and leave the Eve mattress to expand for a few hours. Best practice is to allow 48 hours of airing to allow the VOCs (volatile organic compounds) to leech out. The release of these compounds is perfectly normal in a foam mattress and is normally what people refer to as the chemical smell they get.
Note that while you can purchase the Eve via Amazon the after sales is handled differently. Eve say:
“Amazon is an independent retailer of our products. When purchasing through Amazon you’d need to contact them directly for all after care regarding your mattress – as this wouldn’t be able to be done through us”

Try Before You Buy:

You can view and buy Eve from UK stores. They are Dreams, Fenwicks, Bentalls, Debenhams and NEXT Home. You can also buy Eve from amazon.

The Mattress

Eve has had at least 5 different versions since it started in late 2014. The current version is the now classic polyurethane layer on top, memory foam layer in the middle and firm polyurethane foam layer as the base. Much like Leesa and Emma Original while Casper is the same but with a fourth transitional layer between the base and memory foam layer.  On those mattresses the memory foam layer is below the high resilience polyfoam layer which gives a high degree of responsiveness before you hit the conforming memory foam layer. It is also worth noting that Eve do extra large mattress sizes, namely an emperor (200 cm x 200 cm) and a 7 foot x 7 foot version.

Eve Mattress

The Layers:

A huge plus for the Eve is that all the foams used are CertiPUR® certified for low volatile organic compounds which means less chance for that chemical smell you get with foams. It also means low to none of the more harmful chemicals have been used. Note that Certipur does not include certification for the actual cover unlike the Oeko-Tex 100 standard certification that a few other companies use. Also note all the layers are wrapped in a protective stocking which i removed for the purposes of this review.
Eve mattress Stocking Cover
Eve Mattress Stocking Cover

Cover:

I do like the Eve branding of yellow around the sides. Personally I like some colour but I know this will not be to everybody’s taste. Still once the sheets are on you wont notice it either way. According to the website specifications the cover is a polyester/elastane blend. Elastane is also known as Spandex or Lycra. The label on my actual cover states 100% polyester. Elastane is a lycra/spandex material which has very stretchy properties and is made from polyurethane and polyether. Eve support state the cover does definitely contain 2% Elastane despite the label saying 100% polyester because Elastane is a polyester. Personally I am not sure this is correct. Polyether is not polyester so Elastane cannot be 100% polyester and therefore that label cannot be correct. For that matter polyurethane polymer is not normally a polyester either so I am pretty sure this cant be a 100% polyester cover and contain Elastane. While the top cover does feel nice and stretchy there is no label stating it is anything other than 100% polyester. The top cover is actually to be applauded being both fully removable from the side and back of the cover and machine washable at 40 degrees. Being both removable and machine washable rather than requiring spot cleaning is actually quite rare in these type of mattresses. Having handles on the bottom does making moving the mattress if required much easier. Polyester is highly wicking or breathable. Eve Mattress Handles

Top Layer:

UK: 3.5 cm (1.4 inches) Polyurethane Foam. Density: 50 kg/m3 or 3.1 pcf
This is the polyfoam (Polyurethane) layer. 3 cm isn’t as deep as might be preferred and indeed past iterations had 4 cm layers. The polyfoam adds some bounce and responsiveness to the feel masking some of the deadening and slower response of the memory foam below. The 50 kg/m3 is a reasonable spec and on par with similar mattresses, but it does again have CertiPUR® certification missing is most of those similar mattresses such as Leesa. Eve call this layer their EveComfort layer and note it is 30 times more breathable than traditional memory foam. My guess is by breathable they are implying cooler. Memory foam is defined by its characteristic of responding to heat so any non-memory foam will of course sleep cooler. It is my opinion that this current top layer is not memory foam but polyurethane foam without any additives for turning it into memory foam. I say my opinion because when I ask them on their support they still call this a new generation memory foam, whatever that means.

Second Layer:

UK: 3 cm (1.1 inches) Memory Foam. Density: 60 kg/m3 or 3.7 pcf
Memory foam is known for its pressure relieving properties and is used in many of the orthopedic mattresses on the market for this reason. It has a better ability to adapt to your individual contours than regular polyfoam and so can be good if you have aches and pains. The downside being it lacks the bounce and responsiveness of a polyfoam or latex. It also tends to sleep hotter due to those very same hugging properties and the fact that memory foam works with your body heat to contour itself to your shape. However when used below the top layer its properties change somewhat. It will still sink slowly and respond slower when you move position but because it is not in direct contact with your body these properties are less than when used on top for those pressure reliving elements. Eve uses a 60 kg/m3 density foam for this layer while many contemporaries use 50 kg/m3 in the middle layer so Eve is a little better for density. A higher density promises better longevity and supportive properties. It must be mentioned that as with all the layers this is CertiPUR® certified for low VOC’s or off gassing, something which is rare at this price level and again missing from most contemporaries.

Base Layer:

UK: 17 cm (6.7 inches) Polyfoam. Density: 33 kg/m3 or 2.1 pcf
Pretty good spec for the base layer. 33 kg/m3 is as high as you will see for a triple layer foam mattress where the bottom layer is purely for support and at this price level. You can place the mattress on pretty much any surface apart from the floor for hygiene reasons, directly on springs or a slated base where the slats are wide apart. The bed frame Eve themselves sell alongside the mattress is a slated base. The base layer is zoned with small cuts the whole length and bigger cuts at shoulder level for more give.

Total height:

23.5 cm (9.3 inches) in height. Average density: 39 kg/m3
Eve Mattress layers
Eve Mattress layers with protective stockign removed.

Weights of the mattresses:
The containing box will weigh 3 kg.

Mattress weights:

Based on weighing my own Eve Original mattress the weights would be:

UK single 16.5 kg
EU single 17.5 kg
UK double 25 kg
EU double 27 kg
UK king 29 kg
EU king 31 kg
UK super king 35 kg

Mattress Thoughts

The mattress specifications are pretty good for this price level, in line with the majority of direct competitors. A total of 6.5 cm (2.6 inches) is on the low side for me personally and adds up to a firmish feeling mattress overall. The average density is a little bit lower than some nearest competitors such as Leesa, Simba and Casper because they have more comfort layers which have the highest densities. However Eve is Certipur certified for some peace of mind when it comes to off-gassing. Despite this there was an initial low level smell that did linger for a little while.

Tests and Analysis:

Edge support:

Edge support is pretty good for a foam mattress but it is inline with Casper, Bruno and Otty. 20 and 30 kg weights producing an average dip of 34% of the total height.

Score: 8.5/10

Sinkage and Firmness:

My testing places Eve in the firmer feeling range of mattresses. Alongside the likes of Bruno and a little firmer than Emma Original and Otty. Significantly firmer than Leesa, Casper and Simba. Much firmer than Emma Hybrid. This does not mean it feels like you are sleeping on the floor. You get a nice immediate feeling of sinking in but you very quickly feel the firmer layers below.

Firmness 8.5/10

Cooling:

Having the polyurethane foam on top rather than memory foam as Eve mattress used to have will help with cooling. Also being a firmer mattress and you are more on top of the mattress than sinking in this also helps with staying cool. Eve hasnt added any extra measures to help with cooling such as the holes Leesa has on its top Avena/Polyurethane foam top layer.

7.5/10 for cooling

Spot Relief (point elasticity):

This is how much foam is pushed down outside of the area under pressure. less is better and means more conforming. I take into account the firmness level as firmer mattresses will always have less foam effected.   

6.5/10 for spot relief

Mattress for Sex/Bounce:

Of course this is a highly subjective category and what makes a mattress good for sex is obviously going to differ depending on your preferences. For me I score this by bounce with comfort. In general latex is better than polyfoam which again is better than memory foam for this criteria. Having said that there will still be significant differences between materials. For example Simba has a top latex layer but very little bounce, the opposite of what I would have been expected. In terms of bounce Eve is in line with Simba and Leesa and just behind Casper and both Emma mattress versions.

7/10 for sex/bounce

Weight Capacity:

18 stone (114 kg) per person. This is just a guide. This about the weight at which Eve think the mattress loses its supportive properties.

Motion Transfer:

This will tell you how much of your partners motion you will feel as they move. Eve is good for motion transfer just behind HÜGGE and in line with Emma Original. Better than Leesa, Casper, Simba and Otty.

8.5/10 for motion transfer

Type of Sleepers this mattress suits:

Most quality foam mattresses with decent spot relief will suit back sleepers, it will just depend on the type of feel you prefer as to which is the best mattress for you. Front sleepers will need to be more careful as to much dip will put your back in a terrible position, and front sleeping isn’t great to start with. Eve with its firmer than average feel is a good option for stomach sleepers. Zoning helps a little when it comes to shoulders and side sleeping but the difference is subtle compared to the middle hip area. Eve is a decent all round option if you frequently change sleeping position during the night between stomach and another position.

Back sleepers 8/10 Side sleepers 5.5/10 Stomach sleepers 8/10

Eve mattress sleeping positions

Price:

This is a hard category to score because advertised retail prices and actual prices after discounts vary widely. Prices are roughly in line with other similar mattresses but it also depends on what size you are buying. The smaller sizes as in UK single and EU single are among the cheapest online but the largest such as the EU King and Super King are among the more expensive which evens things out a bit. Of course you can always get a discount making comparisons on price tricky. Eve does offer a certipur certified mattress which adds to the price, to remember to mix in quality along with price when comparing.
Average price: £603, rank: 4th of 8

Materials/Design:

The big pluses are CertiPur certified, handles on the base, machine washable top cover that doesn’t require moving the mattress to remove. Eve does have zoning but whether this is good or bad will depend on your preferences, weight and sleeping positions. Cutting channels does weaken the foam and there are other ways to zone a mattress. On the other hand cutting channels allows for some air flow and can help with sleeping cool. Tempur have pyramid type cuts in their foams for this reason. The average density has dropped a little from past versions and now is slightly behind some direct competitors rather than just being ahead.

8/10

Off-gassing/Smell:

There was a noticeable smell from day one which lingered for a few weeks at a low level.

7/10 for smells

Comfort:

This must be viewed as highly subjective. We all prefer a different feel from a mattress, have our individual sleeping habits, our personal aches and pains which we want to ease pressure on. As long as you maintain a healthy spinal alignment there is no good or bad in a mattress if you find the right one for your body. That is to say depending on your height, shape and weight the same mattress will feel different to each individual. Personally I am 13 stone, 82kg or 182lbs. For me as a back and side sleeper I found the Eve mattress a little firm in the shoulder area. I found Eve a great option for stomach sleepers and also good for back sleepers. However you must like a firmer feel to enjoy sleeping on Eve. It is firm as you sink into it but it does have a softish initial feel as you lay down so by no means is this an overly firm mattress, but it is on the firm side. For me Eve is a bit too firm for my liking but when I used it with a 5cm (2 inch) memory foam topper (75 kg/m3) (Bodymould Topper on Amazon) I really loved how it now felt. Very cosy and comfortable and now softer than Casper and Leesa. Anyone using their own topper should bear in mind that you should use a firmer mattress with a topper and this makes Eve very comfortable when tailored to your own topper.

Zoning:

Small cuts are made right along the top of the Eve mattress base with two areas corresponding to shoulder area having larger areas cut out for even more give at these points.

Summary:

Item out of 10
Edge Support 8.5
Firmness 8.5 (firm)
Cooling 7.5
Spot Relief 6.5
Sex/Bounce 7.5
Motion Transfer 8.5
Back Sleepers 8
Side Sleepers 5.5
Stomach Sleepers 8
Price Average: £603, rank: 4th of 8
Materials/Design 8
Smell/off-gassing 7
Zoning: Yes

Prices:

Type Price
Single £349
EU Single £399
Double £599
EU Double £649
King £679
EU King £749
Super King £799

General Mattress Conclusion:

Eve is a mattress that takes a lot of weighing up to make a conclusion. Some of the design elements are really good. The quality of foam is on a par or just behind closest rivals but has the advantage of being CertiPUR® certified for low VOCs (the bad ones anyway). This is the smell associated with foam mattresses and comes from the release of VOCs (volatile organic compounds). CertiPUR® certification means they are very low in the foam and have none (or very low) of the most harmful chemicals. You pay a premium for this type of foam. The cover is another good design element. The top portion of the cover comes completely away from the rear and sides of the cover to make for easy cleaning. Even better, rather than the normal spot cleaning only, you can machine wash the cover at 40 degrees. The rear side of the cover has four handles to make it easier to move the mattress around. This is important because otherwise you would need to grab the foam portion of the mattress itself and foam comes away very easily in the hand when maneuvered like this. You may be under the impression that Eve is a memory foam mattress either because it used to have a memory foam top layer or because it still talks about the middle memory foam layer. Indeed the description of their top EveComfort layer may also give the impression the top layer is still memory foam. For me a memory foam mattress must have the top layer as memory foam so it can react to your body heat and Eve no longer has memory foam on top so I do not class it as such. Eve certainly has reasonably good spot relief and also very good for lack of motion transfer so less of the feeling your partners movements on the mattress. However there is a flip side to all the good news, its the size of the layers. Over time Eve has switched from 4 cm (1.5 inch) layers to 3/3.5 cm (1 inch) layers. It might not sound a lot but that’s a 25% difference. I do feel the smaller layers give the mattress an overall firmer feel than is ideal as you hit the base layer too quick. Please bear in mind this is my personal feel from the mattress at 13 stone (82kg or 182lbs) and just firmer than I like. You do get a soft initial feel as you first lay on the mattress but a firmer feel as you sink in. I ended up buying a decent quality 2 inch memory foam topper and this transformed the feel into a very nice comfortable and softish feel. This confirmed my thoughts on the size of the top layer being a little less deep than would be ideal for me. The topper cost me £100 (Bodymould Topper on Amazon) . People who intend to use a memory foam topper anyway will find the Eve a perfect companion. Eve will also be less suited to side sleepers due to the firm feel. However Eve is excellent for stomach and back sleepers. Overall I believe Eve offers reasonably good value for money for anyone preferring a firmer feel, using their own topper, valuing certiPur certification and isn’t predominately a side sleeper.

Iterations

Eve have made considerable changes to the configuration of the mattress over time. When Eve first came to market this was a latex mattress, it then became a meory foam mattress and today i a polyurethane mattress (top layer). The original comfort layers were also deeper than the current mattress.
Original version 2014/2015
4cm (1.5 inches) latex top layer 4cm (1.5 inches) memory foam layer 17cm base (6.5 inches) base layer
2nd gen 2016
4cm (1.5 inches) memory foam layer 75 kg/m3 3cm (1.1 inches) polyfoam layer 48 kg/m3 (apx) 18cm (7 inches) base layer 36 kg/m3
3rd gen 2017
3cm (1.1) inches memory foam layer 75 kg/m3 3cm (1.1 inches) inches polyfoam layer 48 kg/m3 18cm (7 inches) base layer (36 kg/m3) The memory foam was blue and the mattress had no protective stocking. average density 43 kg/m3
4th gen early 2018
3cm (1.1) inches memory foam layer 3cm (1.1 inches) inches polyfoam layer 18cm (7 inches) base layer (33 kg/m3) For 2018 the base layer was reduced by 3 kg/m3 which took the overall weight down by near 1kg. The top memory foam layer was now white which Eve said was to address concerns that the blue showed through the top cover. The mattress also now had a protective stocking around the layers. Compared to the 2017 version Eve is less bouncy and slightly softer. average density 41 kg/m3
5th gen 2018/2019
3.5 cm (1.4 inches) polyurethane 50 kg/m3 (Evecomfort layer) 3 cm (1.1 inches) memory foam 60 kg/m3 17 cm base layer 33 kg/m3 zoned average density 39 kg/m3

Website Titbits:

These are just some curiosities that I pick out of the website that I find interesting but not of major note.

They Say:

Traditional memory foam is often too sinky – and this isn’t good for your back or hips. We’ve upped the ante with a springier foam that helps to keep your spine aligned. It’s also 30 times more breathable than the old stuff. Not really sure what to make of this. Memory foam can come in all sorts of firmness levels which will be what depends how much you sink. It is quite a claim to generalise and say memory foam often isn’t good for your back or hips when quite the opposite can be true. They go on to say their top Evecomfort layer is springier and more breathable than the old stuff. First off they are comparing straight polyurethane foam with memory foam so of course non memory foam will be springier and sleep cooler as memory foam needs heat to work. But this isnt a new innovation, it is just because they do not have memory foam for this layer.

They Say:

We tested the base foam to make sure it’s strong and supports all body types, and it’s slightly denser to prevent sagging. Not sure what it is denser than, at 33 kg/m3 it is in line with most rivals and a little better than some others. I think they mean it is firmer than the layers above as any base layer should be.

Remember,

Eve has a top polyfoam layer. This means it will be more responsive than a memory foam and a little less responsive than a natural latex foam. It will sleep cooler than a memory foam but will push back on your a bit more.

Warranty Highlights

  • 10 Year Limited Warranty
  • Any physical flaw in the mattress that causes the foam material to split or crack, as long as the mattress has not been handled improperly.

Exclusions

  • Deterioration which causes the mattress to have a visible indentation or sag greater than 2.5cm (1 inch), as long as that indentation or sag has not resulted from use of an improper or unsupportive foundation
  • Warranty is for the benefit of the original purchaser only and is not transferable
  • Use other than normal domestic use.
  • Any mattress not opened within one month of the date of delivery.

Eve vs Emma Hybrid

Eve is firmer and is fully CertiPur certified for low levels of harmful chemicals. Emma hybrid is a very soft mattress in comparison and feature micro pocket springs under its top layer. Emma may sleep cooler thanks to more air flow around the springs and use of Airgocell polyfoam on top.

Eve vs Emma Original

Eve has the same 3 layer configuartion but is fully Certipur certified. Eve is a slightly firmer but they have similar bounce. Both are good for motion transfer.

Eve vs Otty

Otty has a memory foam top layer of 3 cm (1.1 inches) with gel embedded into the layer and holes punched through to aid cooling. Both are Certipur certified. Otty has full size pocket springs giving it more bounce and better spot relief (point elasticity). Both are firm mattresses but Eve is a little firmer overall.

Eve vs Simba

Very different mattresses. Eve polyurethane on top, Simba synthetic Latex on top. Eve quite firm, Simba quite soft. Both have zoning while Simba has a layer of micro pocket springs. Simba costs more. Eve better spot relief and edge support.