The Company – Hugge Sleep Ltd
First came to market in June 2017 but the company ceased trading in summer 2019. Bought out but a new team in May 2020 and back to market with the same mattress as the original Hugge.The Headlines:
Ü, You deserve a good nights sleep, Bed-in-a-bag, 100 night trial, CertiPur, two types of Memory Foam. Free pickup if you don’t want to keep it. 10 year warranty.Regional Differences
At the time of publication Hugge have just one version of their mattress.Stores
Not available on the High Street. Online only.The nearest alternative to Hugge is the Nectar Memory Foam Mattress
The Mattress
Not a bed-in-a-box but a bed-in-a-bag. The idea comes from HÜGGEs scadinavian influences. The bag covering the mattress is an Ikea style sturdy plastic type of bag that ties at the top like a sailor’s kit bag. This means it is reusable and with side handles making it easier to get through tight spaces and with less chance of damage in transport.
The name HÜGGE is little play on words. Partly used because of the companies Scandinavian routes and influences it is a Danish word meaning cosy. It is pronounced in Danish as hooga but the company pronounce it hugger or huga. It also allows them to make use of what can also be seen a smiley face with the U having an Umlaut over it.
The main selling points of the HÜGGE mattress are that it is CertiPur certified meaning it is certified to not contain the most harmful chemicals used in polyurethane foam and maximum limits are set for other substances. The mattress also uses a significant amount of memory foam (7.5 cm) compared to many other online offerings and both the top two layers are different types of memory foam.
Of course you can get the rapidly becoming standard 100 night trial to try out your Hugge.
The mattress was full height within 10 minutes so if you are in a hurry to sleep on the Hugge you can, but it is still advisable to let it air for 48 hours. I found Hugge very low smelling, on day one only with my nose directly in contact with the foam could I smell anything at all.
Each mattress is hand sewn and finished.
The nearest alternative to Hugge is the Nectar Memory Foam Mattress
Cover:
HÜGGE use a high quality cover. 550 gsm is very high quality at this price level. Whats more is that this is a Tencel cover made in Belgium (top is Tencel sides and bottom are polyester). Tencel has also been called Rayon or Lyocell and is a natural product made from wood pulp. This means it’s a natural product unlike the usual polyester covers. Polyester is often used because it is highly wicking but so is Tencel, just in a different way. While polyester does not absorb moisture Tencel does (more so than cotton) so you are not laying directly on moisture which can be a breeding ground for bacteria. Tencel has natural channels so while it absorbs body moisture it also wicks it away via these channels. Tencel is a smooth fabric and naturally hypo-allergenic.
The cover on HÜGGE is slightly thicker than some other covers I have recently tried but is still stretchy and this enough for good breathability. Note that Hugge does not have handles sewn onto the bottom or middle as is becoming more common now. While the cover can be removed the zip is right on the bottom making this quite awkward and the top section remains as part of the side surrounds. The cover is not machine washable and is spot clean only. It is a matter of debate how strict the no machine wash recommendation should be. It relates to how much of the fire-retardant properties remain after several washes. The difference between a washable cover and non-washable cover is often just how conservative the company is with this criteria.
Branding is by way of a small blue label on the side simply saying Hugge.
Layer Densities:
Note that while I always try to find out the details of each layer as it is generally a big indicator of quality and lifespan I am not always able to get this information. It is highly common in the mattress industry to guard these details because it is so easy for competitors to then attempt to spec seemingly the same foams on paper but with foam from cheaper suppliers with perhaps less strict quality control and other factors. Hugge being a small company has opted to not publish this information at this point. Having weighed the mattress I can tell you however the average density is very similar to other direct competitors that I have reviewed.
Top Layer:
While 2.5 cm is not especially deep it must be remembered it works with the memory foam layer below and is used to aid cooling. The layer below being more supportive. HÜGGE is a softish mattress and the top layer is in line with this feel. It gives very easily to pressure in true memory foam like fashion. That is the sticky very precise and molding feel as you push down on it. It is so common these days for companies to say they are memory foam but when you lay on it you clearly get the feel more of a hybrid foam sitting between memory foam and a normal polyurethane foam. This means you might get a more responsive foam but you are not getting the classic pressure relieving properties of a full memory foam. Having said that the memory foam here is still quite responsive, just not instant. When you lay on the mattress for some time and you move position it may take 30 seconds or so for your full body impression to disappear. This is very good, you will not get stuck in the foam or find a dip in the middle an hour after you moved position. Not all memory foams can say that and is something that outs people off memory foam. The other issue of course is heat. I have had no heat issues with Hugge but I am not particularly sensitive outside of very hot summer nights to this. Note that Hugge say this top layer has been especially specified to be more open cell than standard memory foams to allow for more air flow and thus better cooling. As with all the layers it is CertiPur certified for low VOCs and free of the most harmful chemicals and hard metals.
Second Layer:
The second layer compliments the top layer by adding a higher density supportive memory foam. Along with the top layer the 7.5 cm (3 inches) of memory foam becomes enough memory foam to really get the full pressure relieving and blood circulation benefits. While many mattresses offer memory foam in the second layer it needs to be at the top to absorb your body heat and work the way it was originally intended when developed by NASA back in the 1960s.
Base Layer:
The base layer is standard high density polyurethane foam. What makes it different is the way it has been zoned. It has become normal at this price level to zone the mattress by castellation of the base layer. This is cutting channels through it in certain areas and actually removing foam. This weakness the foam so there is more give at that point, but the removal of foam will affect its lifespan. Hugge creates zoning by cutting sliced areas to allow for more give but no foam is actually removed. This makes it preferable to methods that actually remove foam promising better lifespan. For Hugge they have used the zones to create more give at hip and shoulder level.
HÜGGE Mattress Overall:
Average density: 40 kg/m3
Mattress weights:
Based on weighing my own Hugge mattress the weights would be:| UK single | 19 kg |
| EU single | 20 kg |
| UK double | 29 kg |
| EU double | 31 kg |
| UK king | 33 kg |
| EU king | 36 kg |
| UK super king | 40 kg |
The nearest alternative to Hugge is the Nectar Memory Foam Mattress
Tests and Analysis:
Edge support:
Excellent edge support especially given that this is a softer feeling mattress.
Good mattresses for edge support: Bruno, Ergoflex 5G, Otty Hybrid
Firmness (how far it sinks for a given weight):
On the face of it it should be easy to say one mattress is firmer than another but the reality is quite different. Some mattresses will give as you lay on it and then remain stable, others will give a little but continue to give over several hours. Some have an obvious push-back while others have no push-back at all even though they sink the same amount. This makes firmness far more subjective than you would rightly assume. HÜGGE is a memory foam mattress and as such will give gradually over a period of time rather than sinking right in immediately. This is good, this is how memory foam should work along with no push back and thus giving great pressure relief. However HÜGGE does continue to sink at the highest pressure points longer than most other mattresses I have tested (mostly non-memory foam). This means how firm or soft it feels can vary greatly depending on how long you sleep in the same position. I rate Hugge on the softer side of medium firm.
Firm Mattress: Otty Hybrid, Emma Original, Soft Mattress: Emma Hybrid
Cooling:
Cooling is the downside of memory foam. It works by absorbing your body heat to allow it to mould to your body. This means if you are sensitive to heat build up memory foam might not be for you. Having said that there are things some companies try to do to alleviate the heat issues. In the case of Hugge they have specified a higher than average open cell formula for the top layer to increase air circulation. Whether it works or not will be down to the individual but I would score it just above a normal memory foam for cooling.
Spot Relief (point elasticity):
This often is highly correlated with firmer mattresses having the best point
elasticity. However despite being one of the softest mattresses HÜGGE did very well for spot relief. This is the amount of foam displaced around a single point of pressure with smaller being better.
Mattress for Sex/Bounce:
Of course this is highly subjective but for many people a large part of how they decide on a mattress will be how it suits their lifestyle outside of just sleeping. I judge this area on the combination of bounce and comfort. Decent bounce without being a trampoline while retaining some comfort and not an overly firm surface. Even your weight will change how this criteria scores so please remember this score is a guide only and aimed at people of average weight. The combination of softness, slow response and very little bounce add up to make the HÜGGE not that great for sex IMHO.
Weight Capacity:
–
Motion Transfer:
As you move around on your bed that motion gets transferred across the mattress and can be bothersome to a partner trying to sleep. For many motion transfer is high on the list of priorities when looking for a new mattress. In this regard HÜGGE is excellent in true memory foam fashion. Transferring very little movement across the mattress and one of the best I have tested in this category. Mattresses without a large amount of memory foam just cannot compete. Nectar is just a tad behind and Ergoflex a tad better.
Type of Sleepers this mattress suits:
This is highly dependent on your weight and the feel you are after. I am scoring this in a general manner assuming average build. However still take on board that even you are 20 stone and want a really soft feel as a stomach sleeper for example it is never going to be good. Generally you need most support on your stomach and that is almost always going to feel firm. As a soft mattress but still supportive mattress Hugge will suit most positions. However it will suit side sleepers best and not be a great fit for stomach sleepers simply because of the needs of those positions. Back sleepers can normally use any mattress that fits there firmness preference while hopefully keeping your spine aligned.
Price:
I rank price quite bluntly by average price across the line. It makes no allowance for quality or value. It is just a guide to the mattresses I have reviewed and in this regard Hugge is among the more expensive but bear in mind we are not talking about much difference. The difference between 7th place and 4th place is just £21 and makes no allowance for special deals, it is based on advertised retail prices.
Materials/Design:
CertiPur foam is a big plus, it shows it can be done at a reasonable price level and makes you wonder why it is still a rarity. The cover is a high quality Tencel one which is a natural product, something that is important since its the one closest to your body. I like the way they have used a sliced castelation for the base rather than actually removing foam to make certain areas weaker.
Off-gassing/Smell:
There was the teeniest of smells if I put my nose very close up to the mattress on opening, this is great. Now 3 weeks later there is no smell at all, the least smelly mattress I have had. This matters because that smell you get from foam is chemicals being leeched, volatile organic compounds. No smell does not mean there is no off gassing but an obvious smell is correlated with the more harmful chemicals you can have off gassing. So a low smelling mattress is a good sign.
Comfort:
I do not score this section because it is totally 100% subjective what each individual will call comfortable or not comfortable. I can only relay my own personal experiences and it may have no significance to anyone else. I personally have found the HÜGGE one of the more comfortable mattresses I have tried. This surprised me because it is a soft mattress and normally I would not get enough support for my lower back when laying on my back as for example happened with the Simba. But memory foam with its different properties still filled out my lumbar region nicely and even though I sink in significantly I still felt supported. For me HÜGGE had a great combination of support and comfort, not 100%, it is still a tiny amount on the soft side for me but I was sleeping very happily on the HÜGGE mattress. Remember for comparison purposes I am 13 stone (83 kg) and 6 foot. If you are heavier Hugge will feel softer, if you are lighter Hugge will feel firmer. Also note the zoning actually has most give between shoulders and waist which I think helps here as it retains more support for the hip/pelvic area.
Zoning:
7 zones. Zoning is simply the fine tuning of different sections of the mattress to fine tune the give in certain areas. It may or not be appropriate for you and should not be considered a deal breaker one way or the other when choosing a mattress. HÜGGE has 7 different areas of firmness using slices cut into the base and does this without removing any foam. Most give is between the pelvis and shoulder area followed by the shoulder and pelvic area themselves. The very ends are left untouched. I felt the zoning worked well for me.
Summary:
| Item | out of 10 |
|---|---|
| Edge Support | 8.5/10 |
| Firmness | 6.5/10 (softish) |
| Cooling | 6.5/10 |
| Spot Relief | 7.5/10 |
| Sex/Bounce | 6.5/10 |
| Motion Transfer | 9/10 |
| Back Sleepers | 8 |
| Side Sleepers | 9 |
| Stomach Sleepers | 5.5 |
| Price | av: £624 (rank 7th of 8) |
| Materials/Design | 8/10 |
| Smell/off-gassing | 9/10 |
| Zoning: | yes, 7 zones in base layer |
Prices:
Hugge only advertise the UK sizes for their mattresses. However they will make up a mattress to any size including EU sizes as a custom order with a delivery time of 2-4 weeks.
| Type | Price |
|---|---|
| Single | £499 |
| EU Single | – |
| Double | £699 |
| EU Double | – |
| King | £799 |
| EU King | – |
| Super King | £899 |
General Mattress Notes:
Overview:
Not another bed in a box but a bed-in-a-bag