In this often-maddening world of ours, there are plenty of things that might keep you up at night, but a mattress should never be one of them.
I’ve spent my fair share of nights twisting between the sheets, usually when I have a big meeting, an early flight or it’s just too hot to nod off. It’s a racing mind that’s generally the issue, but occasionally the sleep environment has been at fault.
What I’d been dealing with was a mattress that had begun dipping in the middle, a spot my snoozing body would wind up rolling into. As the months ticked by, it started to feel more obvious that I was kipping in a dip. Trying to sleep on the mattress’s side to balance things out wasn’t going to plan - increasingly, it felt like trying to sleep on a hill.
Heat had become a problem too. A well-insulated home, while great for my bills in winter, meant that climbing into bed in the summer felt like trying to sleep in a sauna. Even with the windows left open all night, I’d wake groggily to my alarm, hair stuck to the back of my neck with sweat.
Enter Panda London. The brand is known for making breathable bedding and homeware using fast-growing, sustainable bamboo but also offers mattresses too.
I tried its Bamboo Hybrid Mattress Pro to see if it could make nights dreamy again.
Panda London Hybrid Mattress Pro key specs
- Type: hybrid, pocket springs and foam
- Layers: six
- Dimensions: king size measures the standard 150 x 200cm
- Weight: up to 59kg depending on size
- Finance available?: yes, 0 per cent interest via DivideBuy
- Free trial?: 100 nights commitment-free
- Guarantee: included, 10 years
- Delivery costs: none and it will be delivered to the room of your choice
- Old mattress collection: taken care of by Panda London
- Sizes available: single, small double, double, king and super king. EU sizes are also offered with the largest being Emperor
- Tensions: medium-firm
Packaging and delivery
Like many competitors, Panda offers text updates to let you know exactly when to expect your delivery. The mattress arrived in time and was carried up two flights of stairs and navigated through tight corridors and doorways by the good-natured delivery team.
Good job too, because the king size is a heavy model that I would have struggled to move on my own. Two people will be able to manage it much more easily, especially as the mattress comes rolled in a tall compact box. The delivery team also offered to remove the old mattress, which was greatly appreciated as I would have otherwise had to arrange for my local council to collect it at my own expense.
Only once the mattress was in place on my bed frame did I unleash it from its vacuum-packed protective casing. Corners required a little nudge to unfurl quickly, but by the time I’d made a cup of tea, it was pretty much ready to go. Still, I gave it another few hours before dressing it with sheets, pillows and a duvet to ensure it had fully filled out.
Design
Panda’s Hybrid Mattress Pro is crafted with cutting-edge science and materials, which you can feel as soon as you flop on board.
It starts with a removable and sweat-wicking bamboo fibre cover (which can be washed when needed at 30°, but do not tumble dry), under which sits the first of two foam layers.
Closest to the surface is the BioCell foam, an odour-resistant material that feels breathable thanks to the open cell technology which allows air to circulate. Under that is the support act: a high-density layer of OrthoAlign Foam that offers excellent support to joints, pressure points and the spine.
Further reinforcement awaits with a round of 1500 pocket springs, arranged across seven zones so you'll get the proper support in whatever position you sleep. The springs are also great at reducing motion transfer so movements aren't rippling across the mattress and disturbing sleepers or items on the other side.
Two more layers under the springs - a comfort base and an anti-slip base - work to absorb and distribute shifting weight and add security to the design respectively.
Performance
The UK was still experiencing the odd warm night in the final throes of summer, and I could immediately detect the benefits of temperature control. It felt noticeably cooler and I found myself mentally checking my first box.
If I had to pick between a soft or hard mattress, firm wins every time. An unyielding surface allows my form to fully relax enough for sleep, no counting sheep necessary.
Luckily for me, the Panda Hybrid Mattress Pro is on the harder side, rating 7 out of 10. It’s an entirely subjective preference though and if you need to make things feel plusher, the brand also does mattress protectors and toppers.
That said, the upper layers offer a decent level of cushioning, the foam gently adjusting without making you feel as though you’re sinking in, and the springs pushing back in the areas with more weight, like shoulders, hips and knees. Comfort without the claustrophobia? Yes, please.
A month after delivery, the bed feels like it did the first time I got into it with no dents or body grooves to get trapped in.
Maintenance
As mentioned, the cover can be unzipped and thrown in the wash to keep things feeling fresh. Tumble drying isn’t recommended though, so simply allow it to dry on an airer. If you find the mattress itself could do with a spruce, a steam is fine for a deep clean.
The base layers mean this mattress can’t be flipped, but if you’re worried about dipping, you can rotate it every few months.
Best of all, once the mattress reaches the end of its life cycle, simply give Panda a call or email to have it removed for free as part of its Circle of Life Programme which sees the mattress recycled or repurposed responsibly.
Verdict
Panda London Hybrid Mattress Pro - King
Best for: breathable
- Type: hybrid, pocket springs and foam
- Layers: six
- Dimensions: king size measures the standard 150 x 200cm
- Weight: up to 59kg depending on size
- Finance available?: yes, 0 per cent interest via DivideBuy
- Free trial?: 100 nights
- Guarantee: 10 years included
- Delivery costs: none and it will be delivered to the room of your choice
- Old mattress collection: handled by Panda London
- Sizes available: single, small double, double, king and super king. EU sizes are also offered.
Panda London may be best known for its breathable linens and bedding, but it offers the same bamboo-led science in its mattresses too.
The Hybrid Mattress Pro marries comfort with exceptional support with 1500 pocket springs working to balance weight underneath comfortable layers of memory foam.
Open cell technology aids airflow while bamboo fibres added to the foam offer antibacterial properties, helping to keep the mattress feeling fresh in every sense. Motion isolation also means if you’re sharing with a restless sleeper, you won’t feel their tossing and turning.
The mattress is on the firmer side, offering an excellent level of support and ensuring your body rests in a healthy sleeping position - which you will notice from the lack of aches in the morning.
A removable cover means you can chuck it in the wash when it needs cleaning. And an old mattress removal service is the cherry on top.
It is expensive - although not more so than competitors - but the real question is what are restless nights costing you instead?
Buy now £1390.00, Panda London
