Simba Hybrid Original Review: Three Spring Counts, Four Firmness Scores and the Price Nobody Pays
Simba’s best-selling mattress is still on sale in Britain — Simba now just calls it the Hybrid, the core of a five-model range — and it is still 25 cm deep with five layers. But the inside has been revised. Simba’s own page on 5 October 2026 lists up to 1,900 Aerocoil springs over a nine-zone base; the reviews you will find were written about versions with 2,000 to 2,500 springs. Here is what still carries over, and what you will actually pay.
Where the reviews line up
Three sources, none of them ours: TechRadar, whose reviewer weighed a test sample and measured sinkage; Expert Reviews, the most recent full test we could find, which named it a Best Buy; and Trustpilot’s Simba Sleep page, where 59,575 people have rated the company rather than this one mattress.
On the mattress they broadly agree. It is a supportive, bouncy hybrid rather than a sink-in memory-foam bed, it holds its shape at the edges better than most bed-in-a-box rivals, and both editorial testers found it comfortable from the first night. The one recurring reservation is heat: Expert Reviews says it sleeps hotter than a traditional pocket-sprung mattress, while TechRadar never felt overheated.
On firmness, the numbers spread. Simba calls it medium-firm. TechRadar scored it 7.5/10, Expert Reviews 7/10 and “surprisingly firm”, and T3, which we used as a cross-check, 5.5/10. If you are light or sleep on your side, assume it may feel firmer than the label.
The buying decision is about the price tag and the version. The list price for a double has moved from £749 to £1,089 to £879 to £899 over five years of reviews, and the mattress is discounted most of the time — £674.25 for a double in Simba’s September sale. The 200-night trial and free return are genuine, but only if you buy from Simba itself: retailers run their own, much shorter terms.
Our steer: buy it direct, in a sale, and treat the reviews as a guide to the feel rather than a spec sheet for the mattress in the box.
The three reviews this summary is built from
- TechRadarEditorial test, November 2023. Firmness 7.5/10, 29 kg double weighed, sinkage measured. An older 2,000-spring version.
- Expert ReviewsEditorial test, updated April 2025. Firmness 7/10, Best Buy, but “sleeps hotter”. A 2,500-spring king.
- Trustpilot, Simba Sleep4.5/5 from 59,575 reviews, checked 5 Oct 2026. About the company, not the mattress.
Before the review: which Simba Hybrid are you being sold?
Simba has revised this mattress several times without changing the name much. On simbasleep.com on 5 October 2026 it is the Hybrid®, one of five tiers (Essential, Hybrid, Pro, Luxe, Ultra), with up to 1,900 Aerocoil conical microsprings, a Simbatex foam top layer and a nine-zone CertiPUR foam base. Bensons for Beds lists the same 1,900 springs.
The reviews describe something different inside. T3 (2020–22) and Expert Reviews (2025) both counted up to 2,500 springs in a king. TechRadar (2023) described 2,000 titanium pocket springs over 13 zones plus about 1,000 support springs. Simba’s product page itself warns that its 131,320 reviews include “prior design iterations”. Depth, layer count and the medium-firm label have stayed the same throughout, so the feel is likely to be close — but no test we found covers the 1,900-spring version.
Specification at a glance
| Spec | Figure | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Depth | 25 cm | Simba, Bensons and all three reviews agree |
| Layers | 5: knitted zip-off cover, graphite-infused Simbatex foam, Aerocoil microsprings, stabilising core foam, zoned base foam | Simba product page, 5 Oct 2026 |
| Comfort layer | 25 mm Simbatex (Bensons) · 40 mm Simbatex (Expert Reviews, 2025 version) | Sources disagree; may be a version change |
| Springs | Up to 1,900 (Simba, current) · 2,500 in a king (Expert Reviews, T3) · 2,000 plus about 1,000 support springs (TechRadar) | Simba’s figure is for the current version |
| Firmness | Medium-firm (Simba) · 7.5/10 TechRadar · 7/10 Expert Reviews · 5.5/10 T3 | Four sources, four answers |
| Weight | 29 kg double (TechRadar) · 37 kg king (Expert Reviews) | Simba does not publish a weight |
| Turning | Never flip. Rotate 180° monthly for 3 months, then every 3 months | Simba’s care page; no handles, both testers note |
| Cover | Zip-off, machine washable (40°C per Bensons) | Simba and Bensons |
| Trial | 200 nights from the delivery day, direct purchases only; Simba suggests at least 30 nights first | Simba help centre |
| Returns | Free collection; refund within about 7 days of the mattress reaching Simba’s warehouse; original delivery charges not refunded | Simba help centre |
| Guarantee | 10 years against manufacturing faults direct; 5 years via retailers, 10 if you register | Simba guarantee page. Exclusions not published in the summary |
| Double price | Listed £899; £674.25 in the September 2026 sale (25% off) | Ideal Home, 23 Sep 2026 |
| King price | £999 list; £789.21 “community hero” price | simbasleep.com, 5 Oct 2026 |
TechRadar
TechRadar’s headline calls it “an almost-perfect modern hybrid”, and it is the one review we found with numbers you can hold it to. A 5 kg weight placed in the centre sank roughly half an inch and the foam recovered immediately; along the edge the weight left an even imprint without the mattress collapsing, which is the edge support a lot of couples buy a hybrid for. The double weighed 29 kg — manageable for two people, awkward for one, and there are no handles.
The reviewer scored it 7.5/10 for firmness, firmer than Simba’s medium-firm label suggests, and lists the consequences honestly: no deep sink-in feel, possibly too firm for lighter sleepers, and some motion transfer. He never felt overheated. Remember what was tested: a version with 2,000 titanium pocket springs over 13 zones, not the 1,900-spring, nine-zone mattress Simba sells now. TechRadar quoted the double at £1,089 list and around £650 on sale.
Watch: I tested the Simba Hybrid Mattress
A hands-on test of the Simba Hybrid, the closest match to TechRadar’s approach. Confirmed by search listing only; the version shown is not stated.
Watch on YouTube ↗Expert Reviews
The most recent full review we could find, and the most detailed on construction: a 40 mm Simbatex comfort layer, 2,500 conical springs in a king, 35 mm of memory foam and a 155 mm support base, with the king weighing 37 kg. The reviewer found it “very comfortable, albeit surprisingly firm” and scored it 7/10, adding that it stays supportive once it warms up rather than softening through the night.
This is also where the heat complaint comes from: Expert Reviews says it sleeps hotter than a traditional pocket-sprung mattress, which is worth weighing against TechRadar’s opposite experience. Its other gripe is practical — rotation is recommended monthly at first, then every three to six months, and there are no handles to do it with. It priced the single at £649, double at £879 and king at £999. The spring count and comfort-layer depth here do not match Simba’s current listing, so read it as a test of the previous version.
Watch: Simba Hybrid Original Double Mattress Unboxing and Review
The one clip we found that names both the Hybrid Original and the double size, so the closest look at what arrives in the box. Confirmed by search listing only.
Watch on YouTube ↗Trustpilot, Simba Sleep
Trustpilot rates Simba as a shop: delivery, service and every product it sells, from mattresses to bed frames. That makes it useful for the part of the purchase that reviews of the mattress cannot cover — getting it delivered and, if it does not suit you, getting it collected and refunded. The overall picture is strongly positive, with comfort, delivery speed and responsive customer service praised most.
The complaints in recent reviews are mostly not about the Hybrid: failed or wrong deliveries, flat-pack frames arriving with broken parts, and slow fixes. The one complaint that does apply to any bed-in-a-box is the smell on unboxing, which one buyer found “quite overwhelming” and slow to clear; Simba says it should fade within 24 hours. For comparison, Simba’s own product page shows 4.8 from 131,320 reviews — a bigger number, but collected and hosted by Simba and, by its own note, including earlier versions.
Watch: Simba Mattress 2 Year Review - 2023 Update!
An owner looking back after two years — the long-term durability question neither editorial test could answer. The exact model is not given in the listing. Confirmed by search listing only.
Watch on YouTube ↗Strengths and weak points
What holds up
- Supportive and bouncy rather than sink-in; both testers comfortable from the start.
- Good edge support, measured by TechRadar.
- 200-night trial with free collection when bought direct.
- Never needs flipping, and the cover zips off for washing.
- 10-year guarantee direct, or registered through a retailer.
- Almost always on sale, often 20–25% below list.
What people complain about
- Firmer than “medium-firm” for some: 7 and 7.5 out of 10 from two testers.
- Runs warm according to Expert Reviews (TechRadar disagrees).
- No handles, yet it needs rotating; a king is 37 kg.
- The current 1,900-spring version has no independent test we could find.
- List prices move so often they mean little.
- Retailer purchases do not get Simba’s 200-night trial — Bensons offers a 40-night exchange instead.
Who it actually suits
Buy it if you sleep on your back or side, want a mattress that supports rather than swallows you, share the bed and want firm edges, and are happy to buy direct so the 200-night trial covers you. A double is a standard UK 135 × 190 cm and suits a slatted frame such as the IKEA MALM double. If you want something softer at a similar price, read our Emma Original review, which faces the same version and pricing problems.
Look elsewhere if you run hot at night, are light and want a cushioned feel, or need to rotate the mattress on your own — or if you can only buy it through a retailer whose trial is a fraction of Simba’s.
What we could not check
- The current version has not been independently tested. Every review we found describes 2,000 or 2,500 springs; Simba now lists up to 1,900. We could not find when the change was made.
- Spring count by size. Simba says “up to 1,900” without saying which size; older reviews quote the count for a king. We could not get a per-size figure.
- Guarantee exclusions. Simba’s guarantee page is a summary and points to full terms we could not read, so we cannot tell you the sag depth that counts as a fault or what voids the cover.
- What happens to returned mattresses. Simba sells refurbished mattresses, but its help pages do not say whether trial returns are refurbished, donated to charity or recycled.
- The weight of the current version. Simba does not publish one; 29 kg (double) and 37 kg (king) are reviewers’ figures for older versions.
- The comfort-layer depth — 25 mm at Bensons against 40 mm at Expert Reviews. We have printed both.
- Today’s double price direct. Simba’s page showed only the king on 5 October; the double figure is from Ideal Home’s report of the September sale, which ended on 1 October.
- A specialist or community source. We searched for owner forum threads and a UK mattress specialist review and found none we could use.
- The videos were confirmed by appearing in two differently worded search listings, not by opening them, and no listing named the channels.
Sources last checked 5 October 2026. Simba changes prices and promotions weekly — check the listing in front of you, and the spring count, before ordering.