With so many types of cot mattresses on the market, it can be hard to decide which to go for. In our latest cot mattress tests, we looked at two pocket sprung cot mattresses, a foam, a pocket spring with foam and a natural fibre cot mattress.
Read on to find out some pros and cons for each kind of mattress, plus our advice on how to ensure you buy the safest and most supportive cot mattress for your baby.
Best cot mattresses – find out which ones topped our tests.
Pocket sprung cot mattresses
- Pro: Each spring is sewn into its own individual pocket so it can move independently. This, in theory, makes the mattress more comfortable and supportive.
- Con: This is the most expensive type of cot mattress to buy.
We recently tested pocket spring cot bed mattresses from popular brands OBaby and Mother & Baby.
The OBaby mattress, pictured above, consists of five layers, with a 1.5cm foam layer on top and below the pocket sprung core for added comfort.
The Mother & Baby mattress has seven layers and is reversible. The baby side has a 2.2cm thick foam layer on top of the springs, while the toddler side’s foam layer is 1.9cm thick.
Comfort and support doesn’t guarantee safety. Read our full reviews of the OBaby Pocket Sprung Cot Bed Mattress and Mother & Baby White Gold Anti-Allergy Pocket Sprung Cot Bed Mattress to find out if you should buy either.
Foam cot mattresses
- Pro: Good value for money, can provide good support and lightweight.
- Con: Thin foam mattresses can easily lose shape and dent.
The Emma cot mattress, pictured above, has five layers in total. It’s foam core is covered by an impermeable inner cover – which should make spills easy to clean.
Our Which? testing found the Emma cot mattress to be too large for a standard UK cot bed, both before and after washing, After approaching with our findings, Emma voluntarily recalled its cot mattress.
Read our full Emma Cot Mattress review.
Pocket sprung with foam mattresses
- Pro: Best of both worlds: the support and comfort of foam with the durability of pocket springs.
- Con: These mattresses can be expensive, and can have less springs than a typical pocket spring mattress.
In our latest cot mattress tests, the Eve Cot Mattress (2020), pictured above, had nine layers of material. Three of these were in the removable cover, where it is claimed that the thin meshed polyester layer makes the cover breathable.
The pocket sprung core is topped with a 2cm layer of foam – but does this provide enough durability for the mattress to last? Read our Eve The Cot Mattress (2020) review to get the full test results.
Natural fibre cot mattresses
- Pro: Tend to last longer, so could be useful if you want a mattress to be used by more than one child.
- Con: Harder to find and can be expensive.
The Mokee Natural Cot Bed Mattress is a natural fibre cot mattress. Pictured above, it consists of five layers: a coconut-latex fibre core, a wool inner cover and cotton cover.
The mattress is only 8cm thick, which is thinner than we would recommend. But did it pass our safety testing? Read the Mokee Natural Cot Bed Mattress review to find out.
Check out our in-depth guide to which type of cot mattress to buy for more pro’s and con’s.
How to choose a cot mattress
Our safety tests replicate those in the current cot mattress safety standard, BS EN 16890:2017.
It’s a voluntary standard, which means that it’s not a requirement. However, manufacturers are strongly encouraged to meet these standards to minimise risks and hazards for babies and young children.
The most important things to consider when buying a cot mattress for your child are:
- Safety – you want a mattress that doesn’t present any risk to your child. We test cot bed mattresses for entrapment, choking and suffocation risks. So you know our Best Buy recommendations will be safe for your baby to use.
- Support – a cot mattress needs to be flat and firm to provide good support to your baby as they grow. Our support testing reveals how firm a cot bed mattress is.
- Durability – your cot mattress should last all the way from your child being newly born, up until they are ready to move onto a junior bed. In our durability tests, we simulate two to three years of use before retesting how supportive the mattress is. If a model doesn’t last, we let you know.
- Washability – we also recommend getting a mattress with a removable cover, that can be washed at 60°C. This will help kill any germs or dust mites that might cause allergies.
Our extensive cot mattress testing means you can be sure that our Best Buy cot mattress recommendations have passed our safety tests and perform well across the board.
As of December 2020, half of the cot mattresses we’ve tested are Don’t Buy’s, so we recommend doing your research before purchasing.
Our top five cot mattresses for 2020 guide is a great place to start.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/2020/12/whats-the-best-type-of-cot-mattress-to-buy/