I tried the Horizon Adventurer 1000 Pocket Memory Mattress and here's what I thought

A new mattress is one of those purchases where you really want to get it right. You spend so many hours in bed that how comfortable it feels can a huge impact on how you feel the next day, and the week, month and year after that too.

It can be difficult, however, to know whether a mattress will actually suit you until you've slept on it. So, I’ve tested the Horizon Adventurer 1000 Pocket Memory Mattress for the last month to help you decide if it is the right one for you.

It caught my attention because it combines two things I like in a mattress; memory foam for cushioning comfort and individually pocketed springs for support. It has a medium to firm feel, 1,000 pocket springs and bamboo-infused memory foam designed to provide pressure relief while helping to keep the mattress breathable. It's also 25cm deep and arrives rolled up, making it easier to get into the home.

At the time of writing, the Adventurer is on sale with prices starting from £234 for a single size via MattressOnline, with the company listing it at up to 55% off its RRP depending on size. It also comes with a 100-night comfort trial, although you need to purchase a mattress protector from MattressOnline with it to qualify.

So, with a combination of memory foam, pocket springs and orthopaedic support, does it truly offer the best of both worlds?

What I like about the Horizon Adventurer 1000 Pocket Memory Mattress

The first thing I liked about the Horizon Adventurer 1000 Pocket Memory Mattress is the ideal balance it strikes between cushioning and support.

The Adventurer is rated medium to firm, so it isn't designed to give you that very soft, sink-into-the-mattress feeling. Instead, the memory foam provides a layer of cushioning while the 1,000 pocket springs work independently to support different areas of your body.

I have found this to be a particularly useful combination as I wanted a mattress that felt comfortable but still had plenty of support underneath me. The pocket springs are individually encased, allowing them to respond to movement and help distribute your weight across the mattress. There’s also a super cosy high-density foam layer.

I have found this means that when I move and change position during the night I don’t have to worry about disturbing my partner Callum, and vice versa. We both get a peaceful nights sleep and that’s priceless.

The bamboo-infused memory foam is another appealing feature. As well as moulding around your body to help relieve pressure, it is designed to be breathable and help disperse heat and moisture, which means it is a comfortable choice for anyone who tends to get warm during the night, like Callum. It takes a lot for me to feel too warm, but he has happily told me he has been much cooler during the night since we got this mattress.

The reinforced edge support is another clever addition. Rather than feeling as though you might roll towards the edge when sitting or lying near it, the sturdy mattress border is designed to provide support right across the sleeping surface. That means you can make use of more of the mattress rather than avoiding the edges.

At 25cm deep, it also has a substantial feel without being excessively thick. That's worth considering if you're replacing an existing mattress and don't want to find that your fitted sheets or other bedding no longer fit properly, but I have found this thickness fits most standard fit sheets.

It's also a single-sided mattress, so there's no need to wrestle with flipping it over. MattressOnline recommends rotating it every three months, and I’m confident the built-in handles will make that job easier when the time comes.

The rolled-up delivery is another practical advantage. Rather than having to manoeuvre a full-size mattress through your home, the compressed mattress arrives in a much more manageable package. Plus, unlike some other vacuum-packed mattress I have tried, this one didn’t smell strange when it had been unpacked which was a huge plus.

I must also praise the delivery team. They delivered with a smile, and made sure the mattress was unpacked and in place on the bedframe, and we were happy, before they left. They also kindly took all of the packaging away so we didn’t have to deal with all of this and could just focus on getting ready for our new purchase.

What I don't like about the Horizon Adventurer 1000 Pocket Memory Mattress mattress

I personally love this mattress, but the main thing to be aware of is the firmness. Although it's described as medium to firm rather than firm, it does feel more on the firmer side when it is first delivered.

Any new mattress can take some time to get used to, and memory foam needs time to adjust and respond to your body, so I expected there to be an adjustment period. Even so, I found it comfortable from the very beginning and was still getting a good night’s sleep during those first few days.

Callum did admit that after the first night he woke up with some mild aches in his body and was unsure about the mattress, but MattressOnline advises that your joints need time to adapt to a firmer support surface provided by the Horizon mattress. Other reviewers have also reported experiencing mild aches and stiffness after the first night so I was not surprised by this.

For Callum, his aches disappeared within the week and he’s now extremely happy with our new mattress. That's why I think the 100-night comfort trial is particularly useful with this mattress. You need to give your body time to adjust to a new mattress, and MattressOnline asks customers to sleep on it for 30 nights before deciding whether they want to exchange it. That reassurance and peace of mind is really helpful.

As expected, it’s also worth bearing in mind that the mattress itself is also fairly heavy, particularly in the larger sizes. A double weighs around 30kg, while a super king is 43kg, so although the rolled packaging makes delivery easier, I wouldn't recommend trying to manoeuvre a larger size around the house alone.

I'd also recommend checking the additional delivery costs before ordering. Standard delivery is free to many areas, including next-day weekday delivery, but delivery to your room of choice costs £20 and mattress recycling costs £35. Depending on the extras you need, the additional costs can therefore add up to more than £50.

Delivery is free for next day, week day of your choice, or even weekend, which does help offset some of these charges. No extra charge for the more desired weekend slots is appreciated, as is the fact you can choose your own specific day up to 60 days ahead of time.

I understand why there’s an additional cost for taking away an old mattress and choosing a specific delivery slot, but I was disappointed to see that room-of-choice delivery also comes at an extra cost. For people who, like me, aren’t physically able to move a heavy mattress themselves, this doesn’t really feel like an optional extra.

There's also the waiting period. Horizon recommends leaving the mattress for three to four before sleeping on it for the first time, while it can take 24 to 48 hours to expand fully.

My mattress arrived at around 4.30pm, so I managed to give it the recommended time before I wanted to go to bed. However, MattressOnline deliveries can take place as late as 8pm so that’s just worth being aware of.

If you only have one bed, as I do, this is something worth considering. While I understand that some customers will inevitably be later in the delivery schedule, nobody wants to be making their bed and only getting into it at around midnight. If possible, I’d recommend having another bed available to sleep in on the day your new mattress arrives.

My Verdict

The Horizon Adventurer 1000 Pocket Memory Mattress is an ideal choice anyone looking for a supportive mattress without giving up the cushioning comfort of memory foam.

Its combination of 1,000 pocket springs, bamboo-infused memory foam and a medium to firm feel gives it that best-of-both-worlds approach. You get responsive support underneath while the memory foam provides pressure relief and a more comfortable surface.

I particularly like the attention to practical details too. The reinforced edges, motion isolation, breathable bamboo-infused foam, single-sided construction and handles all add something useful rather than simply being features for the sake of it.

The £550 to £945 price tag, depending on the size chosen, may initially look quite substantial, but with the mattress currently available with discounts of up to 55% listed by MattressOnline, it becomes a much more tempting option. Plus, I do believe a good mattress is worth the investment as it will be used every day for years and will have a big impact on your quality of your everyday life.

Ultimately, whether it's right for you comes down to how you like your mattress to feel If you like a supportive mattress with some cushioning on top, the Adventurer offers a compelling combination, particularly with the reassurance of a 100-night comfort trial.