Emma Mattress Review
The concept “Mattress-in-the-box” has been gaining traction in Hong Kong recently due to the mattress arrival in a compact box, making it suitable to be transported through the narrow alleys and lifts. The German mattress brand, Emma, is one of the more popular mattress-in-the-box memory foam brand around. Emma Original mattress model, currently retailed in Hong Kong, holds an impressive 19 best mattress awards under its belt. It has been awarded by the French Consumers’ Association, U.K. Consumers’ Association and Italy Consumers’ council. All its products sold in Hong Kong are also made in Germany.
For that quality assurance and its price starting from $5188, it is a great steal if you’re looking for a premium brand at an affordable price. But exactly how good is the Emma mattress, we’ll have the mattress tested and tried which can help us determine if this mattress is perfect for you!
Emma Mattress Construction
Emma currently only retails a single model in Hong Kong – the Emma Original. The mattress consists of three different layers:
- Airgocell® top layer foam – 4 cm thick layer with an open-pored cell structure that is exceptional at regulating air moisture. It is claimed to allow the mattress to be extremely “breathable”, allowing for ideal air circulation. It is claimed to dissipate heat effectively and keeping you cool throughout the warmer days in Hong Kong.
- Visco-elastic memory foam layer – this layer provides exceptional pressure relief and spinal support. It also improved point-elasticity that prevents rolling over due to your moving partner.
- Supportive HRX base foam layer – distributes weight evenly regardless of sleeping position to provide excellent counter pressure, offering comprehensive body support.
One thing to mention is the series of cut outs in the bottom layer. Those cut outs are there for a specific purpose. They are located at special area to bring zoned support to sensitive body areas such as the neck, shoulders and hips. It is claimed that this helps with spinal alignment. This is an extremely unique property that most of the competitors do not have.
Emma Mattress Review
We were intrigued by the description of the Airgocell layer that promises to make the mattress more “breathable”. Foam mattress are notoriously known for retaining heat, making the mattress hot and can be extremely uncomfortable during the Summer. The fact that Which?, a UK Consumers’ Association awarded the mattress an 4/5 in the breathability category made us wanted to do our own test as well. Hence, we tested it for a week in June where it was fairly hot. We did not have the air conditioning on, just the fan on and with the windows open as we would normally sleep.
Verdict: The Mattress Could Easily Fit Into The Narrow Lifts Of Our Building
One thing that concerns most people living in Hong Kong is the size of their furniture. The narrow lifts and back alleys of our housing estates make it difficult to transport big sized furniture to our homes. Emma, however, showed up at our office in a nice dark blue compact box. It was also light enough to be carried around. Although it does not have wheels attachment at the bottom of the box like some of its competitor, there is at least some form of cuts at the side of the box. These cut out makes it easy to drag the box around.
Verdict: The Mattress Did Not Feel Hot Throughout The Night
To our surprise, we both slept throughout the night without any issue with body sweats! We have both tried a fair share of foam mattresses and have found ourselves covered in sweats and waking up in the middle of the night. So when we did not experience all of that, we were extremely delighted! (I know as I am a girl that waking up in the middle of the night with a puddle of sweats in my belly and sticky skin is especially gross. So I feel you all ladies!)
Verdict: There Is No Disturbance From Your Moving Partner
One thing that is extremely important for us is to test the mattress for motion transfer. It refers to the amount of disturbance you will likely feel if someone’s moving beside you. This is especially crucial for those who are sharing your bed with a partner, have kids in your bed or even your favorite pet sleeping with you!
To judge how the mattress responds to motion transfer, I got my colleague to roll around the mattress while I laid there. I won’t lie, the mattress felt amazing even when she was tumbling around. I can imagine the smile on most parent’s faces when they are trying to catch some sleep while their kids are jumping around and tumbling around. Since the mattress was a little small, we decided to conduct two further tests:
- We had one of our colleagues jump around the mattress with a bottle of juice standing upright.
- We had one colleague pouring the juice from one cup to another while one of us was jumping on the mattress.
The results were impressive! Emma definitely did not disappoint. No matter how hard our colleague was jumping, the juice bottle did not fall neither were there spillage from transferring the liquid from a cup to another. This is a definite thumbs up for us! For those who enjoys working or trying to study while lying in bed or for parents who have children that loves jumping on their bed while they attempt to nap, this is definitely for you.
Verdict: The Mattress Is A Medium Firm
When buying a new mattress, one question that comes to people’s mind is whether the mattress have a soft, sinking “into” feel or a firmer, lying “on top” of it feel. For most people, this also relates to the firmness of the mattress. Based on Emma’s website, the mattress firmness level stands at 7-8/10. We find this claim pretty accurate. However, for people who prefer a firmer mattress, Emma mattress may not be for you.
To perform the test, we had one of us lay on her side while another of our colleague held a measuring tape closely pressed against her spine. The mattress was supportive yet not too firm that the body cannot sink comfortably into the mattress. The results were that the spine appears to be relatively straight which proves that the mattress provides extremely great support and sinkage was minimal.
We also then had our colleague lay on the mattress on her stomach, back and side. There did not appear to be much sinking. Some people might wonder, what about for heavier people? The company claims that it can support weights up to 130kg.
To Emma Mattress Website
Is Emma Mattress Easy to Clean and maintain?
If there’s one thing that we couldn’t be any happier about is that the mattress cover can be easily removed and be machine washed. According to the booklet found in the box, the mattress cover can be washed at a temperature up to 60 degrees. That’s happy news for pet owners and parents! Even our puppy, Mag, loves it!
Another interesting property about the mattress cover is that it has anti-mites property! It claims that the cover is treated with Purotex® technology and it can help increase protection against dust mite allergies up to 89.3%. We did a quick research on this technology and it appeared to be the only natural remedy against dust mite in the world as it relies on 100% natural probiotics to fight against dirt and dust mites. This is a plus point for those who suffers from dust-mite allergies. As the best way forth to get protected is still protecting your mattress with an anti-mites mattress cover from the very first day. Washing your mattress cover and bed sheets regularly is also an important step to reduce allergens.
Is Emma mattress easy to move around?
Yes. We previously did a review on Tempur and found the mattress extremely heavy and difficult to move around. Emma, on the other hand, is of much lighter weight and have handles attachment. Two skinny girls like us had no issue at all. But if you’re someone who prefers a more heavyweight mattress then most mattress-in-the-box brands are not for you. Emma included.
Where to buy Emma mattress?
You can buy Emma mattress online at their store page or their showrooms. They currently have two showrooms, JG Casa and Nature Evolution, where you can give the mattress a try and buy at the spot. The 100-night trial also applies for offline sales.
Is Emma mattress worth buying?
Overall, the Emma mattress has been very well-received both in Hong Kong and internationally. Given that it is made in Germany and has received 19 European “best mattress” awards, the price for Emma is a definite steal! Emma has also performed extremely well in our tests, standing true to all its claims. If you’re someone seeking a quality mattress without the excessive price tag, Emma will not disappoint. However, if you have a certain preference and needs, Emma may not be suited for you. It has only one model in the market and a single firmness level.
Pros:
- Emma fare very well in the motion transfer test, making it ideal for couples
- The unique zoning features in the bottom layer provides pressure relief to the shoulders, hips, and spine
- The mattress is extremely breathable, giving you a cool sleep throughout the night
- The machine-washable mattress cover brings additional relief to parents and pet owners
- The light weighted mattress is easy to move around and for ease of handling
- Mattress cover has anti-mites property
- Mattress purchased comes with 15 year guarantee and 100 night trial
Cons:
- If you’re looking for a much firmer mattress, Emma may not be for you.
- The light weighted mattress may not present a luxurious feel that some are looking for
