The Latex Range · Firm
The Oakridge Latex Firm
Our honest price. We don't run sales
What's inside, measured
Most brands tell you their mattress has latex. We tell you how much.
Fifty millimetres of natural latex at 75 kg/m³, across the full sleeping surface, in every size and every tension. Depth and density are the two numbers that decide how a latex mattress feels and how long it lasts, so here are ours, along with everything else in the build.
- Latex
- 50mm natural latex at 75 kg/m³Across the full sleeping surface, in every size and every tension.
- Total depth
- 260mm26cm in every size. Deep fitted sheets are the safer buy.
- Spring unit
- 120mmSame height in all three tensions. The tension comes from the count and the gauge, not the depth.
- Cover and quilt
- Knitted stretch coverTape edged by hand, not overlocked by machine.
- Comfort pad
- Wool and cotton600 gsm in the Linden and Alder, 500 gsm in the Oakridge.
- Insulator pad
- 400 gsmSits between the latex and the spring tops so the latex never works against bare wire.
Latex, explained in two minutes
If you've never slept on latex, here's what you need to know.
Four things decide whether latex is right for you. Everything else is on our latex guide.
It returns. It doesn't remember.
Memory foam softens with body heat and keeps the shape you left in it, so turning over can feel like climbing out of a dip. Latex is elastic. It gives where you press and comes back level as soon as the weight lifts.
The result is a surface that cushions your shoulder and hip without holding you in place. People who found memory foam too stuck usually like latex.
Latex
Press, hold, let go
Memory foam
Press, hold, let go
Channels, not a solid block.
Latex is moulded over a bed of pins, so the finished block is threaded with open channels from top to bottom. Every time you move, air moves through them.
A closed cell foam has nowhere for that air to go, which is why it holds heat. The wool and cotton pad above the latex helps too, drawing moisture away from you through the night.
How each material handles heat
A comparison of how the materials behave, not a lab measurement.
It holds its height.
Latex resists compression set better than any other comfort material we use. In plain terms, it keeps its loft rather than settling into a permanent dip. That density is also why it's heavy.
A slight settling impression in the first weeks is normal on any mattress. That's the fillings settling, not the latex. Rotate it head to toe every three months and it wears evenly.
Looking after it
A tree, not a barrel.
Natural latex starts as sap from the rubber tree. It's a crop, not a petrochemical. Tapping cuts only the bark. The tree isn't felled, and it goes on producing for around twenty five years.
The sap is whipped, poured over pins and baked, which gives latex its open, springy structure. It reaches us as sheet, and we cut, layer and finish it in our own factory. Made in Britain, from a material Britain can't grow.
How it starts
A tree, not a barrel
Before dawn
A shallow cut, and a cup
Same day
Milk, whipped into foam
Then
It keeps producing
The Midlands
Built here
Honest comparison
Latex isn't better at everything. It's better at these things.
| Our latex | Memory foam | Pocket spring only | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Response | Instant. Returns to level as the load lifts. | Slow. Holds your outline for seconds. | Fast, though less contouring at shoulder and hip. |
| Heat | Pincore channels move air. The coolest of the three. | Softens with body heat and traps it around you. | Cool, depending on the fillings above. |
| Turning over | Easy. Nothing to climb out of. | Noticeable effort, more so later in the night. | Easy. |
| Motion between partners | Good, with a slight liveliness across the surface. | Best of the three. Deadens almost everything. | Good with pocketed springs. |
| Expected life | Longest. Latex resists compression set better than foam. | Shortest. Softens and dents with use. | Long, depending on spring gauge. |
| Weight to handle | Heavy. Rotating the larger sizes is a two person job. | Heavy. | The lightest of the three. |
| First week smell | A faint sweet rubber note. Gone in a few days. | Chemical off gassing, usually stronger and longer. | Minimal. |
| Suits | Hot sleepers, restless sleepers, anyone who disliked memory foam. | People who want to be held still and deeply cushioned. | People who want a traditional, bouncy feel. |
Thirty seconds, three questions
Which of the three should you be on?
Tension is the only real decision here, and getting it wrong is the most common reason people return a mattress. Answer these and we will point you at one.
How do you mostly sleep?
And your build?
What went wrong with the last one?
Our recommendation
See itA guide, not a diagnosis. If you are between two tensions, take the softer one. It is far easier to firm a bed up with a topper than to soften one down.
Identical across all three
Choosing the softest does not mean choosing less mattress.
Between the Linden and the Oakridge, the spring count changes and the firm carries a slightly lighter comfort pad. The latex, the depth, the cover, the build and the guarantee are the same in all three.
- Latex
- 50mm at 75 kg/m³Full sleeping surface, every size, every tension.
- Total depth
- 260mm26cm in every size. Deep fitted sheets are the safer buy.
- Cover
- Knitted stretch, tape edged by handNot overlocked by machine.
- Spring unit height
- 120mmSame in all three. Only the count and gauge change.
- Made
- Our own factory in the MidlandsMade in Britain, from a material Britain cannot grow.
- Built to order
- 13 working daysNothing sits in a warehouse waiting for you.
- Guarantee
- 15 years
- Comfort Exchange
- 90 nightsIf the tension is not right for you, we will exchange it.
- Delivery
- Free drop off in our own vansTwo man installation to your room £120. Old mattress collected and recycled £80.
- Care
- Rotate every three monthsHead to toe. Never flip. It is single sided.
Before you buy
The questions we get asked on the phone.
How much latex is in it?
Fifty millimetres of natural latex at 75 kg/m³, across the full sleeping surface, in every size and every tension. Above it sits a wool and cotton comfort pad. Below it sit an insulator pad and 120mm of individually pocketed springs. The mattress is 26cm deep.
It is worth asking every brand on your shortlist the same question. If a page says a mattress contains latex but will not say how much, that usually tells you something.
I think I might be allergic to latex.
The latex is sealed inside the cover, under your sheet and protector, so you do not touch it. Even so, if you have a diagnosed latex allergy, choose a mattress with no latex in it.
Our Memory and Gel Hybrid ranges contain no latex. Our Natural, Pillow Top and Knightsbridge mattresses do. Ring us if you are unsure and we will talk it through.
What if I choose the wrong tension?
Every mattress we make comes with our 90-Night Comfort Exchange. If the tension is not right for you, we will exchange it.
Give it two or three weeks before you decide. Latex is an unfamiliar feel, and most people take that long to settle into any new mattress. Or come and lie on all three in our showroom first.
Will it smell?
Slightly, for a few days. New latex has a faint sweet rubber note, not unlike a new pair of trainers. Take it out of its wrapping, air the room and leave the bed uncovered for a day.
How heavy is it?
Latex is dense, and that density is part of why it lasts. A King weighs around 37 kg and a Super King around 44 kg, so rotating the larger sizes is a two person job.
Mattress only orders are dropped at your front door as standard. Add two man installation for £120 and our own team will bring it to your room and place it. We can also take your old mattress away for recycling for £80.
Will it sag like my last mattress?
Latex holds its height better than any other comfort material we use, so it resists the permanent dip that foam can develop. A slight settling impression in the first weeks is normal on any mattress. That is the fillings settling, not the latex.
Rotate it head to toe every three months. Never flip it, because it is single sided. It carries our 15 year guarantee.
Will my fitted sheets fit?
The mattress is 26cm deep in every size. Standard fitted sheets usually cope with 26cm, but they can pull off the corners once a protector goes on top. Deep fitted sheets, sold as 30cm or more, are the safer buy.
What about my existing bed frame?
Any standard UK divan, ottoman or slatted frame in the matching size. If you are on slats, keep the gaps under 7cm, because a latex layer will bow between wider gaps over time.
If the two of you disagree
One bed. Two different tensions. We build it.
Most brands sell Zip and Link as two halves of the same mattress, which solves the join and does nothing about the argument. Because we build to order, you can have a soft side and a firm side zipped together, in the same size, arriving as one bed.
Pick a tension each
Any two of the three. Soft and medium, medium and firm, or soft and firm if you are as far apart as it gets.
Same build on both sides
Both halves carry the same 50mm of latex and the same 260mm depth, so the surface height matches and there is no step in the middle.
Available from King upwards
King, European King, Super King and Emperor. You are charged for the two halves you choose.
It is not something you can configure on the website yet, so ring us or email and we will price it and put it into production.
After you order
What happens next.
You order
You can change anything within 24 hours. After that it goes onto the build schedule.
We build it
Cut, layered and tape edged by hand in our Midlands factory, then checked against its build sheet before it leaves.
We deliver it
In our own vans, never by courier. Free to your door, or £120 for our team to bring it to your room.
You sleep on it
Give it two or three weeks to settle. If the tension isn't right, the 90-Night Comfort Exchange applies.
Customer reviews
Not sure yet
Ten minutes on the phone beats a decade on the wrong tension.
Tell us what you sleep on now and what's going wrong with it. We build these ourselves, so we can tell you honestly which of the three fits, or whether latex is the wrong answer for you altogether.
