Every mattress page in Britain shouts a spring count. Almost none of them tell you what the number actually does. Here is the honest version, from a house that sells several counts side by side and recommends between them daily.
What a pocket spring is
A pocket spring is a small coil sewn into its own fabric sleeve, so it compresses independently of its neighbours. Where an old open-coil core moves as one connected object — one sleeper’s turn becoming both sleepers’ wake — a pocketed core answers each point of weight separately. That independence is what you are really buying: local support, and movement that stays on its own side of the bed.
What the count actually measures
Counts describe resolution, not rank. Fewer, larger springs read the body in broad strokes; more, smaller springs read it in finer detail. Detail is felt as evenness — no plateaus, no pressure ridges, a surface that agrees with your shape everywhere. But a count is only honest for a stated size: a “3,000 spring” single would be a different construction from a 3,000-spring king.
A working guide to the numbers
Around 1,000–1,500: solid, supportive engineering — with good zoning, this is where firm, structured support lives. Around 2,000–2,500: the premium band, where finer resolution meets deeper comfort layers. 3,000 and above: the finest resolution commonly made — movement divided into thousands of small, local answers.
What matters as much as the count
Zoning: the body is not one weight; seven-zone cores tune resistance down its length so the spine keeps its standing line lying down. Encapsulation: a foam border around the core keeps the last inch of the mattress as supportive as the middle — the edge is where cheap mattresses fail first. The comfort layers: the centimetres between you and the springs decide the first impression; the springs decide the next decade.
The honest conclusion
Buy the feel, not the number. A well-zoned 1,500 that suits your sleeping position will serve you better than a plush 3,000 that does not. The count tells you how finely a mattress listens; only lying on the right construction tells you what it says back. Our Sleep Collection sets its counts side by side and compares them honestly — from the structured Arete 1500 to the deeper-cushioned Comforto 2500 — so the choice is made on fit, not arithmetic.