What Is a Mattress in a Box? How It Works and How to Set One Up
A mattress in a box is a mattress that's been vacuum packed, rolled and boxed, then delivered to you in that compact form. Unbox it, unroll it on the bed base, and it reflates naturally back to its full shape, ready to sleep on within hours. Our Hybrid® mattresses are delivered this way, and this guide explains how the format works, how to set one up, and the questions people ask along the way.
How a Mattress Fits in a Box
Our Hybrid® mattresses are engineered with high-density airflow channels. Aerocoil® springs and open structured Simbatex® foam are both airy by design, which is part of what makes them comfortable, and it's also what makes them straightforward to vacuum pack. The air is drawn out, the mattress is rolled, and it goes into a protective plastic casing inside a sturdy cardboard box. The conical shape of an Aerocoil® spring lets it compress inwards, and once the packaging comes off, the whole mattress simply reflates and regains its shape.
Rolling doesn't damage the mattress in any way. The materials are chosen to recover fully, and the boxed delivery covers our Hybrid® range in every size, from the 20cm Hybrid® Essential to the 34cm Hybrid® Ultra, along with our Hybrid® Kids and Hybrid® Cot Bed designs. The exception is our Natural Hybrid® range, whose natural materials mean the three mattresses in this range delivered flat and are ready to use straight away.
Why Deliver a Mattress in a Box?
The most obvious benefit is that a rolled mattress is far easier to get where it's going: upstairs, down corridors and round corners that a flat mattress would struggle with. Boxed delivery means our standard service can be a one-person delivery to your door or a two-person delivery to your room of choice, depending on your order, and there are options at checkout for setup and packaging removal, or a VIP service where a specialist team installs the mattress for immediate use.
Rolled mattresses are also more efficient to transport. They take up less space, so more mattresses fit in each van, which reduces the number of vans on the road. And the smaller size of a vacuum packed mattress leaves room in the van to collect your old mattress for recycling when the new one is delivered, if you've added that option to your order.
Setting One Up, Step by Step
- Move the box to the bedroom before opening. This is the last moment the mattress is compact and easy to carry, so get it to its final room first.
- Check the base is ready. Slats should be secure, more than two inches wide, and no more than three inches, about 7.5cm, apart. A divan top should be sound and clean. We don't recommend the floor, because a solid surface stops the mattress breathing underneath.
- Open the outer box carefully and slide the rolled mattress out onto the bed base.
- Position before cutting. Unroll the mattress so it lies where it will live, still in its inner wrapping, the right way up.
- Cut the plastic with scissors, keeping the blade away from the fabric. The mattress begins reflating as soon as the vacuum releases.
- Clear the packaging and give it time. The plastic wrap can be recycled with plastic bags at your local supermarket or recycling centre, and the cardboard box goes out with your cardboard collection.
Ideally, allow a rolled mattress six hours to reflate before you use it, although it can take slightly longer to regain its shape fully. This applies across our boxed Hybrid® range, from the Essential to the Ultra. Natural Hybrid® mattresses arrive flat, so there's no reflation period to wait for.
The Questions People Ask at the Unboxing Stage
A mattress fresh out of the box can have a slightly unusual smell, which comes from the foam being newly unwrapped - but it's harmless, and airing the room will have it fade away.
Storage is the other common question, and the answer is more generous than most people expect. A boxed Simba mattress can stay in its box for up to six months, so there's no panic if a delivery arrives before a room is ready. The one thing to keep in mind is that the 200-night trial begins on the delivery date, whether or not the mattress has been opened, so a long wait in the box quietly uses up trial nights the whole time. If you know you'll need a much later delivery, it's better to choose a delivery date at checkout, and to contact us if you need to delay by more than three months.
Does Boxed Delivery Change the Mattress?
The mattress that comes out of the box is the same mattress that went in, and every layer is designed with the compression and recovery in mind. Judge a boxed mattress exactly as you'd judge any other: by its construction. Layer counts across our boxed range run from 4 in the Hybrid® Essential to 13 in the Hybrid® Ultra, with depths from 20cm to 34cm, and a boxed mattress engineered to arrive rolled is covered by the same terms as the rest of our new mattresses, with a 200-night trial and a 10-year guarantee on new qualifying mattresses from the delivery date. Refurbished mattresses carry their own one-year guarantee, and cot bed mattresses sit outside the standard mattress guarantee, so it's worth checking the terms for the exact model you're buying.
Once the mattress is on its base, care is the same as for any mattress we make: rotate it head to toe at least once a month for the first three months, then at least once every three months, and never flip it.
FAQs
Allow six hours before sleeping on it, although some models will take a little bit longer to reach their full form. A Hybrid® mattress reflates naturally on its own once the packaging is removed.
Yes, as long as it's had around six hours to reflate first. Full recovery of its shape can take up to a bit longer, so the feel may settle a little further over the first couple of days. But you can still sleep on it!
Our boxed mattresses can remain in the box for up to six months. However, the 200-night trial begins on the delivery date, whether or not the mattress has been opened, so it's worth unboxing sooner where you can.
Our Hybrid® mattresses do, from the Essential to the Ultra, along with the Kids and Cot Bed designs. Our three Natural Hybrid® mattresses are the exception, because their natural materials mean they're delivered flat and are ready to use straight away.
Foam that's fresh out of the box can have a slightly unusual smell. It's harmless and it can take a few days to fade. Keep the room aired and it will disappear on its own.
