The Emma Performance 30 Mattress is the deepest, softest model in Emma's new Performance range, and it's the one I'd talk you out of. Broad-shouldered side sleepers who want to sink well into the top are the people Emma built it for, and they may love it. Everyone else is paying extra for more memory foam, a warmer bed and a 30cm block that's heavy to turn and awkward to dress.
The thickest comfort foam in the range, over the same springs
The stack has the same seven layers as the 26 and 28: a cool-touch knitted cover, the AirGrid foam grid, memory foam, support foam, zoned pocket springs in a foam frame, a second support foam and a bottom cover. The 30 gets the thickest versions of two of them, with 4.5cm of the firmer memory foam and 6.5cm of support foam. Expect a soft-medium feel and a deep, cradled sink; you'll lie in this one more than on it.
More foam is a comfort choice, and you pay for it in heat. The grid breathes and the springs let air move, but there's more memory foam here than in any other Performance model, and memory foam keeps your warmth close. I'd warn any hot sleeper off it, whatever the cool-touch cover says on the label.
Who should buy it, and the bigger group who shouldn't
Side sleepers with broad shoulders, the people who find most medium beds push back too hard at the shoulder, are the match. So are lighter side sleepers who want a soft bed with springs underneath it.
Avoid it if you sleep on your back or your front, because that depth of foam lets your hips drop. Avoid it if you're restless or run hot. Think hard about the weight as well. Owners are few so far and mostly pleased, but the practical complaints are the ones I'd have predicted: one says it needed an extra pair of hands to turn and new fitted sheets to cover it. At 30cm, standard fitted sheets stop fitting.
What to buy instead
Most people should buy the Performance 26: the same springs, grid and cover, a firmer top and an easier mattress to live with. If it's the plush feel you're after, a latex-topped pocket-sprung mattress gives you cushioning without the heat. And if I were spending at this level, I'd look at the Origin Hybrid Pro, which is the mattress I sleep on, before I looked at this.
