If you've had your eye on the iGel beds at Bensons and want the cool graphene foam without paying for one of the deep ones, the NanoTech 2050i is where that search starts. It's the first rung of the iGel range, sold only at Bensons for Beds: one layer of graphene foam over pocket springs, under a flat quilted cover. I really like iGel, so I wanted this to be the bargain of the six when I tried it in a Bensons store in October 2026. You're up on its surface almost as soon as you lie down.
It isn't the bargain, quite. What sets the dearer iGels apart is how much foam you sink through before you reach the springs, and this one has the least of it: 40mm (about an inch and a half) of graphene foam, a layer of iGel foam with gel crystals under that, then the spring unit. It's decently made, with nothing cheap about the cover or the springs, but the part of an iGel I'd pay for isn't here in any depth. Skip it if you're a light side sleeper who wants to sink in, or if you're buying it to stop overheating.
Firmer than Medium on the shop floor, and best under a back sleeper
I tried the Medium, which is the softer of the two grades, lying on my side, back and front, and at 61kg (about nine and a half stone) I sleep on my side at home. It suited my side, though it felt firmer than a Medium label leads you to expect. That's the thin top at work: your shoulder gets a couple of centimetres of give before the springs take the weight, so there's less to sink into than the word Medium promises.
On my back it was at its best of the three positions, and on my front it was only fine. That order is the useful part, because an average-weight back sleeper wants exactly this: you lie on the bed, your hips stay level with your shoulders, and the springs push back evenly along the whole length of you. Combination sleepers do well on it too, because nothing grips you when you turn over, and for anyone who moves about at night I'd pick springs under a thin foam face over deep memory foam every time.
Light side sleepers are the ones to send elsewhere. A Medium that already felt firm under me will feel like a plank under someone lighter, and this model has no Soft grade to drop down to. Heavier back and front sleepers can go the other way and order the Firm.
Further up the range you pay for foam depth, and this rung has the least
There are six NanoTech beds, and the foam gets deeper as you climb. The 3000i one rung up keeps the same 40mm of graphene foam and adds a Soft grade, 2cm of depth and more springs, so that rung gives you a softer option without changing the feel much. The 5000i is where the feel changes: 80mm of graphene foam, deeper layers under a plushtop, and a mattress that felt deep, cushioned and supportive when I lay on my side.
The springs are the easiest part of this bed to read. 2050 is a flat count of pocket springs with no mini springs folded into it, while each rung above quotes a total that mixes minis with full-height springs. I don't choose mattresses by spring count, and I'd sooner my money went into comfort fillings, which is where the dearer iGels spend theirs. The range was developed in partnership with the British Chiropractic Association, which I take as serious intent about support, and I still judge each rung by what's inside it.
Owners say the bed that arrives is firmer than the one in the shop
Most of the reviews are for the previous model, the iGel Advance 2000, which this bed replaced and which was a different mattress: Firm only, 27cm deep, with beaded gel and foam around its springs. Read those for the general feel. On one point both generations agree, and owners keep making it: what turned up at home felt harder than the sample they'd tried in store.
Put that beside what I found in the shop and the grade choice gets simple. If the Medium felt firm on the shop floor and owners find it firmer again at home, the Medium is the grade most people should order. A try in a showroom is best at ruling a bed out, and this one rules out the light side sleeper. If you get the grade wrong, Bensons' 40 Night Comfort Guarantee covers a swap for a fee plus a second delivery charge, provided a mattress protector has been on the bed.
Owners split on the cooling: plenty say they sleep cooler, and plenty notice no difference at all. Graphene foam is a mild benefit and I'd never choose a bed for it alone, so don't choose this one to fix hot nights. The complaint I take more seriously is smell. Owners of the current bed describe a chemical smell that took weeks to clear, so take delivery when you can leave the bedroom windows open.
At 29cm, it's the iGel your fitted sheets already fit
I change my sheets every Sunday, so the depth is the detail I'd look at first. At 29cm (about 11 and a half inches) the 2050i is the only iGel that sits inside a standard fitted sheet, while the other five run from 31cm to 38cm and want deep-pocket sheets.
It's a one-sided, no-turn mattress, so you rotate it head to toe and never flip it. I prefer a mattress you can turn, because two sleeping sides share the wear. Owners say the care guide asks for rotation every week for the first months, and one who lives alone found it wants two people lifting the mattress flat so it doesn't bend, so read that guide before you order if you sleep on your own. Bensons also advises against electric blankets on its iGel beds, which settles it for anyone who warms the bed that way.
What to buy instead
If you're a side sleeper who came to Bensons for the iGel feel, buy the iGel NanoTech 5000i Plushtop. It costs more, and the extra goes into the foam this bed is short of: twice the graphene, deep layers under a plushtop whose long-term wear I'd weigh up, and the cushioned feel the range is known for. It's the first iGel I send side sleepers to, and for my own side-sleeping I'd save up for it.
Keep the 2050i if you're an average-weight back or combination sleeper who wants pocket springs under a cool foam face and a long guarantee, and doesn't want to pay for depth. If the gel isn't why you're here, look at the Slumberland Air Memory 2.0 at the same shop: memory foam over full-height pocket springs, the same 29cm depth, for less money.
