Why our sleep experts loved it
I tried the Silentnight Revitalise Ortho 1400 in store at my local Furniture Village and, overall, my impression is that this is a decent, reliable extra firm mattress that delivers on the orthopaedic-style support but charges a bit of a premium for a comfort layer that is not as distinctive in practice as the marketing makes out. If you are sure you like a very firm feel and you struggle to stay cool on traditional memory foam then this is a sensible choice, especially if you can get it at a discount, but if you are on the fence about firmness then be careful because this really is an extra firm mattress in every way.
Construction & materials The Revitalise Ortho 1400 is a pocket sprung mattress with Silentnight’s Mirapocket system, and there are 1400 springs in a king size. These are pocket sprung, meaning each coil is individually wrapped and arranged in zones to offer firmer support through the middle of the body and a little more give at the shoulders and legs to better align the spine and prevent pressure build up.
Above the springs you get Silentnight’s ActiveBreathe comfort layer, which is the headline feature of the whole Revitalise collection. It is designed to mimic the feel of memory foam in that it has a slightly cushioned, moulding sensation, but it has much more airflow through the structure to prevent heat from building up as quickly. It does have that slow-response feel in use, but much less deeply than a full foam topper so it makes sense for such a firm mattress.
Beneath and around the springs there is a stabilising pad called Eternity, which is essentially a stiffening layer that makes the overall feel firmer and helps with durability, as well as polyester comfort fibres to add a thin layer of softness between you and the springs. The cover is also polyester and feels more serviceable and smooth rather than luxurious, but is practical and seems hard wearing. The whole mattress is about 25.5 cm deep, which is slimmer than many hybrids with a plush top, but that is right for the orthopaedic positioning and also keeps the weight more manageable.
The mattress does not use any traditional memory foam or gel foam layers. Instead you are paying for Silentnight’s own take on a breathable foam-like material. It is an interesting concept in theory, but worth noting that gel infused foam and other open-cell foams already exist in the market to try to address overheating, so ActiveBreathe is more a different implementation of a similar idea than a radical reimagining.
Firmness & feel This is categorically an extra firm mattress and it knows it from the first night. Silentnight labels it as extra firm, and in practice I would rate it as about a 9 out of 10 on a standard firmness scale. Lying on my back, I felt very lifted and flat, with the spine well aligned and almost no sink in the lumbar area. It is the sort of surface that is reassuring if you enjoy a very stable, supported base underneath you.
The ActiveBreathe layer takes a little of the edge off. There is a thin, slightly cushioned top to it that stops the whole mattress from feeling like a board, but the overall sensation is still that you are lying on it rather than sinking in to it. If you are coming from a plusher pillow top or a deep memory foam mattress, this will feel sharply firmer for the first few nights.
On my side, this is where the firmness truly announced itself. I felt distinct pressure through the shoulder and hip, and while the comfort fibres do soften a bit after a few nights, it never became what I would call side sleeper friendly unless you are on the heavy side or genuinely enjoy a very firm feel. Sleeping on the stomach felt much more natural here, with the hips raised up and the chest well supported.
The overall feel is classic orthopaedic pocket sprung: responsive, quite bouncy and unapologetically firm, with just a thin layer of cushioning on top to stop it from feeling too harsh. If you are looking for that specific type of feel, then the Revitalise Ortho 1400 does it with consistency.
Performance & support This is the area where this mattress excels. The zoned Mirapocket system does a good job of distributing weight and preventing the pelvis from dipping, which is important for back sleepers who need that extra support through the lower back. On my back, my spine felt neutral and well supported, and I woke up with less soreness through the lumbar area than I did on softer, more yielding mattresses.
Edge support is respectable for a mattress of this depth. There is some compression if you sit right on the edge, which is what you expect from a pocket sprung core, but you do not feel like you are going to tumble off when you sleep right up next to the side. The Eternity stabilising layer helps keep the whole structure tighter and prevents that sagging, hammock-like feel you can get with some mattresses after a few months.
Motion transfer is better than I was expecting for a fairly bouncy, extra firm mattress. You can still feel your partner move, but the pocket springs isolate much more than an open coil base and the firmer tension means big movements do not translate into large waves across the surface. The design is specifically supposed to minimise disturbance, and in practice it does a reasonably good job on that front.
Because of the recycled content and the fully recyclable design, there is also an environmental performance aspect here. Silentnight says the mattress is made with around 60% recycled materials and is 100% recyclable at end of life, which is not something you can say for most memory foam models. That is a genuine plus for anyone trying to buy more responsibly.
Temperature regulation The big promise of the Revitalise Ortho 1400 is that the ActiveBreathe layer should provide a foam-like comfort without the heat retention of traditional memory foam. In use, I would say it runs cooler than a standard dense foam topper, primarily because it is thinner and more open and because it is sitting on a pocket sprung base that allows air to move more freely through the mattress.
I did not experience the stifling, clammy heat that you can get with full foam mattresses in use. The surface does feel relatively breathable and the polyester cover is not too heat-trapping. That said, gel foam and other modern foams go a long way to fixing sleeping hot these days, so the end result felt broadly similar to the better gel-topped models rather than dramatically cooler.
If you are a person who runs very hot and hate the dense hug of memory foam, you will probably appreciate that it feels a bit airier here and you do not sink as deeply, but I would not buy it on the temperature claim alone. It is more accurate to say that it sleeps sensibly cool for a mattress with a foam-like comfort layer rather than actively cold.
Practical features The Revitalise Ortho 1400 is a non-turn mattress, so you only have to rotate it rather than flip it, which is a relief given that a double weighs about 33.5 kg and a king 39 kg. It is not feather light, but the relatively slim 25.5 cm depth means it is a bit easier to shift than some of the very deep, hotel-style mattresses.
It is suitable for most standard bed frames and divan bases, but with the important caveat that if you are using it on a slatted frame the gaps between the slats must not be greater than around 7.5 cm. Any wider and you will risk premature sagging between the slats, which can also invalidate the guarantee. As ever, a decent mattress protector is also highly recommended both for hygiene and to protect your investment.
It is worth noting the backing of a structural guarantee from Furniture Village which is more generous than many mainstream mattresses get, and the fact that Silentnight is a carbon neutral manufacturer with a commitment to net zero by 2040. There is a feeling that this is designed to be built to last and is a more environmentally conscious purchase than a more short-term buy.
Delivery falls into Furniture Village’s standard mattress category with their room of choice service. The mattress is also handmade in England for the retailer, if you prefer to buy British made products.
Who it suits In my opinion, the Silentnight Revitalise Ortho 1400 is best suited to people who know they like or have been recommended to use a very firm mattress. Dedicated back sleepers and stomach sleepers who prefer a solid base under the hips and lower back will likely feel well supported, as well as heavier individuals who find medium or medium firm mattresses too soft through the middle.
It is also a reasonable pick if you dislike the dense, enveloping feel of memory foam but still want a touch of modern cushioning on top. The ActiveBreathe layer gives you some contouring without swallowing you into the bed and without the worst of the heat retention you can get with denser foams.
Finally, if eco credentials matter and you want a pocket sprung orthopaedic mattress with a high proportion of recycled content that can be recycled at the end of its life, it stands out more sharply from most of the other models that use complex foam stacks which are hard to process.
Who it does not suit If you are a side sleeper, especially a lighter one, I would be very wary of choosing this mattress. On my side I felt clear pressure through shoulders and hips and, while some people genuinely like that ultra firm, almost futon-like feel, many will find it too uncomfortable to bear over a whole night, particularly if they are under 75 kg.
It is also not the right choice if you like a soft, plush or hotel-style pillow top feel. The Revitalise Ortho 1400 is not that kind of mattress and no amount of mattress topper will fully disguise its underlying tension. You would be better off with a medium or medium firm pocket sprung model with a deeper comfort stack.
From a value perspective, there is a question mark if you are comparing it against other orthopaedic mattresses that use more conventional gel foams or comfort fibres. The ActiveBreathe layer is an interesting concept, but in real life use it feels broadly similar to other breathable foam or gel comfort layers. At full price you are essentially paying extra for a different take on an idea the market already offers in several forms.
If your priority is maximum pressure relief for sore joints, or you just like a softer, deeper comfort layer often with gel foam, then something a bit softer will generally be kinder to you than this, provided you do not need such a rigid base for medical reasons. Likewise, if you are on a tight budget and simply need a firm, supportive mattress, there are cheaper options which will get you most of the way there, albeit usually without the same eco story or long guarantee.
Final verdict The Silentnight Revitalise Ortho 1400 is a competent, well-made extra firm mattress that does what it sets out to do: provide robust orthopaedic style support with a more modern, breathable take on a foam comfort layer. It is not a gimmick, and you can certainly do far worse in this price bracket in terms of support, build quality and environmental claims.
However, the special ActiveBreathe layer is not as revolutionary in practice as the branding would have you believe. To me it feels like a different route to the same end point as gel foam comfort layers that already exist, rather than a genuinely new experience. Given that, the mattress can feel a little pricey at its recommended recommended price point, although the promotional pricing often makes it a more palatable and much more competitive proposition against other orthopaedic pocket sprung mattresses.
If you are a committed back or stomach sleeper, know you like an extra firm feel and want something that runs sensibly cool without the deep hug of memory foam, the Revitalise Ortho 1400 is a sound, reassuring choice, especially when you can pick it up in a sale. If you are at all uncertain about firmness, or if you primarily sleep on your side, I would approach this one with caution and seriously look at a medium firm option from the same brand or a competitor with a plusher top layer.
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