The Silentnight Athens 1400 Mirapocket Ortho Mattress is rated extra firm, and owners who call it very firm, or firmer than they expected, bear that out: this is a proper no-nonsense firm mattress. The Athens is now sold as the Silentnight Air Plus 1400 Mirapocket Ortho Mattress. Silentnight mattresses are handcrafted in the UK by highly skilled craftsmen using the very latest in mattress manufacturing technology. This Ortho Mirapocket mattress is manufactured using 1400 individually pocketed Mirapocket springs to provide optimum support and comfort.1
If you are looking for a firm, supportive mattress that responds to your bodies every curve, then you need one with 1400 Mirapocket springs and Air Plus fibres. Each of those springs sits in its own pocket and the centre third is zoned firmer, so I'd expect them to react under your hips and lower back rather than everything sinking as one, which is what I want from an ortho style mattress. Plenty of owners who bought it for a bad back say it did the job, and one front sleeper wrote: "No back pain what so ever with this mattress which was the aim of the game!"
The listing now shows Silentnight's exclusive Air Plus fibres, which allow greater airflow so heat and moisture can escape. The comfort layers are polyester fibres under a tufted, knitted cover, so expect a slightly springy, fibrous feel rather than a slow-moulding memory foam feel, which will suit some people, but if you are expecting that 'hug' you will not get it here. One owner summed it up as "Very firm but soft on top", though a few find the tufts sit too deep, and one could feel them through a protector and a sheet.
This unique construction gives you the ultimate in orthopaedic support so you can wake up refreshed and ready to face the day. Side sleeping is where I'd expect it to be a bit less forgiving, the firmness can push back around the shoulder if you are lighter in weight, so I would not call it a safe pick for everyone. One owner called it "good support if you sleep on back but needs a mattress topper for comfort when sleeping on side", and another, at 17 stone, wrote that "the wife at 9 1/2st feels like she is laying on concrete".
Along with pressure relief for a good night sleep, it is made from hypoallergenic material to keep dust mites at bay, and is handcrafted in the UK. It is also the sort of mattress where you will notice movement more than on a softer, deeper comfort build, so if you share a bed and one of you is a fidget, keep that in mind.