Halfway up Wentworth Mercer's Natural Pocket range, between the softer 1000 and the firmer 2000, sits the Natural Pocket 1500 Mattress: a traditional tufted pocket-sprung bed with cushioning on both faces, so you can flip it instead of wearing one surface down for years. It stands 29cm deep.
If you're an average-weight back sleeper who wants a medium firm you can turn, this is my pick of the range. Heavier back sleepers should skip this tension and take the firmer rung above. The catch is the name: "Natural" now means cotton blended with polyester, plus synthetic fibres, after a reformulation. Don't buy it expecting the wool and silk of the October 2024 listing.
The Natural Pocket 1500's filling is now part synthetic
You're buying synthetic soft white fibres over a cotton and polyester blend, where the October 2024 listing described a natural blend with silk, cashmere and wool in it. Wool is left only in the tufts that hold the layers in place. The grade and depth stayed put through the change, which is quite a wardrobe swap to leave under the same name.
Mattress Online promises "cloud-like bliss", and the mechanism behind it is straightforward: fibre and polycotton cushioning on each face, over the springs. Springs breathe better than foam, but natural fibres are what sleep cooler and these aren't all natural, so I wouldn't buy it as a cool bed. If natural fillings are your reason for shopping, look at the Millbrook at the end instead.
The 1500 uses a single layer of pocket springs
The useful step up from the softer 1000 is a firmer grade alongside 500 more pocket springs. The listing and diagram show one layer of 1500 pocket springs, with no mini springs named to inflate the total. Ask which size the 1500 is counted on before you compare totals elsewhere, because the listing doesn't say.
The "zero roll off" claim comes from a reinforced rod border and two rows of hand side stitching. That's a sensible edge, but I'd want owners saying they can sit on it before I promised you a firm one.
This is the only Medium to Firm grade in the whole Wentworth Mercer range, and medium firm is my starting point for nearly everybody. Up and down the Natural Pocket ladder only the springs and the grade change, with the 1000 graded Medium and the 2000 Firm.
Read "ideal for back sleepers" as a description of the grade, since a firmer bed is no cure for a sore back, whatever the showroom says. Avoid it as a side sleeper under roughly nine stone: it is likely to feel too firm, and the softer 1000 is kinder. Average-weight side sleepers should read the one-star below before buying.
The strongest complaint about the Natural Pocket 1500 is softness
The most serious owner complaint is a support failure: one owner found it too soft for the grade, "slept like the letter U" and woke with back ache. That owner also found "the wool/cashmere/silk top" too warm. I sleep under a heavy tog all year, so I want the warmth to come from the duvet, not from the mattress. The softness is harder to set aside: "We're both side sleepers, normal weight", they wrote, and the springs and grade are the same today. It's one review on the earlier build, but side sleepers should weigh it.
Happy owners who describe the bed call it comfortable, most supportive too, one with no dipping a few months in. One owner rates it a medium rather than medium firm, and another expected a medium and found it right, so what owners say leans to the softer side of the grade.
The 1500's two sleeping faces are worth the flipping
Use both faces: they carry the same cushioning, so flipping spreads the wear between them. I'd alternate a flip and a head-to-foot spin every few months. Turning handles help, but the weight isn't stated, so ask for it before you plan to turn a king alone.
There's no small double, and at 29cm you should still check your fitted sheets' pocket depth. The sale badge on this one comes and goes, so judge the price against the 2000, never the "was". Mattress Online's 100-Night Comfort Trial is a swap for a different mattress, and only once you've slept on it for a month with one of their own protectors bought alongside.
What to buy instead
If you're a heavier back sleeper, or over about eighteen stone, buy the Wentworth Mercer Natural Pocket 2000 Mattress: Firm where this is Medium to Firm, with 500 more springs and the same fillings and depth.
If natural fillings were the point, the Millbrook Wool Luxury 1000 Pocket Mattress is the one I'd look at: wool and cotton comfort layers, a medium firm grade and a turnable build with handles. Millbrook is my idea of a fair middle ground. It's shallower at 25cm with fewer springs, so you trade spring count for the fillings this bed's name promises.
