Mattress Firmness Test: Measured Indentation Data vs Marketing Labels

Furniture in Fashion examines the gap between mattress firmness labels and the physical property those labels claim to describe. Firmness ratings sold as soft, medium or firm are manufacturer descriptions rather than points on a measured scale, and nothing requires two brands to apply them the same way. Indentation testing, the standard laboratory method for measuring how far a foam sample compresses under a defined load, produces a repeatable figure, but that figure applies to a single foam layer rather than to a finished mattress with springs, comfort layers and a cover. We did not run a laboratory measurement programme for this report and we publish no test figures. Instead we explain what indentation testing measures and what it omits, why body weight and sleeping position change the outcome more than the label does, and how to assess support, with a table matching sleeping position and build to a sensible starting point....