REM-Fit 500 Ortho mattress review: tailored support meets luxurious memory foam
The REM-Fit 500 Ortho mattress is a next-generation orthopaedic mattress from active lifestyle bedding and sleep brand REM-Fit. Aimed at people who wake up feeling sore with back and joint pain, it's designed to offer “unrivalled temperature regulation, comfort and supreme back support”.
We’re always looking for the best mattress – so we reviewed the REM-Fit 500 Ortho to find out what it's like to sleep on. Read on for everything you need to know about this hybrid orthopaedic mattress (and if you're on the hunt for a mattress bargain, head to our cheap mattress deals page to explore the best festive savings on a range of brands).
REM-Fit 500 Ortho mattress review: what is it?
The REM-Fit 500 Ortho Mattress is a firm, 25cm-deep hybrid mattress that combines 2,000 orthopaedic pocket springs with five layers of cushioning and supportive foam. It’s a single-sided mattress – so you don’t have to flip it – and it comes with a handy hypoallergenic fabric cover that’s removable and machine-washable.
The REM-Fit 500 is a bed-in-a-box mattress, which means it’s delivered free to your door – rolled-up and vacuum-packed – inside a conveniently sized box. Once unpackaged, it expands quickly, taking around two hours to settle into its full height.
As with most bed-in-a-box mattresses, the REM-Fit 500 comes with a 100-night trial. If you decide it isn't for you, you'll get a full refund and your mattress will be donated to the British Heart Foundation, who will collect it from your home for free.
REM-Fit 500 Ortho mattress review: price
All full price, the REM-Fit 500 Ortho sits at the higher end of the bed in a box market. A single costs ￡879, a double ￡1,089, king ￡1,149, and super king ￡1,299 (other sizes are available). However, the company often runs cheap mattress deals and discounts that can cut up to 25% off the price of the REM-Fit 500 Ortho, so if you're thinking of buying one it’s worth keeping an eye on the site.
REM-Fit 500 Ortho mattress review: materials
So what’s inside the REM-Fit 500 Ortho mattress? Here’s how the layers break down...
REM-Fit 500 specs
Mattress type: hybrid
Materials: springs and memory foam
Comfort: firm
Depth: 25cm
Machine-washable cover: yes
Temperature-regulating: yes
Flip: No
Handles: No
Bed base: suitable for all
Guarantee: 15 years
On top, a 5cm layer of cool gel-infused memory foam aims to regulate your temperature – cooling you in the summer, and warming you in the winter. Next, a 2cm Mediflex layer bulks the total memory foam up to 6cm, helping the REM-Fit 500 mould to the shape of your body and correctly align your spine.
In the middle, 2,000 orthopaedic springs (14cm tall) are designed to provide upper and lower back support. They’re surrounded by foam side walls, which provide edge-to-edge support (so you can sleep right up at the edge without it buckling) and prevent the side of the mattress from sagging over time.
At the bottom is a 4cm high-density foam layer. This provides a robust foundation that REM says will support a combined weight of up to 40 stone – 20 stone max per sleeper – for at least 15 years. Finally, encompassing the whole thing is a breathable fabric cover that you can remove and wash to prolong the life of your mattress.
REM-Fit 500 Ortho mattress review: comfort
The REM-Fit 500 Ortho is a supportively firm mattress: on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the firmest) we’d rate it an 8. That makes it one of the firmer mattresses we’ve tested, and we won’t lie: it took us a few days to adapt to it. But once we did, we were impressed.
We tested this orthopaedic mattress for several weeks, and found the balance between comfort and support to be outstanding. It’s extremely comfortable to lie on, letting you sink in slightly, before pushing you up to sleep on the surface, almost as though you’re weightless.
Each night the foam quickly moulded to our body, cushioning pressure points like our shoulders, hips and knees, while working with the pocket springs to provide precise support – whether we were sleeping on our side, back or front.
It’s also very good at absorbing motion, thanks to those pocket springs. If you have a restless partner, you’re less likely to be disturbed. And it regulated our temperature well, too. Standard memory foam mattresses can cause overheating, but the REM-Fit 500 Ortho remained cool for us, even during a heatwave this summer.
REM-Fit 500 Ortho mattress review: the not-so-goods
Not really – the REM-Fit 500 Ortho is a very good mattress. That said, one missing feature we’d have liked to see is handles. This mattress doesn’t need to be flipped over like many of its competitors, but you do need to rotate it regularly to keep it in premium condition – and without handles that’s awkward.
We did notice a small amount of off-gassing when we opened the packaging. That’s normal for new mattresses (it’s the same smell you get with new cars). The odour can take up to two weeks to disappear, but in this case it went within a few hours.
REM-Fit 500 Ortho mattress review: Verdict and alternatives to consider
We think the REM-Fit 500 Ortho is an excellent choice of mattress. It’s exceptionally supportive – with just the right amount of luxury memory foam to cushion pressure points like your shoulders, hips and knees – and it’s durable too, making it a great investment.
If you like a firmer mattress, or suffer from aches and pains, we definitely think the REM-Fit 500 Ortho is worth considering. It’s also a great choice for couples, thanks to its low motion transfer and great edge support.
If you don’t want a firm mattress, we’d recommend looking at the medium-firm Emma Original mattress instead (a foam mattress) – or the softer Sealy Teramo 1400 (if you’re committed to a hybrid). However, we’ve been very pleasantly surprised by the REM-Fit 500 Ortho mattress, and that 100-night trial means you can easily return it if it isn't right for you.
