I've been testing the OTTY Original Ice Hybrid and it's my new favourite mattress for banishing in-bed sweating

Review in brief

October is World Menopause Month and one of the key symptoms of this life stage are sudden, intense waves of heat. When hot flushes happen, it's important that you're able to cool your body — especially during the night and your sleep is disturbed.

That's why I, a chronic hot sleeper in her 40s, was keen to test the Original Ice Hybrid mattress, a bed that's been crafted with reliable temperature regulation at the forefront of its design. As I've already tested the Otty Hybrid Mattress, I was keen to see how the cooling upgrade compares to the hugely popular original.

In addition to sleeping on it for three weeks, I’ve tested the Original Ice Hybrid on performance across all key areas including motion isolation, cooling, pressure relief and edge support. But if you’re in a hurry to note the highlights, here’s my review in brief.

Having previously reviewed the mid-price range Otty Original Hybrid, I was keen to see how it compares to the Otty Original Ice Hybrid, which is marginally more expensive.

While there’s a wide range of medium-support mattress options in the Tom’s Guide best mattress edit, what makes the Ice Hybrid design stand out is its cool-to-the-touch cover. This thick knit cover has been specially designed to wick away heat while you sleep, helping to keep your temperatures comfortably regulated while you sleep.

I’m a side and back sleeper and slept on the Otty Original Ice Hybrid over the course of six weeks during the summer months of May and June. Room temperatures varied from 20° C to an unusually hot 30° C when there was a heatwave. While there was no escaping the uncomfortable room heat on the hotter days, the mattress never felt too hot beneath me like some mattresses can.

I shared the mattress with my front-sleeping partner and found that the mattress did well to limit movement from side to side. As a front sleeper he prefers a harder mattress and was pleased to find the medium-firm tension of the Otty Original Ice Hybrid on the firmer side of medium-firm. I’ve tried a number of medium-firm designs that disappointingly turn out to be too soft, but not this one.

I asked two more testers from Tom’s Guide of varying heights to also try out the mattress and tell me what they thought of the overall firmness and comfort. They were both positive about the look and feel of the mattress, and agreed that it felt both supportive and comfortable while sleeping on their front and back and, in particular, on their side. One of the testers who suffers from a bad back was impressed with the pressure relief of the mattress and said that he felt like it was instantly supporting his back. For more in-depth test data, read the full review below.

Price & trial

• The Original Ice Hybrid is a mid-price range mattress in the Otty collection.
• Comes with a 100-night trial
• Includes a 10-year warranty

Founded by athlete and entrepreneur Michal Szlas, Otty was launched 10 years ago with the aim to create high-quality mattresses, pillows, bed frames, and accessories at affordable prices.

Otty delivers its mattresses to mainland UK. There are three main mattress ranges in its collection which, aside from the Natural range that arrives traditionally fully formed, are delivered compressed and rolled up.

The Otty Original Ice Hybrid Mattress is a step up from Otty’s flagship Original Hybrid model – both of which include memory foam and 2,000 encapsulated pocket springs. The Otty Original mattress costs from £499.99, while the cooler Otty Original Ice Hybrid Mattress costs from £524.99.

Otty has seasonal sales online throughout the year so if you’re after something specific, it’s worth bookmarking our mattress deals page. You can expect to find deeper Otty discounts on notable sale days such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Benefits include a 10-year warranty and 100-night sleep trial with every purchase. Here’s a full breakdown of what you can expect to pay for the Otty Original Ice Hybrid Mattress:

• Single (UK) - £524.99
• Small Double (UK) - £649.99
• Double (UK) - £674.99
• King (UK) £749.99
• Super King (UK) £849.99

If you can’t buy the mattress outright, you can spread the cost with Otty’s 0% Finance deal. For a king size Otty Original Ice Hybrid Mattress, you can expect to pay from £60 per month for example.

Otty Original Ice Hybrid Mattress: Design

• 2,000 16cm encapsulated pocket springs offers medium-firm support and minimises motion transfer
• Reflex foam adds additional support on top of the spring layer
• High density base foam offers a solid foundation

There are lots of designs to choose from in our guide to the best hybrid mattress on the market, but the Original Ice Hybrid stands out for its cooling properties. Marginally more expensive than the Otty Original Hybrid, the Otty Original Ice Hybrid has an enhanced cooling cover with special fibres.

Within its six layers that make up the sumptuous 25cm Otty Original Ice Hybrid mattress is a solid base layer of foam that helps to secure the mattress in place on the bedframe. It also includes a layer of breathable foam around the edges that has been designed to enhance edge support and ensure the maximum usable sleep space from side to side.

Inside there are also 2,000 16cm encapsulated pocket springs that help to provide a comfortable medium-firm tension and minimise motion transfer. This is topped by a layer of high-density support foam, teamed with a layer of heat regulating memory foam and the mattresses' pièce de resistance cooling cover.

Otty Original Ice Hybrid Mattress: Support and comfort

• A medium firm mattress that holds it shape well
• Gentle contouring and excellent pressure relief
• Comfortable and robust enough for all sleep positions – even front sleeping

This mattress has a tension rating of 7 out of 10 and while it has a cushioned top layer, it errs on the on the firmer side of medium firm. Even though it has a sumptuous top layer, I found it easy to move around and change positions without ever feeling like I was stuck.

I have a petite frame and like a medium-firm mattress, but I was pleased to find out that my 6ft partner who prefers a firm mattress was also content with the tension of this Original Ice Hybrid.

This is testament to just how supportive the overall feel of this mattress is. I asked two other Tom’s Guide testers to give the mattress a try and they were also very impressed with just how balanced their bodies felt when laying on their backs.

We agreed that while the mattress is thick and has a plush finish on top, its surface retains shape effectively so it never makes you feel like you’re stuck.

Support and comfort score: 4 out of 5

Otty Original Ice Hybrid Mattress: Performance

• Smooth top cover feels soft and tactile underhand
• Minimal motion transfer from side to side
• Side support is impressive, although corners could be more solid

I trialled the king size version of the Original Ice Hybrid over the course of six weeks during the sweltering summer months of May and June. I dressed the bed in Spin & Yarn’s beautifully soft cotton sateen bedding and used the new Groove Air Cooling Pillow, which seemed to work well with the mattress to support my head and neck.

I used the Tom's Guide mattress home testing methodology to get a rounded view of how this mattress performs according to a range of different criteria.

Pressure relief

Tom’s Guide testers agree that the combination of 2,000 16cm encapsulated pocket springs and high-density support foam helps to create a comfortable, medium-firm design.

The mattress provides good pressure relief for front, side and back sleepers and I loved sleeping on my side here as the mattress was sumptuous yet stable. While laying on my side it relieved my shoulders and hips without them feeling like they were dipping in too much.

My partner prefers a pocket-sprung mattress as he finds that they ensure less sinkage while sleeping on his front. He was pleasantly surprised with just how well this mattress does to maintain support across the body, however.

To further test how good the pressure relief is here, I used an 8kg kettlebell and measured the sinkage of this mattress at 1.5” (3.8cm). This is about average for a well-structured medium-firm mattress and same as the measurements I took for both the Otty Original Hybrid and the Simba Hybrid Ultra.

Pressure relief score: 4 out of 5

Motion isolation

If you’re a light sleeper and sharing a bed with a partner, choosing a mattress that limits movement from side to side is key to a good night’s sleep. With good motion isolation technology you won’t be disturbed every time your partner moves or changes position in the night.

Having slept on this mattress for over six weeks with my partner I was pleased with just how well it limited motion from transferring across the surface of the bed. While I could tell he was still sleeping next to me when he was particularly fidgety, there was minimum motion transfer over to my side. This is mostly like due to the mattress’ 16cm encapsulated pocket spring design that provides a stable medium-firm tension and helps to minimise motion transfer.

To illustrate just how effective the mattress is at limiting movement, I conducted a test using an empty wine glass and a 3kg weight. I placed the empty wine glass in the centre of the mattress and dropped the weight 4, 10 and then 25 inches away to simulate someone moving in bed. As you can see the wine glass didn’t falter, which is testament to just how good the motion transfer is here.

Motion isolation score: 4 out of 5

Temperature regulation

To find out how well this mattress could keep me cool during the hotter months of the year, I trialled it over the summer months of May and June. The room temperatures in May never went higher than 23 degrees C. During a heatwave in June, however, I was dealing with an usually high 32 degrees C room temperature that was uncomfortably hot to say the least.

The Ice cover is smooth and I found that it felt noticeably cool when the bed was undressed and this came as a welcome place to rest my head when the room was undeniably hot. I dressed it in soft and breathable Spin & Yarn bedding to ensure air flow was optimum and this helped to make me feel content when it was super hot.

Overall, it’s hard to say if the mattress kept me actively cool at night, but it never got too hot like some memory foam designs can. Overall, I think it did well to provide a comfortable and calming surface during the hottest days of the summer.

Temperature control score: 4 out of 5

Edge support

With reliable support around the bed's edge, it’s easier to utilise every inch of sleep space so you can cosy right up to the sides without feeling like you’re going to fall off. It also helps to ensure the durability of the mattress so that it doesn’t sag at the sides as time goes by.

I have tried a wide range of hybrid mattresses with good and poor side support and this design is definitely one of the more supportive designs. Sturdy edge support meant I could sit on the side comfortably and lay right up to the sides of the mattress without feeling like I was about to roll off. But while the sides felt secure, the corner support was a little less reliable, however.

Edge support score: 4 out of 5

Otty Original Ice Hybrid Mattress: Delivery and set up

• 100-night sleep trial and 10 year guarantee
• Room of choice delivery and old mattress removal
• 0% interest free finance so you can spread the cost

Like the best mattresses in a box, Otty mattresses come delivered roll and vacuum packed in plastic, which is then placed inside a cardboard box. Upon ordering the mattress, delivery was swift and came within a week. The delivery team carried the mattress up the front steps to my hallway and would have positioned it on the bed if I had wanted them to.

For the purposes of this test, I decided to take it out of the box and see if I could carry it up myself. I tried a king size mattress and while the mattress was compactly rolled up, it was just a little too heavy to carry up myself so my partner shared the load.

As soon as the mattress was positioned on the bed and we sliced open the plastic, it began taking shape speedily. Within five minutes it had expanded, and while the mattress would have been ready to sleep on after four hours, I waited a good 48 hours before sleeping on it just to give it a chance to reach its full size.

I kept the windows shut to see if there was any off-gassing to contend with (which is that new factory smell you can sometimes get with a new mattress), and while there was a little in the air, it quickly dispersed so that the mattress smelt fresh and enticing.

Otty Original Ice Hybrid Mattress: Customer reviews

On Trustpilot, there are over 11K reviews for Otty, with the majority of customers praising the brands products and delivery service. It has an overall ‘TrustScore’ of 3.8, which is highlighted as ‘Great’.

Many customers have written reviews stating that they are pleased with the mattress they received, and while it’s hard to pinpoint what they are saying about the Otty Original Ice Hybrid exactly, the words they are using to describe Otty mattresses overall are ‘superb’ and ‘comfortable'.

Should you buy the Otty Original Ice Hybrid Mattress?

For a reasonably priced cooling hybrid mattress that’s both supportive and breathable, the Otty Original Ice Hybrid is worth considering. Its cool-to-the-touch cover makes it marginally more cooling than the Otty Original Hybrid mattress, and it’s this all-important detail that gives you extra peace of mind in the summer when things heat up.

The consensus after testing this mattress is that it sleeps cooler than standard memory foam and its tactile top layer feels great against the skin. It’s comfortable for back and side sleepers in particular, but has the supportive structure to make front sleepers feel suitably relaxed too. Its medium-firm tension provides satisfying back support and as it has good pressure relief you won’t get that stuck-in feel you can sometimes get with an all-foam mattress either.

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