IKEA Valevåg reviewed

The Valevåg is IKEA’s best-known pocket spring mattress and the one most people mean when they search for an IKEA mattress. It is 9 1/2 inches (24 cm) tall, roll-packed, and built from individually wrapped springs under a thin foam and fiber top. IKEA sells it in medium firm, firm and extra firm, all under the same name.

The springs are arranged in five comfort zones, softer under the shoulders and hips, which is why IKEA pitches it at side sleepers. Pocket springs also let air move through the core, so it sleeps cooler than an all-foam mattress, and they keep a partner’s movement from traveling across the bed better than an old open-coil design.

The comfort layer is modest: about a 1.5 lb/cu.ft. polyurethane foam plus a viscose and polyester quilt. You feel the springs more than you would on a hybrid such as the Ånneland, and the cover cannot be removed for washing. If you are torn between two firmness versions, try both in a store before ordering.

A Queen costs $399 at IKEA’s regular price, which makes it one of the cheapest zoned pocket spring mattresses you can buy new. There is no Twin XL or California king, and it is meant to go on a slatted base.