Hästens versus Freshbed: an unfair comparison?

If you sleep well, you can focus better during the day, have more energy, are more creative and less sensitive to stress. A good bed is therefore important. Is a Hästens bed the best choice? The fact is that Hästens, together with brands such as Vispring and Harrison Spinks, has been at the top for decades. But time does not stand still and new developments also put Hästens on the spot. Take the new Freshbed, which is based on a completely different model: a high-quality bed with an active, individual mini climate in which you do not perspire and so keep fungi, fine dust, pollen and house dust mites at bay. Several top hotels around the world already have this bed. The prices between Hästens and Freshbed don’t differ much. So a fair comparison!

Conclusion

Can a new brand with a completely different concept immediately compete with a renowned prestige brand? Hästens is a household name and builds top-quality beds with natural materials. Hästens has many fans, but also some specific disadvantages. The deep subsidence sometimes turns out to be less pleasant than initially thought and the many layers can lead to the formation of holes in the mattress. And if you don’t massage the topper on a regular basis, the comfort of the mattress will quickly disappear. Freshbed is a young brand that combines an innovative underbed with an active climate system with specially developed mattresses from Harrison Spinks, Vispring and Kuperus. Very comfortable beds in which you sleep better and more hygienically. The better hygiene also ensures a longer life of the mattress.

There is no doubt about the quality of both brands. But with innovative thinking, you can quickly conquer your own position in this day and age! Freshbed will, in my opinion, realise this as well.

HästensFreshbed
PLUS Hästens
+ Strong and well-known brand, with good marketing
+ Luxurious and natural materials
+ Handmade
+ Recognizable design
+ Choice of multiple hardnesses
+ Optional massage system		PLUS Freshbed
+ Dutch invention and production
+ No perspiration due to active climate system
+ Adjustable individual temperature and ventilation
+ Continuous air purification via Hepa filter
+ Choice of specially developed mattresses from Harrison Spinks, Vispring or Kuperus
+ Longer life of the mattress due to better hygiene
+ Bearing bed possible
+ Neutral design
+ Can be installed in existing cots
+ Natural materials in mattresses
+ Less fast air conditioning or heating required
MIN Hästens
– Nest effect: sleeping warmer
– More likely to lead to the formation of holes due to many layers in the mattress
– Less stable mattress, especially at the edges
– Topper hardens without massage and drying
– Cotton in and around the mattress and topper is not washable
– What dominant block design		MIN Freshbed
– Less well known brand
– (Low) power consumption

Research shows that the sleeping climate in bedrooms is the second biggest sleep disturbance after stress. The problem is temperature, humidity and ventilation. Each person releases half a litre of perspiration to a mattress at night. How well can a bed handle all this? Each brand does this in its own way. So do Hästens and Freshbed.

Hästens. Nice reputation.

The Swedish company Hästens was founded in 1852 and has been a family business for five generations. I like that, because such companies are more passionate and have better policies. Initially, Hästens was a saddler and filled the saddles mainly with horsehair. In Swedish, Hästens means ‘from the horse’ and the animal is still included in the logo. Horsehair was also used in mattresses and soon Hästens took the lead in this production, with craftsmanship and quality as its core values. Hästens is now one of the top brands in bedding. There is also little to be said for Hästens in terms of marketing-wise. The brand is well known worldwide and also has an excellent image. The exclusive Hästens brand stores certainly contribute to this.

Natural Hästens

Hästens almost exclusively uses natural materials. The more luxurious versions consist of three parts: a springy base, an intermediate mattress and a cover mattress (topper). Beds and mattresses are filled with cotton, flax fibre, pure wool and horsehair. These are manually applied layer by layer. The box springs are made of solid Swedish pine and the springs of a Hästens are made of Swedish steel, in the quality of piano strings. And despite the blue box design that makes a Hästens so recognizable, it’s also green: all fabrics are woven and dyed in an environmentally responsible way. By the way, other colours than blue boxes can also be chosen as an option.

Hästens in practice

Now to the practice. As Bröring, we were one of the first to sell Hästens beds in the Netherlands and we built up a great deal of experience with both the beds and the users. The handmade Hästens beds are among the best natural beds in the world and have been produced in the same way for many decades. The strong pine frame comes with a 25-year guarantee, but the frames of such beds are actually indestructible. What is striking is the large number of layers built up above the springs in a Hästens mattress, which benefits the mattress’s breathability and moisture absorption. The disadvantage of these many layers is that they may lead to the formation of pits sooner.

Hästens is known for its ‘nest feeling’: sinking deep into the mattress. And indeed, that feels wonderful at first. On the other hand: the deeper you lie, the more you are enclosed and that means lying warm and therefore more perspiration. A Hästens bed therefore sleeps best with a window open, but many people don’t do or dare to do so. Moreover, it turned out that many people wanted a more stable bed when replacing their Hästens, especially at the edges when getting out. In and around the Hästens mattress and the topper a nice quality cotton has been applied that ventilates well and feels great on the skin. This cotton absorbs perspiration well, but cannot be separated from the mattress/topper and is therefore not washable. Especially for people who perspire a bit more at night, this is a point of attention. Another important point of attention is Hästens’ topper: it is filled with horsehair. Remember to massage it regularly to keep it soft. Most people forget that and within a few years the best is then hardened.

Then there are the looks of a Hästens: they are beautiful and eye-catching beds. This is certainly also due to the recognizable but also some dominant block design. Of course, this has to match the style of your bedroom and is mainly a matter of taste. The Hästens beds are also often a little higher than average. There is a choice of round and rectangular models, and three different hardnesses (soft, medium or firm). A built-in, stepless massage system is also an option.

Freshbed. Ontstaan uit innovatief denken

Freshbed is een innovatieve Nederlandse vinding door topingenieurs, met hulp van de medische wetenschap. Uitgangspunt was het gegeven dat een slaapkamerklimaat na stress de grootste slaapverstoorder is en dat vooral temperatuur de slaapkwaliteit tot 50% kan verbeteren. Volgens de Daily Telegraph is dat ook wetenschappelijk bewezen. Andere onderzoeken, waaronder die van een Hotelgroep, vermelden verbetering van slaapkwaliteit tot zelfs 63%. De bedenkers van Freshbed wilden met een volledig nieuw concept bed liever voorkomen dan genezen. Zo kwam men tot een bed met een individueel instelbare klimaatregeling en luchtzuivering. In combinatie met speciaal voor Freshbed ontwikkelde matrassen van Harrison Spinks, Vispring of Kuperus. Luxe internationale hotels als The Grand, The Dylan, the Mandarin Oriental, Metrolope Monaco, Raffles Parijs, Bau Rivage Lausanne, Fouquet’s Parijs, Grand Hyatt Wenen, het Amstel Hotel en Lanserhof hebben hun luxere suites al voorzien van een Freshbed. Met heel lovende reacties van hun gasten.

Freshbed in de praktijk

In een Freshbed creëer je onder je eigen dekbed je eigen miniklimaat. Ook als je door allerlei oorzaken (hormonen, alcohol, buitentemperatuur) extra veel transpireert, houdt Freshbed je droog en beschermd tegen schimmels, fijnstof, pollen en huisstofmijt. De instelbare actieve klimaatregeling zorgt daarvoor, met een individuele temperatuurinstelling en continue ventilatie van het matras. Je hebt je eigen microklimaat in bed, met een constante temperatuur en luchtvochtigheid. Het medisch Hepa-filter in het klimaatsysteem zuivert continu de circulerende lucht. Het klimaatsysteem is in een speciaal ontwikkelde bedbodem opgenomen en doet zijn werk geruisloos.

Freshbed is ook een uiterst comfortabel bed, mede dankzij het vakmanschap van de speciaal ontwikkelde matrassen van Harrison Spinks, Vispring of Kuperus. Neem bijvoorbeeld die van Harrison Spinks: een pocketveermatras met ergonomische ondersteuning op maat. Gezoneerd en met zes progressief opgebouwde veerlagen (unieke 4K veertechnologie). Net als bij Hästens zijn in een Freshbed vrijwel uitsluitend natuurlijke materialen opgenomen.

Freshbed kan door zijn constructie een lager bed zijn en kan naar wens ook worden ingebouwd in een bestaand ledikant. Het bed wordt daardoor minder dominant en past beter in een bestaande slaapkameromgeving.

Gaat een Freshbed langer mee dan een traditioneel bedsysteem? Ja, omdat het klimaatsysteem transpiratie (en daarmee vervuiling) van bed en matras voorkomt. Veel hoogwaardige bedden worden eerder uit oogpunt van hygiëne  vervangen dan door slijtage. Op het Freshbed rust een garantie van tien jaar, op de ingebouwde techniek vijf jaar. Ook daarna kunnen bewegende delen gemakkelijk worden vervangen of wordt het systeem gerefurbished.

Freshbed Divan
Slaap problemenSleeping and Alzheimer’s