Review: We try out Simba's best bedding to see if we sleep better

It's often said that you can't put a price on a good night's sleep. And when the nice people at Simba Sleep offered me the opportunity to try a premium set of bedding, I thought I'd put this notion to the test.

There was nothing really wrong with my old bedding. I had a fairly decent pillow, and the wife and I had always enjoyed sleeping under our king-sized duvet.

Neither of these were very expensive, though, so I was genuinely intrigued to see what Simba's "award-winning sleep tech" was like. Would it actually make a difference? And I suppose, more importantly, is it worth the price?

While I was waiting for the delivery, which you're constantly updated on from the moment of dispatch to the minutes before it arrives at your door, I priced up what I'd be testing.

Simba recommended I try out the Hybrid Duvet and the Hybrid 3-in-1 Duvet. A king-sized Hybrid Duvet costs £249, and I thought that sounded like a lot of money, but the other consignment in my order was a king-sized Hybrid 3-in-1 Duvet. And that costs £399.

Then there's a pillow. Simba insisted I get the full Hybrid bedding experience and try out their posh Hybrid Pillow too. It's £109.

Admittedly, if you're shopping around for premium bedding, these prices aren't as eye-watering as they seem, but it's more than I'd ever normally spend on duvets and pillows, so in readiness for what would inevitably be an early night, I dug out some fresh quilt covers and a pillow case.

Simba Hybrid 3-in-1 Duvet

The first duvet I opened was the Hybrid 3-in-1. This really intrigued me, because it's essentially a modular duvet. You have two layers, a 7-tog layer for spring and autumn, and a 3.5-tog duvet for summer.

Cleverly, you can combine these layers with a selection of press-studs and create yourself an incredibly thick 10.5-tog duvet for the depths of winter. It wasn't a particularly cold night, but of course I tried this first.

The combination of both duvets is actually a bit of a sod to fit in a quilt cover. And you need to read the instruction sheet, because there's a right way and a wrong way up.

That's because there's a clever layer on one side with something called "Stratos cool-touch tech", and that's what you have against your body.

Climbing into any new bedding for the first time is a wonderful experience but, it has to be said, I wasn't quite prepared for the feel of a brand new Simba Sleep experience.

It is absolutely heavenly, there's no other way to put it. There's a welcoming weight to the combination of the two duvets, but it's in no way restrictive or uncomfortable. Weirdly, it sort of feels light at the same time as feeling heavy. I can't find another way to explain that, but you'd have to try one out to see what I mean.

The two layers stay securely fastened together over time, which is great, and 10.5-tog has never felt "too warm". That's probably because of that clever cool layer.

I've tried them separately, too. The thin 3.5-tog layer is too small for this time of year, there are no two ways about that, but it will no doubt be perfect for heatwaves.

This particularly layered duvet is proving to be a terrific addition to our motorhome, because we use it all year round, so we now have easy options for creating the perfect duvet for whatever conditions we're in. Three duvets in one, in fact. What a clever idea.

Simba Hybrid Duvet

It's much simpler, and much cheaper, so I was prepared to be disappointed with the Hybrid Duvet.

It has the same cool-touch technology as the 3-in-1, so you only use it one way up, and the base cover is the same, but it has fewer layers.

Although it's a lot thinner, this duvet has a 10.5 rating as standard, which is actually what my wife and I prefer for most of the year.

And it's a remarkable claim because, for obvious reasons, it's much, much thinner than the two layers of the 3-in-1.

This means it's quite a bit lighter than the combined duvet, and much easier to fit into a quilt cover.

It is, however, still absurdly comfortable. Losing the thickness bothered me far less than I thought. Once I was used to the sumptuous layers of the 3-in-1, I thought this would feel less luxurious, but it really doesn't.

It still has a similar softness, it doesn't move around easily, and it's light enough to sleep under but still has a warm, enveloping feel about it.

While you don't have the versatility of the 3-in-1, it's every bit as comfortable and cossetting, and it's just a lot easier to handle.

The standard Hybrid duvet, then, quickly became our default choice in our master bedroom. It's impressive just how warm it keeps you despite it being thinner.

I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes a warm duvet all year round, but doesn't fancy the thickness.

Simba Hybrid Pillow

I've personally always struggled to find the right pillow. The first one I felt like I'd properly invested in cost me £40 but gave me neckache. Then I shelled out £70 on one I was promised would transform my sleep, but it was too firm and never felt quite right.

Then Simba's delivery arrived, and I dived straight in to try out their flagship, £109 pillow.

Simba promises it's been "Goldilocks approved" because it's not too soft, not too high, not too firm, but it's "always just right". And I was excited to try it out.

Firstly, though, you've got to adjust it. Yes, that's right, there's a process to a pillow now.

The Hybrid Pillow is filled with little foam squares. Hundreds of them, and you're supposed to decant handfuls of them out of the inside of the pillow until you feel it's about the right height for you.

This was a messy process, not helped by my mischievous cockapoo who thought it was a fabulous game to run off with them, but you're given a little drawstring bag to stuff them into and you can replenish them from this if you want to in the future.

Once you're done disembowelling it, you just zip it up, plump it up, and get ready for what will hopefully be a blissful sleep.

And, guess, what, that's exactly what I got. It did take some fine tuning, but I can honestly say it's now the best pillow I've slept on.

It has that Stratos Cool-touch Tech that the duvets have, which works even better on the pillow in my book, and its microfibre fillings are perfectly weighted to support your neck without you feeling like you've got it at the wrong angle.

It's certainly on the softer side, after I've taken my preferred portion of "nanocubes" out, but that suits me well. It's incredibly comfortable and, according to my smart watch, I'm sleeping better than I have for years.

Conclusion

The trouble with testing all this bedding together is it's tricky to isolate which one is giving you the most benefit.

I think, on balance, the pillow has made the biggest difference. I'm definitely sleeping better, there's no doubt about that, and the duvets on their own would absolutely have helped, but they've just added so much to the cosy, inviting feel of my bed.

While I'm blown away by the technology that's gone into both the duvets (and I still can't really choose which one I prefer between the two) I think it's the pillow that has enhanced my sleep the most.

Suddenly, £109 doesn't feel quite such a high price for a pillow that I genuinely look forward to laying my head on every night.

In fact, the duvets now feel like great value for money too. Because I'm sleeping better, I have more energy in the day and I wake up feeling refreshed. It's exactly what we're all striving for when we close our curtains at night.

I guess you really can't put a price on a good night's sleep.