New futon mattress help.

January 2, 2007 12:15 PM

In 2000 I bought a really sweet mission style futon frame, but with a totally shoddy mattress. Time for a new one.

The current one is basically just fill stuffed into a cover. To make it bearable I’ve duct taped a featherbed cover to it and wrapped that up in another cover and put a fitted full sheet on top of it for aesthetics. It’s time for a new one and I need personal recommendations. I’ll need a full size one that will get equal use as a couch in folded position as well as flat like a bed. What’s best, foam or springs? How do the spring filled ones hold up being folded for a long period of time? Who on the intertubes will deliver for cheap/free? I heart my futon and want the new mattress to last quite a while. Thanks in advance for answering the question at hand and not suggesting I spent the money on a couch or a bed.

posted by pieoverdone to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

I recently rented a cabin with a futon as couch/bed. It had the springs and was very uncomfortable to the point of horrible as a couch. The springs just didn't fold well and they were easily felt beneath. As a bed, it was too bouncy for me. I like the dense futon because they are much more supportive and firm. You can always add a featherbed when it is being used as a bed.
posted by sulaine at 12:25 PM on January 2, 2007

Oh, and if you are in a large enough city there is undoubtedly a futon store. I would go there and try out the different mattresses as couches and beds. Also, many regular mattress stores sell futon mattresses, too. And I would bet most of them deliver, but you can fit a futon mattress into most mid-size sedans and nearly all hatchbacks, so you might be able to save on that.
posted by sulaine at 12:27 PM on January 2, 2007

No springs. It won't work well with the sofa aspect.

I like the ones with a good pile of layers -- of foam, of basic futon cotton wadding, and wool. Wool's great at keeping you cool in summer and warm in winter; foam's comfortable and doesn't get so beaten down as the basic fibre what-not that's wadded in to futons. Most stores will be able to show you little cross-sections of their various futons. You can get 'memory foam' layers in them now too; pricy, but perhaps worth it if you like the stuff.
posted by kmennie at 1:20 PM on January 2, 2007

Several years ago we got a good futon mattress from White Lotus. You don't get to try before you buy, and shipping is expensive, so they're probably not what you're looking for. Still, the site has some explanation of what matters in different uses for the futon. They don't do springs, though. And I can't imagine springs would stand to be folded and unfolded over a futon frame.
posted by dilettante at 2:25 PM on January 2, 2007