Is there a futon that provides good support?

September 21, 2008 12:21 PM

Futonfilter: Does a futon exist with good support? My current one needs to be flipped at least weekly and beaten (no joke) to keep the Grand Canyon from yawning into existance at night.

We have a queen futon place directly on the floor in a sleeping loft. For now, any replacement mattress must be able to be rolled/folded and pushed up a ladder through a 4x2 hole to get up to the loft, but we're interested in information for the future as well.

We have a ~$120 futon. We've had it for a while but it was used as a guest bed (and rarely sat/slept on) until this year. I can sleep on anything, but my partner has problems with the futon developing large craters that he falls into and wakes up with aches and pains.

We try to flip it on a regular basis and my partner beats it with a broom while I hold it up to redistribute the stuff inside the futon.

Any ideas? Is there a futon that has support? Should we be considering the rolled up latex mattresses from Ikea? thanks

posted by arnicae to grab bag (10 comments total)

Is this a temporary situation? I'd just get an airbed instead; they're ~$100 and sleep great.
posted by desjardins at 12:55 PM on September 21, 2008

I owned (and slept on, for years) a futon whose mattress contained springs (as opposed to foam).

I purchased it from a furniture store (as opposed to walmart/IKEA/etc...). at the time, wooden frame + real mattress was $400, but if you already have a frame I'd imagine the mattress alone would be much less.
posted by namewithoutwords at 1:02 PM on September 21, 2008

If you're simply sleeping on the floor, and don't need to convert the futon into a sofa, I'd recommend a visco-elastic, or memory foam, mattress. Tempur-pedic seems to be the top-of-the-line maker, but cheaper knock-offs are just as good, as you'll note from frequent recommendations on AskMefi.

I use a knock-off as a futon on the floor; it never sags, requires no head board or box springs, gives me hours of comfortable sleep, and does not need to be flipped or beaten with a broom. It makes an outstanding futon. We purchased our queen for $500 and it's expected to last for a minimum of 5 years.
posted by Gordion Knott at 1:11 PM on September 21, 2008

Is this a temporary situation?

No, our apartment has a sleeping loft area. It is temporary in that eventually we will graduate and move to another city and another apartment, but not temporary inasmuch as we'll probably be here for the next 1-4 years.
posted by arnicae at 1:27 PM on September 21, 2008

Oh, and we don't need a frame because the mattress rests directly on the floor. We have a small loft- imagine being in a large tent and you'll be able to picture it.
posted by arnicae at 1:28 PM on September 21, 2008

My current futon has an innerspring of some sort. We've had it for 5 or so years and it has no craters or lumps. Predecessor cheaper futon lasted a good 10 years before giving up. Look at a thicker futon with inner spring - one that's at least 6-8 inches thick and you should be ok.
posted by leslies at 1:55 PM on September 21, 2008

I sleep on the Moonshadow shown here. I've had it for a year, have no springs or anything, and I prefer it to my ex-girlfriend's bed.
posted by adamdschneider at 2:05 PM on September 21, 2008

Is the content of your futon cotton? If so then that's your problem, and there's no solution besides getting one with better stuffing (foam, for example).
posted by furtive at 2:36 PM on September 21, 2008

Futons are OK for skinny people but, as a stockier fellow, I encountered the same problem your partner is having now.

Nthing what was said above: conventional cotton futons don't provide enough support. Maybe you might want to go for a spring/foam model.
posted by jason's_planet at 5:31 PM on September 21, 2008

I would consider the Ikea mattresses. I've been sleeping on a foam mattress from Ikea (they say it's 3 7/8" polyurethane foam) directly on the floor for about five months. It's been surprisingly comfortable and provides firm support for me. Caveat: I'm short and probably ~130 lbs; the support might not be as good for heavier people.

The model I got has a fold in it so it can work with a particular futon frame, but I only chose it because the similarly priced/similar thickness regular mattresses were out of stock. Many showroom models seemed about the same in firmness, though.
posted by needs more cowbell at 8:45 PM on September 21, 2008