Futon mattress advice

August 24, 2004 5:17 PM

I am in the market for a new, fairly high-end futon mattress for my platform bed. I'm not particularly happy that the last one I bought lost its firm-yet-comfortable futon feel (and compressed) in about five years. Having searched the web and found no guidance, I was hoping the Mefi community might have some wisdom on the subject?
posted by ParisParamus to shopping (12 comments total)

my girlfriend bought one a few years back that had actual coil-springs in it... queen-size, nyc, $300-ish? in any case, it has survived amazingly well.

try braving the futon stores in the village, or wherever you are, it probably won't make too much difference (aren't you s'posed to be all kinds of rich and high'n'mighty and stuff?!)
posted by dorian at 7:46 PM on August 24, 2004

thanks. I suppose if a $350 futon lasts 5 years, it's not much worse than a $700 lasting 10, but I was hoping for a brand and model. YES, this is an absurd thing to be discussing, but for me, this week, it's important!
posted by ParisParamus at 8:01 PM on August 24, 2004

I have never, ever, ever in my life seen a futon that remained comfortable beyond five years. In fact, in my experience few mattresses of any kind remain comfortable for so long.

Fortunately, futons are relatively cheap. A few hundred bucks will get you something that may, if you're lucky, survive yet another five years of nightly use.
posted by majick at 8:01 PM on August 24, 2004

ok, just looked at the tag, this one is a simmons beautyrest (who knew they made futons?!) and it has definitely been 3 or 4 years since it was bought. it's more sat-on than slept-on, but still it is in remarkable good shape for its age.

(but since it does have coils inside it, there are specific rules as to how it may be folded for couchant-type purposes...)

also: if it's a platform bed, is there any reason it has to be a futon mattress?
posted by dorian at 8:12 PM on August 24, 2004

Dorian: good question! It part psychological, part reél ("real" in pretentious psycho-French). I grew up with, I believe, a foam rubber mattress, and have never felt comfortable with a traditional mattress; switched over to a futon after college. Traditional mattresses: don't like the feel, the way the whole mattress sort of moves if you touch one part; the thickness, they artificial feel to it (and yet I have such fond memories of various womens' traditional mattresses!). Futons feel more peaceful, they absorb more sound....Not sure I could deal with a "futon" with springs in it...

Hope that was entertaining, a bit.
posted by ParisParamus at 9:10 PM on August 24, 2004

basically you would not know there are springs inside this particular futon unless you happened to be the sucka' that overpaid for it -- it is super-firm and actually quite nice to sleep upon (esp. when I have had too much to drink / am in the doghouse etc....)

(in fact the actual bed that we sleep on is a wooden platform and the insanely-firm-mattress only cost 1/2 what this futon mattress did...!)

I would say just go to a futon shop (with the notion in mind that of course they will try to rip you off) and see what feels good... longevity will be in proportion to price but you may be better off just buying what you had in past and simply replace it every 5 years....
posted by dorian at 9:28 PM on August 24, 2004

Paris, have you tried one of those temperpedic things? The giant slabs of memory foam ones. Friends with platform beds all rave about them, though some complain they're kind of warm, since you sink in a bit and are surrounded by the warm foam.
posted by mathowie at 10:22 PM on August 24, 2004

I did, during my brief marriage....I don't find them terribly comfortable, or romantic, or anything other than immobilizing and expensive.
posted by ParisParamus at 10:36 PM on August 24, 2004

PS: FutonFilter (how did I miss that one?)!
posted by ParisParamus at 5:20 AM on August 25, 2004

Here's a store in New York that sells the coil spring futon mattress. The queen size is priced at $269, so that jives with what dorian was saying.
posted by bachelor#3 at 8:22 AM on August 25, 2004

Thanks, although Gold Bond is the brand of the futon I'm complaining about (sort of). Also, I don't want to sleep on metal!
posted by ParisParamus at 8:40 AM on August 25, 2004

On the other hand, I'm going to that store today, so thanks!
posted by ParisParamus at 8:49 AM on August 25, 2004