futons

[Ksandra]

So my boyfriend and I moved back in with the rents for a bit since we've been completely broke lately. And because his mom is psycho-crazy clean we're like sandwiched up in the bedroom with most of our shit. To the point, they have a floor mattress to sleep on, but it's kinda impractical since it takes up so much space. I am kinda trying to convince the bf to get a futon so at least I can set it up as a couch during the day so we're not sitting on the floor, then take it out at night. Also, because in all the time we lived in an apartment we always had to borrow a couch, so at least when we move out again we'll have a semi-couch to take with us.

He is (and myself a little) skeptical because as we all know over time futon mattresses get really hard. My parents used to have one though and it was actually really comfortable when we first got it. But I've forgotten how long it took before it got rock-hard.

Anyways, so my question is, does anyone have a good idea how long the mattress lasts? If I can tell my bf it'll be comfy for X months/years then he might be more inclined to get one. Also does anyone have any tricks about preventing it from getting hard too fast. Know of any good brands to use? Any advice would be nice.

[Saphirea]

I still have the Futon that I was gifted in high school
I no longer sleep on it since the fiance and I bought a whole new bedroom set but, her brothers were down this Thanksgiving and they said it's still fine and I was still sleeping on it till we did the house swap like three weeks ago.

Mind you, I'm also 29 so it's getting up there in age.

[Vandalhart]

Worse comes to worst you could either:
A. Get a new mattress later
B. Re-stuff your mattress later

My wife and I had a futon in our apartment, we were happy to see it go by the time we moved into our house.

Our futon though was basically a metal frame. It would have been better if it was made of something else.

[zoobernut]

I had a nice wood frame futon with a thick pad on it that I used as my only bed all through high school and probably for another 5 or 6 years after that.

[Osede]

It just depends on which futon matress you bought. My last futon matress is very soft, since it is alittle thinner compare to the other futon matress.

[Ksandra]

thanks guys, going to point this out to the bf when he gets home if he says no XD

[Cephius]

I've had a futon for about 3 years, slept on it daily through college and I still use it now, and its fine. I still take naps on it sometimes, and it's as comfortable as my bed is. I just went to a local futon store in Connecticut, hasn't failed me yet.

[Saphirea]

Wood frame and a mattress that's kinda pliable filled with feathers
It's still amazing to this day.

Cheap metal frame = cheap dead futon.

[Dimmauk]

I used t have a Futon, and I used that foamy egg crate stuff to cushion the mattress and the boards.

[zoobernut]

Yeah make sure you get a fairly thick futon pad and a wood frame and you should be golden. There are cheap crappy futons and nice comfortable ones that last.

[Vandalhart]

Wood frame and a mattress that's kinda pliable filled with feathers
It's still amazing to this day.

Cheap metal frame = cheap dead futon.

Worst part is it cost us near $500 when we got it I believe.
Looking back it was totally not worth it.. could have gotten a nice
2nd hand couch or something instead. Oh well.

[ambutter]

Two words: Innerspring mattress.

Pretty self-explanatory, but there are springs inside the mattress, in addition to whatever other cushioning they put in there. I slept on an innerspring mattress every night for a few years back in the day, and at no point did the mattress become uncomfortable. A nice 10" innerspring is as comfortable as any other traditional mattress you'll sleep on, in my experience.

[Talus]

As long as the futon doesn't have a metal frame, and has a good cushion, you should be fine. If it IS a metal frame, you'll end up giving it an endearing nickname like "the Violator."

[archibaldcrane]

As long as the futon doesn't have a metal frame, and has a good cushion, you should be fine. If it IS a metal frame, you'll end up giving it an endearing nickname like "the Violator."

Also your boyfriend's mother will hear every single penetrating thrust from the loud "eek...EEK!" of the poorly crafted metal interlocking parts.

I sleep on a futon and can fuck like a champ with nary a peep out of that thing. Wood rules.

[Ksandra]

see good thing I posted this though cause I didn't know the difference, my parents had gotten a metal frame so I guess that's why it got so hard. So now I have to find a decent price wooden one eh? hmmm, gonna browse teh internetz for one before the kids show up at work lol

[Ksandra]

I think I'm still gonna have to get a metal futon. To get a wood frame + spring mattress is about 600-700$ which I can't afford. I can get a metal frame though for like 100$ then a spring mattress for 160$ making it much cheaper. Hopefully the spring mattress will balance out the metal frame.
I'll have to go to target tonight to see what they have instock, so hopefully I won't have to buy it online.

[Kohan]

No, you can buy a wooden frame for a lot cheaper than that. I have one. It came with all the screws and needed to be assembled by me, but it honestly wasn't too difficult to do that. It's built by an independent manufacturer who does practically nothing but this. Using a bar of soap to rub the screws against beforehand made the endeavor significantly easier, too.

I was in the market for futons for a really long time and did plenty of research on what makes a good sleeping bed, a good guest bed, etc. I will tell you more when I get home, I've been postponing going out and I need to beat rush hour. But I'll provide links and stuff.

[archibaldcrane]

[asshole]If you put as much effort into getting a decent job as you are into figuring out what type of futon to get, you wouldn't have to live at your boyfriend's parents house because you're broke[/asshole]

[Fhloston]

[asshole]If you put as much effort into getting a decent job as you are into figuring out what type of futon to get, you wouldn't have to live at your boyfriend's parents house because you're broke[/asshole]

Nice.

[Kohan]

All right, so here's some information on futon mattresses.

1. If you want to buy one because you'd like to fold it up and save space, and you're going to use it as your primary bed, it's not going to be very comfortable. Folding futon mattresses (which are what you seem to be after) are not designed for full-time, normal use. If you are willing to accept that, bi-fold mattresses are the best when it comes to comfort and compactness. Otherwise, buy a futon mattress that doesn't fold and just push it up against a wall when you need it out of your way.

2. It isn't merely thickness that matters -- density and weight are extremely important, especially if you're going to be using this as a normal sleeping bed. If you buy something fluffy, it's going to compress anyway over time and become uncomfortable. Cotton mattresses with a foam core (preferably a layered foam core) are probably your best bet, if you want a mattress that's relatively dense, weighty, not too hard, and can be folded. Inner-spring futon mattresses can indeed be the best if you're using them frequently, but they're either impossible to fold or are destined to bend/break if you do buy a folding version. Polyester is okay too, but whatever you do, don't get a solid foam bed (or a bed made mostly of foam). Those are the ones which compress, develop pits, get incredibly uncomfortable, and so on.

3. The general rules of mattress maintenance do still apply. Flip it every now and then, turn it around occasionally, and have you and your significant other swap which sides of the bed you sleep on (this will also be good for your hips, shoulders and spines if you sleep on your side). This will lengthen its life and how comfortable it is for you.

Now, here is the person I bought my frame from:

eBay Store - Room Doctor Furniture Company: Eco-friendly Solid Wood Furnishings, We have Platform Beds, Futon Frames

And here's an inexpensive queen frame:

Queen Size Super EZ Futon Frame: Pine Wood Sofa Bed NEW - eBay (item 310106386515 end time Dec-11-08 18:57:22 PST)

I don't use the term "cheap" here because as mentioned, I have one of these, and their quotes on how much weight it can withstand are true. I've had several friends sitting on it at once, bouncing around and generally being energetic and chaotic. Not a single plank has broken or splintered under normal use or even abuse.