# Futon and heavy people **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 18, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futon-and-heavy-people/536547 "2010-04-18T18:31:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![donsmith74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@donsmith74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donsmith74)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futon-and-heavy-people/536547/1 "2010-04-18T18:31:27Z")
Hi there: I will admit my wife and I are not the lightest people…about 500 lbs for both of us. Well we realize we needed a futon. Any idea what type of futon would be best to get for us. Something we won’t damage? Thanks, Don ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futon-and-heavy-people/536547/2 "2010-04-18T18:34:47Z")
I don’t think 500 pounds will damage a metal framed futon. My friends had them in college and there was never any problem with 4 college kids sitting on them. If you’re really worried they do make some that essentially sit right on the floor, they basically look like a thin mattress on the ground, but they fold up. It should be noted that the last time I saw one of these was when I was about 8 years old so I might not be remembering it correctly. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futon-and-heavy-people/536547/3 "2010-04-18T19:00:26Z")
nothing beats a futon on the floor for support. if you want some height then the wood frames i’ve seen (few hundred $) are better than metal i’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futon-and-heavy-people/536547/4 "2010-04-18T19:21:05Z")
I’m no lightweight, but based on the various futons I’ve seen I don’t think a regular futon is going to work all that well with 500 lbs on it. If you do find some extra heavy duty futon it’s likely to be very expensive. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futon-and-heavy-people/536547/5 "2010-04-18T19:37:30Z")
futon is a mattress traditionally (in Japan) used on the floor. you can get with various pounds of batting which makes them thicker/thinner. heavy people may like thicker. variations in USA are a few like a foam core inside of batting (makes softer when used on floor) or springs inside and who knows what. frames to give height or make into a convertible couch/bed are popular. ---
**Author:** ![Soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futon-and-heavy-people/536547/6 "2010-04-18T19:40:16Z")
Go wooden frame, not metal. I had a heavier friend in college who owned a very nice metal-framed futon. Over time, the frame very gradually sagged downward in the middle until it had a little valley in it. It was impossible to repair without essentially destroying the whole thing. Wooden framed ones, on the other hand, can more easily be reinforced and repaired. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futon-and-heavy-people/536547/7 "2010-04-18T19:47:33Z")
Definitely go for a wood frame, with no bendable aluminum parts hidden inside. ---
**Author:** ![donsmith74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@donsmith74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donsmith74)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futon-and-heavy-people/536547/8 "2010-04-23T16:14:03Z")
Thank you all to everyone who responded! ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futon-and-heavy-people/536547/9 "2010-04-23T16:20:44Z")
Am I the only person that read this as “Fusion and heavy people”? Yes, yes I am, aren’t I. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futon-and-heavy-people/536547/10 "2010-04-24T01:09:35Z")
> [@Soul](#): > > Go wooden frame, not metal. I had a heavier friend in college who owned a very nice metal-framed futon. Over time, the frame very gradually sagged downward in the middle until it had a little valley in it. It was impossible to repair without essentially destroying the whole thing. Yep. My dad weighed about 250 when he took to sleeping on a metal framed futon for a couple of years, and it too began to sag.