Best Mattresses For Heavy People

Best Mattresses For Heavy People 2022: Updated Top 4

There are a ton of mattresses available online these days, and most of them make big promises about their comfort and durability. The best mattresses for heavy people are ones that are designed with you in mind, not to appeal to the masses. You need a mattress that correctly supports your body and that you can feel assured is going to stand the test of time, not turn into a saggy mess after one year.

In this “Best Mattresses For Heavy People” overview, I’ve got all the info you need to choose the right mattress for the years to come. Together we will cover:

• An overview of the top 4 best mattresses for heavy people
• Detailed examination of each mattress
• My personal favorites from the list (video)
• Best mattress for heavy people: buyer’s guide

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Best Mattresses For Heavy People: Here’s The Top 4

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Detailed Breakdown Of The Best Mattresses For Heavy People

1. Big Fig Hybrid Mattress – Top Choice And Specifically Designed For Heavy People

How could I do a round up of best mattresses for heavy people without including the Big Fig? The name, everything about this mattress, is all about you. It’s an easy pick for my top recommendation.

The Big Fig has been designed specifically to avoid problems heavier people often find with mattresses, such as sagging, loss of edge support, and lack of durability. It is described as feeling soft and bouncy but also firm and supportive. The total mattress height is 13 inches, well above the minimum 10 inches I recommend you look for.

Big Fig was launched in 2016, after the founder and her father, whose family have been in the mattress industry for 90+ years, saw a gap in the market of mattresses catering to the specific requirements heavier people.

• Sizes available: Twin, Twin XL, Full, Queen, King, California King
• Feel: Rated 7-8 out of 10 on the mattress firmness scale
• Composition: Underneath the quilted gel technology and hand tufted cover, you will find:
  • One layer of gel infused perforated latex foam
  • Three layers of high density poly foam
  • A strong support core of individually wrapped coils encased in high density foam edging
• Does it have a weight limit? 1100lb total (or 550lb per person)
• Warranty: 20 years
• Trial period: 120 nights
• Special features: matching foundation (rated to support 2000lb) included in price
• Where to buy: www.bigfigmattress.com

Comments from real users who love their Big Fig

“I’m 350lb, have been using this mattress for 7 months so far, and I love it.”

“I have not had any back pain in the year I have had my mattress.”

“This mattress is very supportive. It doesn’t sleep hot and there is no motion transfer.”

“My husband and I have completely different body types, so we were pleasantly surprised to find the Big Fig works well for both of us.”

My final opinion on the Big Fig Hybrid Mattress

I read through the wording of the 20 year warranty and was pleased to see that sagging over one inch is considered a defect. A lot of other mattresses have a threshold of 1.5 inches, which I feel is quite a lot. This tells me that Big Fig are ready to stand behind their product and back up their design claims. They also offer free replacement for the entire 20 years, this is not a limited warranty like others. I think Big Fig have a great product with great service to back it up, I’d definitely recommend it to you if you are a heavier person looking for a medium-firm hybrid mattress.

It’s great to see a hybrid mattress with THREE layers of transition foam between the latex and the support core, as this will really help you to feel supported on this mattress.

The only complaint people seem to have about this mattress is some find it a little too firm, but firmness is a must for heavier people, and the mattress will soften with time.

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2. Avocado Green Hybrid Mattress – My Other Favorite

Avocado was founded in 2015, with the aim of bringing a mattress made only of natural and organic materials to the booming mattress market. As well as creating their successful “green” mattress, Avocado is also environmentally conscious, with carbon neutral goals for their shipping and manufacturing. They also donate 1% of their profits towards helping protect and improve the environment.

The Avocado Green mattress is a 11 inch high hybrid which consists of latex comfort layers and pocket spring support. It’s also got the added bonus of being endorsed by the American Chiropractic Association.

• Sizes available: Twin, Twin XL, Full, Queen, King, California King
• Feel: described by Avocado as “gentle firm”, and is rated 7 on the mattress firmness scale.
• Composition: Underneath the hand tufted organic cotton and wool cover, you will find:
  • Three inches of organic natural Dunlop latex split into two comfort layers (read more about Dunlop latex here)
  • Eight inches of zoned springs (the springs are firmer through the middle of the mattress to support your hips)
• Does it have a weight limit? 700lb total, or 350lb per person
• Warranty: 25 years
• Trial period: 100 nights
• Special features: you can opt for an extra latex pillow top layer (2 inches high) on your mattress for a more plush feel (this will reduce the firm feel of the mattress down to about 6, but does not compromise the support)
• Where to buy: www.avocadogreenmattress.com

Comments from real users who love their Avocado Green:

“We are heavier people and find the Avocado mattress gives us great support to our backs, hips, and shoulders.”

“Solid in design and super comfortable.”

“A high quality eco option that is firm but comfortable.”

“We researched and tested mattresses for over a year before buying our Avocado, and we are very happy with our purchase: we are going to buy them for our kids beds too.”

My final opinion on the Avocado Green Mattress

Like the Big Fig above, I was pleased to see the warranty covering indentations greater than 1 inch, not 1.5 inches like lots of competitors.

The Avocado mattress is of very high quality and made of excellent materials. I think it is a great choice for heavier people given the quality of the materials, the support, and the warranty.

I would generally recommend a thicker mattress is better for heavier people, so I would suggest you consider adding the pillow top for an extra two inches of height. This is also a fantastic idea if you share a bed with someone who wants a mattress with a bit of a softer feel: the pillow top caters to that while providing the support you need as a heavier person. It’s just a shame that option costs more. However, from my research, it seems people who have elected for the pillow top really love it.

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4. Helix Plus – Best Choice For Couples

Helix Sleep was formed in 2015 by three friends from college, who had met while completing their MBA. They found themselves together in New York and decided to form a mattress company, thus Helix was born. Helix has a showroom in Manhattan if you’re local and want to try before you buy.

The Helix Plus mattress is one of their specialty mattresses, and is designed exclusively for heavier people. You can see in the short video below a rundown of the mattress from Jerry, one of the Helix founders.  It is a medium feeling 12 inch high mattress, with a bouncy feeling top comfort layer backed up with strong transitional foam layers and a good coil support system.

This mattress is a step up from the standard Helix models, featuring an extra layer of their highest durability comfort foam, breathable cover and 30% more coils.

• Sizes available: Twin, Twin XL, Full, Queen, King, California King
• Feel: Medium firm, or 7-8 out of 10 on the mattress firmness scale
• Composition: Underneath the cover which designed to pull heat away from you as you sleep, there are three foam layers (total of 4 inches height) and coils:
  • The top foam layer is “HDF” (Helix Dynamic Foam). This foam has been designed to feel springy and plush.
  • The middle foam layer is a memory foam, and is designed to be the layer that relieves your pressure points.
  • The third and final foam layer is a high density poly foam, which acts as a transitional layer between the two comfort layers above it and the spring support system below it.
  • The coils are 8 inches
• Does it have a weight limit? 1000lb total weight, or 500lb per person
• Warranty: 10 years
• Trial period: 100 nights
• Special features: Firmer springs at the edge of the mattress for superior edge support
• Where to buy: www.helixsleep.com

Watch a short video explanation of the Helix mattress here (note, this mattress used to be called “Nightfall” but has been renamed “Plus”

Comments from real users who love their Helix

“Buying this mattress has been life changing. It has the right amount of plushness for me and enough firmness for my husband.”

“Superb quality with extra durability for heavy sleepers. When I go to sleep the sides don’t cave in like my previous mattress did.”

“We are large people, and knowing this mattress is made to support us for a long time is comforting.”

“Firm enough to provide support without feeling uncomfortable.”

My final opinion on the Helix Plus Mattress

Helix have made sure they have used high density, top quality foams in this mattress, so you should find this mattress to be very durable. This mattress provides great support for back, side, and stomach sleepers so it is a good all round option. I struggled hard to come up with anything bad to say about this mattress (I’m always looking for the bad stuff, it helps paint the whole picture).

If I have to be picky, the 10 year warranty, which is standard for the industry, seems kind of short compared to some of the other mattresses I’ve reviewed here. That said though, Helix are another company coming through with the 1 inch indentation limit for defects, rather than 1.5.

Customers who were unhappy with their purchase of this mattress all said it was either too soft or too firm, which all mattresses get, and this is why the sleep trial is so important. It is reported to feel softer than the Big Fig which was discussed above, so if you are after a supportive but slightly softer feeling hybrid mattress specifically for heavier people the Helix is a great choice.

I think the combination of construction for heavy people, support for all sleepers, the slightly softer feeling, some bounce and good durability makes this the pick of the bunch for couples.

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My Personal Recommendations Revealed and Explained

I think all the mattresses I’ve covered here are excellent. They all have slightly different things about them that may appeal to you. If you would like to know which mattress I would recommend to a friend if they asked me what my pick of this bunch was, watch this short video to find out.

Buyer’s Guide: How To Choose The Best Mattresses For Heavy People

Your first task is to understand the qualities a mattress should have to deserve your $$$. Consider these points, and you’ll be on the right path to making an informed choice of what mattress will be your personal best mattress. I’ve broken this into two sections:

1. About the mattress
2. About you

About the mattress

Mattress type: you’ll find three types of mattress in this review:

1. Hybrid (comfort layer of latex and/or foam, support layer of coils)
2. All latex
3. Foam (comfort layer/s of memory foam, support layer of higher density foam)

The majority of the mattresses we are going to look at are hybrids. That is because in general, a hybrid is the best mattress type out of the three for heavier people. Why? Because the coils used in the support layer tend to provide the strongest possible support for your weight (up to 26% stronger according to some reports), and they also tend to have better edge support. Edge support is better in a hybrid because the coils are encased in a layer of foam, which runs around the edge of the mattress. Latex and memory foam mattresses do not have this and tend to have weaker edges.

So a hybrid is generally the best choice for heavier people, but that does not mean it is the only choice. Memory foam and latex are very specific feeling mattresses to lie on (memory foam has the “hug” and latex has the “bounce”) which some people just love, so it’s important to show you suitable options from those mattress types too. I’ve made sure to choose strong mattresses from reputable companies that won’t let you down.

Mattress firmness: Heavier sleepers usually report that if they sleep on a soft rated mattress, they sink right through the comfort layers and feel like they are lying on the hard base or coils. Uncomfortable! You will need a mattress on the firmer side, or at least 6.5-7/10 on the firmness scale (where 1/10 could be described as so soft there is virtually zero support and 10/10 is as hard as a piece of wood or the floor), to comfortably support your weight.

You will probably find that a medium-firm or firm mattress is most comfortable, and provides the best relief for your pressure points. The position you sleep in also influences what firmness level is most suitable for you, I’ve covered this topic below in the “about you” part of this buyer’s guide.

This review covers mattresses in the range of medium firm to very firm.

Mattress height: Heavier bodies compress mattresses more. Therefore, a mattress thicker than the standard 8-10 inches is probably going to serve you best.

That said, if a mattress is quite firm and made from quality materials, you can get away with a thinner one. Most of the mattresses in this review are more than 10 inches thick, but there are a couple of notable exceptions (Pure Green latex and Snuggle-Pedic memory foam).

Mattress quality: Quality and durability are very important when choosing your new mattress. You’ll be putting a lot of pressure through your mattress, so you need to be sure that any foams used in its making are dense enough to last, and any coils are strong enough to not lose their spring.

Another thing to look out for, which is not talked about very much, is hand tufting in the mattress cover. The purpose of the tufting is to hold the mattress components securely in place, and to help prevent the formation of lumps and bumps over time. This makes a high quality addition to ANY mattress, but is definitely an extra bonus when looking at the best mattresses for heavier people. Three mattresses in this review DreamCloud, Big Fig, and Avocado have hand tufting in their covers.

Mattress trial period: To really get a good feeling of whether a mattress is right for you or not, I believe you need to test it out for at least a month. This is especially true if you are buying your first memory foam or latex mattress, as they have a unique feeling that can take some getting used to. I recently bought a memory foam mattress myself, and there certainly was an adjustment period.

Happily, online mattress companies are very aware that purchasing a mattress without even having had the chance to lie on it in a store is a massive risk for people. The shortest sleep trials in this review give you 100 nights to try out the mattress. That’s more than three times as long as you’ll need to get a feel for whether the mattress is a good fit for you or not.

Mattress warranty: What does it cover?

Apart from the length of time the warranty covers you for, I think one consideration is very important. That is: at what depth of body impression/indentation does the company consider the mattress faulty? This is important because mattresses will soften with time, and we will start to leave impressions in them eventually. But how deep, and over how long is the key. Bigger body mass will put more pressure through the mattress, so knowing what the company will cover should your mattress start to sag is important.

Many cheaper mattresses will only consider an indentation of 1.5 inches or more to be defective. If you think about it, that is pretty deep. I’d imagine you might feel uncomfortable on a mattress before then. Only one mattress in this review has this warranty level (it’s still a great mattress, but this needs to be pointed out to you). 80% of the mattresses in this review have a more acceptable cut off of 1 inch. One has a threshold of 3/4 of an inch, which is the best I’ve seen for ANY mattresses. Anywhere.

I’ve looked up the warranty info for all the mattresses and included this particular information in each write up.

Mattress weight limit: Some mattresses have weight limits. There are some really flimsy mattresses out there, and some really strong ones. I’ve made sure to include mattresses that are more than up to the task of supporting your weight well, because the weight limit is a number you really need to know.

The lowest weight limit in this review is 350lb per person, and the company tells me that’s just a guide and heavier should be fine too. Would you believe I’ve seen articles about the best mattresses for heavy people where they recommended a mattress that was only suitable for a person with a BMI below 30? You won’t find any such unhelpful mattresses in this review.

About you

What position do you sleep in? I have already said above that heavier people will need a firmer mattress to ensure their body weight has enough support from the mattress across the night. But how firm? Apart from personal preference, the way you sleep will impact what you need too.

Most people sleep on their side or back, with less sleeping on their stomachs. If you are a side sleeper, you will need a less firm mattress than a stomach sleeper. That is because side sleepers can find their shoulders and arms get uncomfortable if a mattress is TOO firm. On the other hand, as stomach sleepers need maximum support around their hip and middle section to keep their backs in line, a firm mattress is the way to go.

• if you are a back sleeper over 230 lb, I believe you should consider a mattress that is at least rated medium firm
• if you are a side sleeper over 230 lb, I believe you should consider a mattress that is at least rated medium (side sleepers tend to need the softest mattress out of all the sleeping positions)
• if you are a stomach sleeper over 230lb I believe you will need a mattress that is at least rated firm
• if you sleep in a combination of any of the above positions, a medium-firm rated mattress is probably going to feel the most comfortable

Some mattresses in this review will be suitable for all sleeping positions, some are suitable for a few.

Do you sleep “hot”? It is important to ask this question because a bigger body mass tends to generate a bigger amount of heat. If you get too hot during the night, you’re not going to sleep well.

If you get hot during the night and want a mattress that is great at regulating your temperature and transferring heat away, you should go for a latex mattress or a hybrid mattress. Latex is naturally great at dissipating heat, and air will flow around the coils of a hybrid. Memory foam tends to perform the worst at temperature regulation, though modern memory foam mattresses have innovations such as cooling gels and air channels to help combat this issue.

Do you share a bed with anyone? This is an important consideration, as your bed partner may have different preferences for mattress feel, or they may be a totally different body type or sleep in a different position. Can you overcome this? Definitely! I think one of the mattresses included in this review is particularly well suited to couples, read on to find out which one.

Keep in mind that latex is the bounciest mattress material, which might sound like it’s good for “fun”, it’s the worst performing for motion isolation. Memory foam is the opposite. Hybrids tend to strike a happy medium of good motion isolation and some bounce.

What sort of frame are you planning on putting your new mattress on? If you’re thinking about putting your mattress on an old boxspring, be prepared for discomfort and sagging. The frame you put your mattress on is really important: if the mattress is not well supported itself, it can’t support you.

For optimum mattress support, the general recommendation is that you use a metal frame with a reinforced center, or a wooden slat frame (with the slats as close together as possible).