We're considering buying one, mostly for couch purposes, but the idea/option of having a place for overnight guests is appealing. Times would probably be infrequent tho. Are these comfy as a couch or are they hard? Are they awful as beds? Do you open them up and put sheets on them? They are way heavier than a regular couch, right? Any idea how long they get when opened? I'm wondering how much room one needs in front of the couch to open it.

By Pamt on Monday, January 21, 2008 - 10:41 pm:

They are standard size full or queen beds depending what size you get. They are very heavy. They are very comfy as sofas. The bed comfort depends. You want to spend more money to get a comfortable bed. We inherited a sofa bed that is like sleeping on a bag of pipes---not too comfortable. However, some have inner spring mattresses and are quite comfortable. Definitely test it out! And yes, you just open them up, put on a mattress pad and sheets, and make it up like a regular bed.

By Dawnk777 on Monday, January 21, 2008 - 10:52 pm:

Very heavy. We have a queen-sized sofa. Not very comfy as a bed, but passable for a night or so. I had a mattress pad and sheets for mine. Although, as my kids were growing up and having sleepovers, they were fine with just putting sleeping bags over the top.

By Tarable on Monday, January 21, 2008 - 10:56 pm:

I have one and the bed is horrible! We love the couch! If I were doing it again I would just buy an air mattress (nice one that is tall and at least queen size) and buy a regular couch.. the only extra bed in our house is the sleeper sofa and no one wants to sleep on it even for a night. So we bought an air mattress and just put it in front of the sofa when needed.

By Amecmom on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 06:53 am:

I have a Queen also. It has a very thick mattress that is very comfortable. I think it's an England/Corsair which is a Lazy-boy division.
It was not very expensive, but not the least expensive out there. The few nights we have needed it, it's been great!
Ame

By Vicki on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 09:58 am:

They are VERY heavy and I have yet to sleep on one that is comfortable in the bed position. If it were me, I would buy a regular couch and then buy an aero bed for when you need additional sleeping areas. They make aero beds now that are the height of a regular bed so your not sleeping on the ground. Here is a link to one at QVC:
http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail

By Yjja123 on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 10:14 am:

My vote is buy a regular couch and Aero bed. We travel with ours because we can't stand sleeping on our relatives sleeper sofa.

By Ginny~moderator on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 12:01 pm:

I have had two sleeper sofas and I agree with those who say don't, and get an Aero bed or something similar.

By Reds9298 on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 12:11 pm:

Ditto the regular couch and an aero bed. I've slept on MANY sleeper sofas that were super uncomfortable, and never had a bad night's sleep on an aero bed. When we looked into a sleeper a few years back, to get an even remotely comfortable bed meant spending a ton on the couch, just to get the bed. We went with an aero instead and dumped the sleeper sofa idea. Good luck deciding!

By Enchens on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 12:23 am:

Here's another option. For about the same price, you could get a futon, a nice one, with a nice mattress. That's what we went with and I have to say the mattress on it is almost as nice as our bed! I can send you the online address to the place where we got ours so you could see what I'm talking about if you'd like. Just a thought.
e n c h e n s @ y a h o o . c o m

By Kaye on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 07:54 am:

We actually love our futon as a bed. However, it isn't a great place to hang out on as a couch. We use it in the game room, but I wouldn't love it if were my only couch.

By Karen~admin on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 09:41 am:

Another ditto for the regular sofa and an aerobed. I've owned a sofa sleeper in the past, and it was not comfortable at all, cost more and was VERY heavy. Futons aren't necessarily a bad idea, but I agree with Kaye, I wouldn't have one as my *main* sofa/couch, even though you can choose a futon with a high quality *mattress*. It's still not nearly as comfortable as a regular sofa.