This composition makes the Awara feel less supportive, but it also makes it feel much more cloud-like than a conventional hybrid mattress. Our tester called it “soft, yet sturdy.” That might be the perfect trade-off if you’re a combination side and black sleeper who wants to be cradled to sleep by your mattress.
The Best Super-Firm Choice: Airweave Advanced Mattress
Airweave has been making some of the firmest beds on the planet since it launched in 2004. Founder Motokuni Takaoka took over his uncle’s fishing line company, where he was inspired to repurpose all that fishing line into a proprietary 3D weave called “Airfiber” that gives each mattress its springiness and strong support. Though they’re less popular in the states, Airweave’s mattresses are used in luxury hotspots like the Ritz Paris and the Suiran hotel in Kyoto, and beloved by professional athletes who want extra strong support for recovery after tough workouts. Airweave was even tapped to make the infamous modular cardboard beds used by the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
Speaking of modular, the Airweave Advanced we tested and awarded with a Sleep Award this year allows you to assemble the three mattress layers (with different firmness levels on each side), plus optional pillowtop layers, however you choose. Fido wet the bed again? Toss that upper layer in the wash. Want a bed that’s lower to the ground, in tatami fashion? Strip down one or two of the layers and zip the cover back up. Our tester said that the bed wasn’t too tough to assemble and that Airweave provided detailed guidance on how to customize the bed for your sleep needs.
Support-wise, she said that even though she opted for some of the “softer” support configurations, including both pillowtop layers, the mattress is still firmer than most, with zero give. It took some getting used to, but she came around: “As someone who hates the feeling of ‘sinking into’ a bed (I particularly loathe memory foam mattresses), I love it! The edge support is impeccable, too, even after owning it for over a year.” She noted that the ability to wash the layers is unlike any other bed she’s ever tried, and the adjustability more than makes up for the price. For ultimate customization and a design that makes your spine sing, start here.
Another Great Firm Option: Brooklyn Bedding Plank Mattress True to its name, Brooklyn Bedding’s The Plank is for a back sleeper who wants the firmest bed possible short of laying on the cold, hard floor. While most internet options are either medium or medium-firm, Brooklyn Bedding offers plenty of truly firm options, and the Plank is billed as its firmest. You actually have two options, a .75” top layer or, when flipped over, a slightly less firm 1.5” top layer. It’s not for everyone, but you’ll know immediately if it’s for you.
3 Other Mattresses We Like, With Some Reservations
Stearns and Foster Luxe Hybrid King Mattress
Ever wanted to just buy a customized, bespoke bed rather than fork over a rent check for any old mattress-in-a-box? Well, the folks at Stearns and Foster have one edge on their competitors with a bed that’s tailored like a Savile Row garment: hand-sewn, hand-layered, and wrapped up in a cooling Tencel outer that’s embellished with velvet edging and embroidery. Lots of mattress brands offer some variation of a “luxe hybrid,” but this one truly deserves the title. Our tester likened its design to a bed you’d find in a fancy boutique hotel. “Whenever I slip into bed, I still marvel at how the softness mixed with the support provides the sensation of a hug,” he said. Still, for the price, our tester (who tried it in medium firm) felt like the mattress encouraged a bit too much sinkage on the sides.
