6 Best Extra Firm Mattresses – Perfect Choice for a Backache

WinkBed, which is based out of New York, is one of the most popular online mattress companies around. Their extra firm mattress does a great job of combining motion isolation, pressure relief, and temperature control.

This mattress is a great choice for side and back sleepers, as it provides excellent spinal support. Stomach sleepers will also love this mattress, but depending on the individual, some may find it lacks an extra layer of cushioning that stomach sleepers often prefer. We would say that this mattress earns an 8 out of 10 on the firmness scale (with ten being close to the firmness of the ground).

Why are we impressed?
• We loved the temperature control offered by the Tencel covering. Tencel, for those who don't know, is a fabric made from eucalyptus. When used as a mattress cover, it helps to wick away heat from sleepers, allowing you to get a great night of cool sleep. We also loved the excellent edge support offered by the WinkBed Plus and didn’t feel any sagging near the edges. Another great aspect was the pressure relief, which is achieved in the Plus model by using a layer of polyfoam with a layer of latex. Lastly, we love the 120 risk-free trial option!

What negatives must you be aware of?
• This mattress was nearly perfect, but we did find it to be a bit less ideal for stomach sleepers than side and back sleepers. It was still an excellent choice if you prefer sleeping on your tummy, but we did notice a difference between the three. Also— as with most synthetic foam mattresses that are shipped in compression packaging— there was a slight smell to deal with after unboxing and setting up the mattress. The odor dissipates quickly (give or take 30 hours), but if you're sensitive to smells, you should bear that in mind.

The Helix Dawn Luxe mattress— which was our Premium Pick— is a truly wonderful mattress that actually feels as though it were created just for you. The Helix Luxe mattress comes in 6 firmness options (of which Dawn is the firmest), features a Tencel covering, pressure-relieving gel memory foam, and much more. This is both an excellent extra firm memory foam mattress and one of the best custom extra firm mattresses.

This mattress is great if you’re a back or stomach sleeper. The hybrid mattress featured a combination of high-density memory foam and pocketed coils that increase the firmness while making sure a sleeper’s spine stays in proper alignment— regardless of sleeping position. This is also a great choice if you tend to run hot while you sleep, as the Tencel cover helps wick away your body heat.

Why did it make our list?
• We were thrilled with the firmness of this mattress and simply couldn't get enough of the gel memory foam topper. The topper performed excellently at relieving spinal pressure, and we never once woke up with an achy back. Despite the fact that this extra firm mattress offers great support, it also somehow managed to make us feel as though we were gently cradled in a cloud. All in all, it was a true winner. As an added bonus, this mattress comes in six different sizes.

What is not ideal about it?
• As mentioned previously, vacuum-sealed mattresses all have a slight chemical odor when you unbox them, and the Helix Dawn Luxe was no exception. This odor was a bit stronger than most (which was why it lost some points), but the smell disappeared after about 48 hours after we let it sit in a well-ventilated area. Additionally, the mattress was heavy, so don’t attempt to unbox it alone, please!

The Zinus Pressure Relief Extra Firm iCoil® Hybrid Mattress features 936 wrapped spring coils that were scientifically designed to cradle your body and offer the best support for your spine. This was one of the firmer mattresses on our list and is the right choice if you want your mattress to be as firm as possible. Additionally, we found this to be one of the best extra firm mattresses for a big person.

This mattress would make a great purchase for individuals who prefer sleeping on their backs or stomachs or even those who prefer switching it up in the night. If you fall into the last category, you’ll especially love how easy it is to move around and switch sleeping positions with the iCoil® Hybrid Mattress.

Why are we impressed?
• This is an excellent choice for couples looking for an extra firm mattress, as the motion isolating design allows for movement without disturbing someone sleeping beside you. We also loved how cool the mattress stayed during the night, which we attributed to the coil design that allows for increased airflow through the mattress (when compared to a solid memory foam mattress option). We concluded that if you prefer sleeping on your stomach or back and you weigh more than 130 pounds, this is a great option for you. The firmness level also makes it one of the best extra firm mattresses for back pain on this list.

What negatives must you be aware of?
• One of the things that we weren’t quite as keen on was the fact that this particular mattress lacks the extra cushiony topper that we have come to expect from our mattress. To that effect, it is still a great choice if you prefer stomach or back sleeping, but if you ever sleep on your side, you might find the lack of cushioning to cause some pressure or discomfort on your joints.

The Amerisleep AS1 is on the thinner side (10 inches tall) but still manages to offer exceptional support and was one of the best extra firm mattresses we tested. Indeed, it was the winner of the best memory foam extra firm mattress, and its plant-based memory foam does a great job of providing cushion without allowing the sleeper to sink too deeply into the mattress.

This mattress is great if you sleep on your stomach or back and tend to run hot while you sleep. It’s also the best choice for you if you’re specifically looking for a mattress that falls on the shorter side. This mattress was designed to be resistant to dust mites and mold, making it a wonderful hypoallergenic option.

Why did it make our list?
• We loved the overall firmness of the Amerisleep AS1 mattress and found that the memory allowed it has less give than some of the other options we looked at. The support offered by the mattress was top-notch, especially considering it's made entirely of memory foam. We never felt as though our spines were out of alignment while sleeping on this mattress, and we were simply thrilled by the mattress' innate resistance to dust mites and mold. Lastly, this is one of the best options for strong edge support in an extra firm mattress.

What is not ideal about it?
• Again, if you prefer sleeping on your side, you might not be as happy with this mattress as with another. It offers such a firm level of support that side sleepers would likely find it to be uncomfortable on their joints— particularly their hips and shoulders. This is also due to the fact that the Amerisleep AS1 has a relatively thin comfort top layer and doesn't offer much pressure relief for side sleepers.

This was our winner for the best extra firm king-size mattress, largely thanks to the super cool dual-firmness feature that basically makes it feel like you own two different mattresses in one! The price point for the king is also excellent for an all-foam mattress and maybe a particularly attractive feature for some buyers.

This is great if you love to switch up the firmness every now and then or if you sleep with a partner who has a slightly different firmness preference than you do. It’s also an excellent choice if you tend to prefer sleeping on your stomach. Both the firm and extra firm sides of the Brooklyn Bedding Plank mattress are great for stomach sleepers, as they both tend to prevent the midsection from sinking too low, which can lead to improper spinal alignment. This is also a great option for back sleepers, but some may find the extra firm side to be firmer than they prefer.

What are its best features?
• We loved how easy it was to move around on this mattress and switch sleeping positions. We never felt as though we were trapped in the mattress or struggling to roll over. There was minimal contouring which helps make movement easier. We also found the edge support for this model to be phenomenal and experienced no sagging at all when we sat at the edge of the mattress or rolled near to the edge during our testing. Edge support is a great factor to consider if you tend to “roam” during your sleep, as good edge support won’t cause you to feel as though you’re about to fall off the bed.

What could be improved?
• All-foam mattresses tend to come with a bit of a strong smell when you first unbox them, and this one definitely had that “new mattress smell.” It only took a day or so for the odors to disappear, though, so this wasn’t a huge issue by any means. Additionally, this mattress wasn’t the best for offering pressure relief to sleepers, as it didn’t provide a lot of contouring to the body during sleep. For this reason, pressure points tend to feel a bit strained in certain positions when using this mattress.

This bed truly has all the bells and whistles one could ask for when shopping for an extra firm queen mattress (although this mattress also comes in twin, twin XL, full, king, and California king). The Spartan is the most expensive model offered by Brooklyn Bedding and comes in three firmness options.

This is one of the few mattresses on this list that would be a good option for side sleepers, and that’s largely due to the cushiony foam that manages to offer great support and firmness while simultaneously cushioning the joints and providing relief for pressure points. Back and stomach sleepers will also love this mattress. Additionally, this is a particularly great mattress choice for athletes or people who live a very active lifestyle (the fancy technology throughout the mattress really does wonders in aiding rest and recovery). It’s also a good choice for couples looking to invest in a mattress for the long term.

Why is it special?
• We loved the great features offered by the Brooklyn Bedding Spartan Firm model and were truly blown away by how well-rested we felt compared to some of the other mattresses on this list. There’s really something to the copper-infused foam and infrared technology that actually works! We also found that this model had great edge support and allowed us to comfortably roll all the way to the edges of the mattress without feeling like we might fall over the side. We found that it was really easy to move around on the mattress during the night as well.

What are the flaws?
• Although the features on the Brooklyn Bedding Spartan model are really cool (and totally worked for us!), we did find the price point to be a little higher than we would have liked. This wouldn't be a great choice for anyone who is trying to save up their money or who hasn't budgeted several thousand dollars on purchasing a new mattress. As with all of the mattresses on this list, we also found that there was a strong odor upon unboxing, but this isn't really something that can be avoided in most cases.