One thing you definitely don’t want to hear when sitting down in your own bathroom is a loud crack or snap. Then you start shifting…hopefully not too far, but the day is already gone sideways in a bad way. Whether you call yourself obese, big-boned, big, or you don’t care for pleasantries and just call yourself fat, if you’ve been a certain level of overweight then it’s possible you’ve experienced this less than ideal situation.
Frankly, it amazes me there are toilet seats sold make out of that ultra cheap plywood chip like filling. Those seats can be broken even by lightweight individuals, much less those of us carrying a little extra girth.
I’ve seen the material called many different things, but it’s basically a “packed” design versus one solid piece and when they break, they crumble. These are extremely cheap seats that are going to break at some point and need replacement, and for individuals who are more heavyset, those seats are going to break quickly and soon become outright unusable.
Look I’ve always been bigger so I don’t really care if I’m called husky or fat or obese or whatever. It’s accurate until I do the full amount of work to make sure it’s not the case once again.
But I don’t want the toilet seat breaking underneath me and I think that’s a reasonable request no matter what your size. If a seat gives out at 240 lbs it doesn’t care if you’re a desk jockey who eats too many Doritos or a college linebacker hitting the weight room to prep for the NFL draft.
So without any further wait, let’s start diving into the best toilet seats for large individuals.
Best Toilet Seat for Big Dudes: Big John Toilet Seat 2445646-1W
So I don’t believe in wasting time. I’ll go into things like materials, budget-friendly options, what to look for, etc, further below. If you don’t really care and just want the best toilet seat money can buy for bigger individuals, then you want the Big John Toilet Seat (Model: 2445646-1W). Honestly, any of the Big John Toilet Seats are outstanding options, but even among them this is the best of the options available.
These toilet seats are made with the classic chemically-resistant ABS plastic that is ideal for these high pressure, solid, and stain resistant seats. The hinges are made with steel, making sure that the classic weak spot for the toilet seat is also solid so once these are properly secured in, you should be good to go and won’t have any reason to worry.
There’s nothing fancy or pretty about this toilet seat, and that’s fine.
All the attention has been put into making this a resilient and reliable, and on that note it delivers, and how! This seat is comfortable, gives more sitting room, and is designed so the bottom clings gently to porcelain so there’s no sliding, moving, or jolting while you are sitting down and doing your business.
So there’s nothing fancy here, the picture is boring, but you know without any question that the toilet seat is going to hold up and pull its weight…and yours.
That’s the biggest concern with the design of this particular toilet seat and it delivers.
Pros:
- Built for big people
- Only top of the line materials are used
- Roomiest toilet seat on the market
Cons:
- Expensive
- Very basic look/design
While I understand hesitating at dropping that much on a toilet seat, having one that you know will hold up, and gives extra room (and therefore comfort) is a major benefit. Also, if you have to replace cheap ones once or twice a year or once every two years, that adds up. The Big John Toilet seat lets you ignore those expenses.
Plus if you live in a cheap apartment, install the Big John, keep the old cheap seat, and when it’s time to move clean, remove, and clean the Big John again and take it with you. Re-attach the crappy toilet seat and take the good one with you.
That’s a win-win situation all the way through.
Why You Should Buy a Big Guy Toilet Seat Even if You’re Not Overweight
These are toilet seats aimed at bigger or overweight people, but there are good reasons to buy them even if you don’t fit into any of those categories! For one, many people who are 50 or even 100 lbs under the upper part of the weight limit can sometimes put a larger amount of pressure on the toilet seat from moving or shifting.
I won’t dive into the science of pounds vs. pounds of pressure, but the long and short of it is when someone 200 lbs breaks something with a weight limit of 300 lbs that is often because of the “pounds of pressure” thing.
Also the larger seat is much more comfortable to many people regardless of size. They are designed to be wider, to offer more support, and on top of that having them means larger guests won’t have to worry about the embarrassment of breaking a toilet seat when visiting, something that many of us who are larger or were larger at one point have experienced.
Better comfort, a reliable seat, and one that will last and not have to be replaced are all major positive points for spending the money on a high level toilet seat.
If you go with a Big Johns Products toilet seat, you won’t have to worry about making another toilet seat purchase for a very long time, and you won’t have to worry about maintenance because you will have that part of the bathroom on lockdown. Trust me, it’s one of those things that you don’t want to skimp on.
The Material Matters
There are some things you just shouldn’t cheap out on, and the materials that make up a toilet seat are one of them. Seats made of a thin plastic with cotton wrapped in a plastic cover…aside from being garish in appearance and just asking for unsanitary conditions once the cover starts peeling, it’s just not a good combination of materials that’s gong to last.
Ditto with the weird crumbly plywood type material that doesn’t come with the strength or sturdiness of actual plywood. No idea what that stuff is called but it is terrible.
Good materials for cheap toilet seats include hard plastic and wood. The design and quality of each material matters as a hard wood is much different than a loose plywood/wood composite (which I’ve only seen a few times but it is terrible and easy to break).
There’s a huge problem in that most toilet seats are only designed for up to 300 lbs – and that’s straight down pressure. That doesn’t include any wriggling or movement, and a person well under that weight can put more than 300 lbs of pressure on a seat with even slight movements!
The problem with finding a reliable toilet seat
So finding a toilet seat made from normal materials is a guarantee that it’s not going to last and you’re sitting (literally) on a ticking time bomb of a toilet seat that is going to break.
However, there are heavy duty toilet seats that focus on using harder materials and the winners on the top of the “best of” lists will use ABS plastic. Look for the description of ABS plastic or ABS chemically resistant ABS plastic and you can rest relatively easy at that point knowing the material is designed to handle heavy pressure and heavy weight – usually up in the 1,000 lbs of pressure category as opposed to a mere 300.
So looking at the materials used matters a lot because there aren’t many materials that can take pressure above 300 lbs and be reliably comfortable and hold your weight.
The other material outside of ABS plastic that is worth taking a look at is wood. Some people like wood toilet seats, others aren’t big fans, but it is a potentially viable alternative option. I personally like the look of the wood but from a comfort and practicality standpoint, it’s not a great choice. Look for a faux wood from treated plastic as that is much more likely to work well. Or at least adequately.
Certain Brands Are Bigger Friendly
There are just some brands that make a bigger better toilet seat that others. This really shouldn’t be a surprise, but if in doubt looking for some toilet seats from the large brands that focus specifically on toilet seats for larger individuals. The Big John brand focuses on making toilet seats for bigger individuals, so that’s a brand that you can trust.
There are others that do good work, but that is a prime example of why focusing on good brands matter. Big John actually has multiple toilet seats that could easily take the #1-5 spot for best overall toilet seats for big guys (there’s a reason I focused on one top notch toilet seat as opposed to the traditional list article), but there are a few others that are worth looking at.
So the top toilet seat brands for big guys are:
- Big John’s Products (duh)
- BEMIS
- Bath Royale
Beyond that, you’re actually generally going to be taking a hit in quality when it comes to how good the toilet seat is for big people when going with another brand. Stick with those three and you’re much more likely to be happy with the results.
In Conclusion
You get big enough you’re going to have problems with certain things, and there’s only so much that can be done about it. However, there are plenty of toilet seats that will consistently hold upwards of 400 or 500 pounds for years without breaking, so there’s really no excuse for going with a super cheap material. Plenty of places where things are a struggle, no reason the bathroom should be one of them.
Not only that, but toilet seats that are graded for larger individuals simply tend to be built better. They must use better materials, stronger materials, and they need to be designed to last and to withstand more pressure than your run of the mill options.
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