Nolah Original 10 Mattress Review

Michael Magnuson

Founder of GoodBed, Leading Mattress Expert

Summary: Is the Nolah Original 10" a Good Mattress?

The Nolah Original is a 10" mattress constructed of 2" of premium memory foam over polyurethane foam. On its website, Nolah touts this mattress particularly for side sleepers, and in our testing, we concluded that side sleepers of most sizes would indeed find good spinal support and very good pressure relief from the Nolah Original. We did feel that heavier individuals (250 lbs.+) would probably be better suited for the related Nolah Signature 12" mattress, which has an additional 2" of memory foam. (See our separate review here, but both are covered in the video above.)

The Nolah bed features 2" of the company's AirFoam memory foam up top; it's a medium-responding foam, not as super-slow melting as you might find on a Tempur-Pedic mattress, but also not so quick responding that it doesn't feel much like memory foam at all. If you like a bit of that slow, melting sensation of memory foam, but don't want to feel stuck or in a sinkhole, we think the Nolah mattress is a good blend.

We also felt this bed would be a good choice for those who need great motion isolation; if you or your partner are sensitive to sleep disturbances, our tests revealed virtually no motion transfer from one side of the bed to the other. However, there's also almost no bounce at all, so if you like a bouncy/springy mattress, this isn't it.

The Nolah Original mattress also isn't ideal if you like to sit on the edge of your bed, or if you often find yourself laying right on the edge of the mattress. As with many of its all-foam competitors, edge support isn't a highlight. Also, if you have a known issue of sleeping hot, or are concerned about overheating, all-foam beds like the Nolah don't typically provide much air flow. While Nolah makes some claims that its AirFoam won't trap heat, we could neither prove nor disprove this claim.

From an eco-friendly perspective, the Nolah mattress is made almost entirely of petroleum-based materials, although its foams are certified to the CertiPUR-US standard to ensure minimal off-gassing.

Nolah supplies a lifetime warranty for this mattress (pro-rated after 15 years). In our video review, we dinged Nolah significantly, however, for its below-average policy regarding body impressions. To trigger warranty service, any impressions would have to be 1.5" deep at minimum, less generous by far compared to other foam beds. However, within a week after posting our video review, the company changed its policy to 1", which brings it right in line with most of its competitors.

Buyers get a 120-day trial, with free delivery and returns should you decide to return the bed. The company does ask that you try the bed for 30 days before returning, however.

Note: The Nolah Original mattress is a 10" memory foam and foam mattress that's especially hyped for side sleepers. Also see our review of the Nolah Signature 12" mattress, which includes an extra 2" of the company's AirFoam memory foam.

Bottom Line: Who is the Best Match for a Nolah Original 10" Mattress?

BEST if you:

• Are primarily a back or side sleeper
• Move around and reposition frequently
• Like a blend of a floating vs sinking feeling
• Need very good pressure relief

NOT IDEAL if you:

• Need excellent edge support
• Prefer a mattress with some bounce
• Have a history of 'sleeping hot'

Comfort and Feel

The “feel” characteristics of a mattress cannot be universally better or worse. They can only be more or less desirable to you, based on your personal preferences. For this reason, we call these “preference-based” attributes. Our ratings here are based on objective measurements that we apply to a consistent scale for products from all brands.

Softness ( what’s this )

Keep in mind that what mattress companies call “firm” or “soft” is a purely a preference. All mattresses should be supportive and promote healthy spinal alignment. Whether a mattress is fluffy and squishy (what mattress companies call soft or plush), or less so (what companies call firm), is purely down to your personal needs and preferences.

We classify the Nolah Original mattress as a Medium mattress on our scale. The feeling you get is a blend of floating on top versus sinking in.

Not sure what softness is best for you? Take our Mattress Match Quiz and find out.

Cushioning Depth ( what’s this )

This refers to how deeply you sink into the mattress or feel cradled or hugged, versus a feeling of floating on top of the bed. The Nolah is a good blend of this, right in the middle, which we would call average.

Responsiveness ( what’s this )

Responsiveness refers to how quickly a mattress recovers its shape after being compressed. When you press your hand into the mattress, for instance, then remove it, does it take several seconds for the mattress to return to flat, or does it recover immediately?

The Nolah mattress does have a 2” layer of memory foam, and when you compress it, your hand print takes several seconds to disappear (some describe this as a slow, melting into the mattress feeling). We did not find the sensation to be as slow-responding as, for example, something from Tempur-Pedic, but if you like a bit of that memory foam feel, but don't particularly like to feel like you're sinking in quicksand, the Nolah bed might be a good blend for you.

We also tested bounce, and like most foam mattresses, this is not a bouncy bed at all.

Back Support

The key to good back support is for the mattress to support your spine in a “neutral” position while you sleep, meaning that the shape of your spine is roughly the same as when you're standing. The ability of any given mattress to do this will vary by sleeper, depending on its “fit” for your weight, body shape, and preferred sleep position(s).

In our evaluations, the Nolah offered very good back support, and we thought it would suit a wide range of people of various sizes and weights in the back sleeping position. Support while side sleeping was also good for our tester.

Spinal Alignment

The key to good back support is maintaining proper spinal alignment while you sleep. This means that the mattress should hold your spine in roughly the same position it's in when you're standing. The ability of a given mattress to do this will generally depend on your weight, sleep position, and body shape.

Here is how we break down the spinal alignment of the Nolah Original 10" mattress:

Back Sleepers:

Our 200-lb. tester felt well support on his back, with hips sinking in just enough, while the mattress reached up to support his lumbar area. And we felt that back sleepers of a wide range of sizes and weights would have a similar experience. We did question support for those significantly heavier than our tester, who might feel better supported on the Nolah Signature 12" bed, which has some additional memory foam.

Side Sleepers:

We were especially eager to test the Nolah bed while side sleeping since this mattress is particularly marketed to side sleepers. We found it lived up to its claims. Our tester felt well supported, with hips and shoulders sinking into the mattress's comfort layers to create a straight spine. Once more, we did feel that very heavy side sleepers would do better with the Nolah Signature mattress, which has another inch of memory foam to better absorb heavier individuals.

Stomach Sleepers:

For stomach sleeping, our tester also felt well supported on the Nolah bed, but once more, we felt that heavier people might sink too far through the soft foams of the bed, creating a hammocking effect. If you are a heavier person (250 lbs.+) that sleeps mainly on your stomach, a hybrid bed or pocket spring mattress may be a more supportive choice than an all-foam mattress like either Nolah bed.

Pressure Relief

Inadequate pressure relief from your mattress results in “pressure points,” which can be a source of pain, soreness, loss of circulation, restlessness, and other problems. Pressure relief requirements will vary be sleeper, with side sleepers needing the most. Likewise, the amount of pressure relief that a given mattress provides will also vary by sleeper, depending on its “fit” for your weight and body shape.

Overall, we found the pressure relief offered by the Nolah mattress to be excellent, living up to its claims for side sleepers. Our tester didn’t experience any specific issues, and he didn’t feel that he ‘bottomed out’ or pushed through the mattress’s comfort layers and into the firmer support foam layer. However, we do wonder about heavier or curvier people, whose hips and shoulders could possibly sink through those top layers to the harder support layers of foam. In that case, we'd urge checking out the Nolah Signature bed, which includes and additional inch of memory foam on its soft side. But overall, we felt pressure relief would be excellent for most people on the Nolah Original.

Performance Features

With the “features” of a mattress, performance will tend to be consistent across all sleepers – without regards to your body type or preferences. However, these attributes have differing levels of importance to each sleeper, which is why we consider them “priority-based” characteristics.

Motion Isolation ( what’s this )

With a bowling pin standing upright on the Nolah Original 10" mattress, we tested motion isolation by dropping our 16-pound bowling ball on the bed, as well as the whole weight of our 200-lb. tester. In both tests we're looking for whether the bowling pin wobbles or falls.

In both tests, the pin hardly moved, an excellent indicator that movements on one side of the bed are little felt on the other. For that reason, we felt the Nolah bed would be a good choice for couples who don’t want to feel their partner getting in and out of bed.

Temperature ( what’s this )

Memory foam has a reputation for heat retention, and all-foam beds in general just don't allow for as much air flow as innerspring or hybrid mattresses. Some foam mattresses add cooling features to combat this. In the case of the Nolah bed, the manufacturer claims its AirFoam doesn't trap heat, a claim we can neither confirm nor disprove. Our tester did not have an issue with sleeping hot, but this isn't an issue he experiences on any bed.

If you don't have a known issue of sleeping hot, then we don't expect you'll have a problem on the Nolah Original. But if overheating in bed is an issue for you, and you’ve experienced it with other mattresses, another type of mattress, such as a hybrid or innerspring mattress, which allows for more airflow, may be a better choice.

Edge Support ( what’s this )

Foam mattresses aren’t typically very supportive along the very edge of the mattress—important if you like to sit on the edge of the bed, or if you tend to sleep along the edge. The Nolah mattress wasn't an exception. Our tester noted he sank through the mattress when sitting on the edge, though he felt stable enough. When laying on the very edge of the mattress, he did not feel very stable, though he didn't feel he was melting off or being ejected from the bed.

If strong edge support is a priority for you, there are better choices.

Ease of Repositioning ( what’s this )

For those with mobility issues, ease of movement may be a priority. We evaluate how easy it is to change positions and move around on a mattress. Memory foam, where its hallmark feature is sinking into the bed, can sometimes hinder movement, but we did not find this to be the case with the Nolah Original 10" mattress. Our tester had no trouble moving from position to position, or rolling over.

Green Features ( what’s this )

For mattress shoppers concerned with the use of natural materials, sustainable manufacturing practices or the like, we offer our subjective evaluation of any efforts taken by the company to make the mattress more green, healthy, or safe. 

In the case of the Nolah mattress, the company makes no claims about the use of natural materials, and its foams are petroleum-based.

However all of the foams used are certified to the CertiPUR-US standard, which verifies that a material has low VOC off-gassing as well as a lack of chemicals and other substances regulated by the CPSC. This is a standard certification we see on most mainstream mattresses that contain foam.

Adjustable Base Compatibility ( what’s this )

We tested the Nolah Original mattress on top of our standard adjustable base. Here, we are looking for how well it conforms to the base, whether anything strange or weird results, and whether the mattress will be damaged by using it on such a base. The Nolah mattress is compatible with adjustable bases; the company even sells one of its own. We noticed good conformance, with just a little lifting at the foot, which is normal for any new mattress. We noticed no odd bulges or bunching.

Materials & Construction

What's in a Nolah Original 10" Mattress?

Overall, we classify the Nolah Original as a "Memory Foam over Foam" construction type. This is a 10″ thick mattress comprised of 3 layers (listed below from top to bottom):

• 2" AirFoam memory foam, 3 lb. density
• 1" AirFoam transition foam, 3 lb. density
• 7" polyurethane foam support layer, 1.8 lb. density

The Nolah mattress includes three types of foam stacked together. At the top, you have 2" of relatively slow responding, soft memory foam that provides the bulk of pressure relief. Under than is another inch of AirFoam foam, but this layer doesn't have any memory feel. Rather, it's meant as a transition between the soft memory foam on top and the 7" block of standard polyurethane foam below.

Durability, Warranty & Value

The “value” of any mattress is both subjective and personal – reflecting how well it meets that person’s unique sleep needs and preferences, relative to their budget. As a result, our ratings in this area are focused on more objective factors like quality and longevity.

How Much Does a Nolah Original Mattress Cost?

Prices shown are list prices. Remember that GoodBed keeps our site current with the best available discounts on all online mattresses, many of which are exclusive discounts for our readers. 

What Are You Getting?

The Nolah Original is an 10-inch mattress made of memory foam over polyurethane foam in densities we would consider average. Overall, you are getting 3" of premium comfort material, which Nolah calls AirFoam.

How Long Will the Nolah Original Mattress Last?

When it comes to estimating the comfort lifespan of a mattress, we tend to use foam density as our best, albeit imperfect, predictor of how long a foam will retain its shape and resiliency. In the case of the Nolah mattress, the foams used are about average, at 3 lbs. per square foot for the two AirFoam. (Memory foam densities typically range from about 2 lbs. to 5.5 lbs.) The support form is a standard 1.8 lb. density. Overall, the materials quality are not particularly notable, and we could not identify any factors that would lead us to believe this mattress would last longer than other all-foam beds.

Overall Value

Pricing for the queen size Nolah Original is fairly comparable to other memory foam and foam mattresses sold exclusively online. Compared to similar mattresses found in a traditional store, we think the Nolah Original is an good value, if not a particular standout.

Warranty

• Warranty Length: 2 years full, then with fees
• Indentation Coverage: 1” and above

One of the biggest, if not THE biggest complaints about any mattress from consumers regards body impressions—the inability of a mattress to spring back, eventually creating a low spot/sinkhole in the mattress. As such, mattress warranties all contain a term defining how big a sag or ‘body impression’ (measured when no one is on the mattress) is considered a defect, and thus covered under the warranty. The industry standard for memory foam mattresses is 3/4" to 1". Nolah has chosen to cover indentations that meet or exceed 1”. Practically speaking, that means any softening or sagging would need to be at least that deep before the warranty would offer you protection.

The "lifetime" warranty includes 2 years of full coverage, with free replacement and shipping. For years 3-10, the company will repair and recover a defective mattress, but the customer pays $99 shipping both ways. Beyond that, the customer pays a percentage of the cost for a new mattress, based on years of ownership. 

Other Factors to Consider

Delivery

• Free delivery to door

Nolah includes free delivery, which is not particularly unusual among its competitors. The Nolah bed comes in a big box; the queen size mattress weighs 74 pounds.

Returns

• 120-day trial period
• Full refund, including free pickup within trial period

Nolah offers buyers a 120-day trial period. Returns within the trial period are free, with pickup of the mattress included. The company requires you to keep the mattress at least 30 days before initiating a return. See: Details on Nolah trial policy