Cover
The four layers of the Nolah Original mattress are wrapped in a soft, tightly stretched cover made of what the company called "natural viscose." Viscose, alternatively known as rayon, is made from cellulose fibers derived from trees.
Comfort & Feel
There are three aspects that make up our assessment of comfort and feel. We call these "preference-based characteristics" because no rating here is better or worse – rather, the attributes that are most desirable to you will be determined solely by your personal preferences. We apply the same classification standards to each mattress so you can more easily compare apples to apples.
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 Signature 12 mattress, on the Soft side, as a Medium mattress on our scale. The feeling you get is a blend of floating on top versus sinking in. When flipped to the Firm side, we would rate it as a true Firm on our scale
Not sure what softness is best for you? Take our Mattress Match Quiz and find out.
| Softness Level - Soft (1=Least Soft, 9=Most Soft) |
5 | Medium |
| Softness Level - Firm (1=Least Soft, 9=Most Soft) |
2 | Firm |
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 Signature is a good blend of this, right in the middle, which we would call average, based on its Soft side.
On the Firm side of the mattress, however, cushioning is very shallow, which you can see demonstrated with our bowling balls below.
| Cushioning Depth - Soft (1=Shallowest, 9=Deepest) |
5 | Average |
| Cushioning Depth - Firm (1=Shallowest, 9=Deepest) |
2 | Very shallow |
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 Signature mattress does have a 2.5” 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.
| Memory Feel (1=Least, 9=Most) |
7 | Lots of memory feel |
| Bounce (1=Least, 9=Most) |
3 | Very little |
Back Support & Pressure Relief
The two things that you should always be sure to get from your mattress are spinal alignment (commonly thought of as "back support") and pressure relief. Unfortunately, no mattress will deliver these two things equally well for all sleepers. In particular, spinal alignment and pressure relief capabilities will vary across sleepers with different weights, body shapes, and sleep positions. To help you determine how this mattress will perform for you, we break down our spinal alignment and pressure relief assessments by sleeper type.
In our evaluations, the Nolah Signature offered very good back support, but it really excelled for side sleeping and pressure relief. We primarily tested the mattress on its Soft side.
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 Signature 12" mattress on the soft side:
| Weight | Range | Back Sleepers | Side Sleepers | Stomach Sleepers |
| Lighter | <150 lb | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Average | 150 to 200 lb | 8 | 9 | 7 |
| Above Average | 200 to 250 lb | 8 | 9 | 6 |
| Heavier | >250 lb | 7 | 9 | 5 |
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 heavier than our tester; we felt that heavier back sleepers would find better support on the Nolah Original 10 mattress, or on the Firm side of the Signature bed as long as they prefer the feel of a very firm bed.
Side Sleepers:
Side sleeping as well as pressure relief was a real highlight in our testing, and we felt that side sleepers of a wide range of sizes and weights would have a similar good experience in terms of spinal alignment and support as our tester. He felt his shoulders sinking into the soft top foam just the right amount.
Stomach Sleepers:
For stomach sleeping, we felt that for most people, including our tester, there was too much soft comfort foam to support him on while on his stomach. He preferred the support of the Nolah Original 10 in this position. Heavier stomach sleepers might flip the Signature Nolah bed and find better support, but with only an inch of memory foam heavier sleepers may find themselves quickly sinking through to the very firm support layer underneath.
Pressure Relief
When a mattress pushes back against your body with too much force in a concentrated area, the result can be pain, soreness, loss of circulation, excessive tossing, and other problems. In general, such "pressure points" are of greatest concern for side sleepers, since that's the position in which your body's weight is distributed over the smallest surface area. To find the right mattress for your needs, keep in mind that the pressure-relieving capabilities of any given mattress will vary depending on the sleeper. Factors like your weight and body shape (e.g., broader shoulders and/or hips) will determine how far you sink into the mattress, and the pressure relief offered by that mattress will vary widely at different depths.
Here's how we sized up the pressure relief of the Nolah Signature 12" mattress on its Soft side:
| Weight | Range | Typical Curves | Extra Curvy |
| Lighter | <150 lb | 9 | 9 |
| Average | 150 to 200 lb | 9 | 9 |
| Above Average | 200 to 250 lb | 9 | 9 |
| Heavier | >250 lb | 9 | 9 |
Overall, we found the pressure relief offered by the Nolah mattress to be excellent across the board, 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. And we felt that sleepers of a wide range of sizes and weights would also experience excellent pressure relief on this bed.
Other Features
Beyond the preference-based characteristics of comfort and feel, and the body matching for spinal alignment and pressure relief, a mattress will have a number of other attributes that can make it a better or worse choice for you. We call these "priority-based characteristics" because they are areas in which a mattress can be better or worse, but that will have differing amounts of importance to each sleeper. So, determining how much importance to give to these features will be entirely a matter of your own personal priorities. As always, we apply the same ratings standards to each mattress so you can more easily compare apples to apples.
Motion Isolation ( what’s this )
With a bowling pin standing upright on the Nolah Signature 12" 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.
| Motion Isolation Rating | 10/10 | Exceptional |
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 beds (both the Signature and the Original), 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 either Nolah mattress. 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.
| Stays 'Cool' Rating | 3 /10 | Fair |
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 Signature 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 felt as if he was sliding off.
If strong edge support is a priority for you, there are better choices.
| Edge Support Rating | 4/10 | Fair |
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 Signature 12" mattress. Our tester had no trouble moving from position to position, but those with chronic mobility issues might look to a non-memory foam mattress in general
| Repositioning Rating | 7 /10 | Good |
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 mattresses, the company makes no claims about the use of natural materials. 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 now a standard certification we see on mainstream mattresses containing foams.
The company does state that for each mattress sold, it makes a donation to the Defenders of Wildlife, a non-profit that seeks to protect animals in the United States.
| Green Rating | 4/10 | Okay |
Adjustable Base Compatibility ( what’s this )
We tested the Nolah Signature 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.
| Adjustable Base Compatibility | 8/10 | Very good |
Price, Value & Longevity
How Much Does a Nolah Signature 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 Signature is an 12-inch mattress made of memory foam over polyurethane foam in densities we would consider average. It is a flippable mattress, with a different firmness level on each side. It's a feature not seen very often.
How Long Will the Nolah Signature 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 Nolah mattress is above average when compared to other all-foam beds available today. Aside from the flippable design, we did not feel the mattress materials or features were standouts. We would call this bed an okay value, but definitely not great.
| Value Rating | 7/10 | Good |
