Nolah Natural 11″ Mattress Review: Detailed Report And Rating By Industry Veteran

In my Nolah 11″ Natural Mattress review I’m going to take a look at this popular natural latex and pocket coil hybrid combination to evaluate how well it delivers comfort and support. I will say first off that natural latex mattresses tend to be pricey, so at $1,679 (queen size price), I was a bit suspect of the lower comparative price, and I was eager to put it to the test.

Most latex mattresses are typically expensive, at around $1900-2200 for a queen made with pure latex top to bottom. By combining a 3″ layer of premium latex with a coil system, the price comes down dramatically and comes along with some surprising benefits.

Another plus is the weight difference. I used to manufacture my own all latex mattresses which were up to 12″ thick, but they weighed a ton and were admittedly hard to handle. They were hard to deliver, carry to a bedroom, and if a customer wanted to return it, almost impossible to handle. The Nolah Natural Mattress weighs just 108 lbs. in queen size and 135lbs. in king. And, should you want to return it during their free trial, they handle all the removal logistics at no charge.

Objective Testing And Comprehensive Nolah Natural 11″ Mattress Review

11 PERFORMANCE POINTS FOR THE NOLAH NATURAL MATTRESS

1. Overall Comfort: 9 out of 10

Since The Nolah Natural 11″ Mattress is available in one level of firmness, has initial feel that is soft and body contouring, and I’d say it falls at about 5-6 on the conventional used 1-10 firmness scale, with 10 being extremely rigid and firm. Tip: a retail store innerspring mattress will fall at about a 7, so this mattress is just a bit more immersive, slightly softer.

2. Support: 10 out of 10

The Nolah Natural 11″ Mattress  is supportive up to a point, with bigger bodies sinking in a bit more, and we found little sinking in when on your side or back. The only thing I’m concerned about is weight, so couples with combined weights of 350 lbs. that are side sleepers or tend to snuggle in the middle might consider another Nolah model, such as the 15″ Evolution.

3. Solo Sleeper: 9 out of 10

If you are looking for a really luxurious mattress that will last for decades rather than years, natural latex is a good long term investment strategy (ever wonder how often you should replace a mattress) rather than just a yearly purchase, this mattress should likely be a strong consideration.

Ideal For: Preference for natural, eco-friendly materials, hypoallergenic, livelier feel.

Considerations: Not ideal if you want a really firm mattress. Not ideal for bigger bodies (over 450lbs. combined)

One downside, and this holds true with most bed in a box mattress options is that as a solo sleeper, you might need to get a buddy to move and maneuver your compressed mattress, which is going to be wedged inside of a tight box, to get in on your bed frame. Our girl on site though, had no issues moving our queen size sample from the box onto the platform frame we used to review it.

The The Nolah Natural 11″ Mattress  in queen weighs only 108lbs., and a king weighs 135lbs., and if you are by yourself, it’s manageable, much more so that in the lovingly edited videos which show couples or two guys manhandling their scrunched up mattress out of the box.

4. Couple Experience: 8 out of 10- so long as combined weight is less than 400lbs

Keep in mind that we reviewed a queen size The Nolah Natural 11″ Mattress and also sampled many online reviews as well as conducted our own testing for couples. For combining natural latex and a pocketed coil system, it performed well, but not as great as we’d like when couples weighing more than 400lbs were cuddled in the middle (we used sand bags to put this to the test).

You can expect much more of a floating experience on the upgraded version if you are a bigger couple, but for couples up to 275lbs. combined, it hits the sweet spot we think.

From a comfort perspective, couples writing online reviews responded highly to snuggling and spaced apart sleeping, describing the mattress with positive comments. I’ve reviewed hundred of foam mattresses that are the typical variety of “bed in a box” style where couples find it difficult to find a mattress where there is a tradeoff between settling on too firm an option to keep from collapsing in the middle.

5. Edge Support: 9 out of 10

Surprisingly, The Nolah Natural 11″ Mattress offers really great edge support, consider it’s only 10″ tall. For the money, it performed really well. For older people transitioning a lot out of bed it might work because of its shallower height than other bed in a box brands that can be as tall as 12″.

People with disabilities might consider another brand if you need much firmer edge support. You can also check out my Best Mattress For People With Disabilities page for enhanced information.

6. Sex And Intimacy: 8 out of 10

Generally, more bouncy surfaces like Natural Latex Mattresses are preferred as are mattresses with better immersive qualities, allowing for better “grip” on bodies, as sliding around on a mattress during intimacy is generally a negative factor. The Nolah Natural 11″ Mattress gets pretty impressive comments when it comes to sexual activity in bed, including not being too bouncy and allowing a good level of immersion to minimize sliding around. There’s nothing like natural latex rubber for great sex in bed.

7. Bounce, Liveliness, And Motion Transfer: 10 out of 10

Pretty good, actually. We found that for the money, The Nolah Natural 11″ Mattress was highly responsive and you don’t get that “dead in bed” memory foam feel often found in cheaper memory foam mattresses that sell for under $500.

Many people want a mattress with a lot of bounce and spring action to it, as it is much easier to turn on surfaces that are highly responsive.

8. Cost vs. Value Delivered: 9.5 out of 10

At $1679 in queen, it’s not the least expensive mattress that includes natural latex but because I think it offers really great pressure relief, and I loved the way it kept my spine straight while on my side and back, I’m giving it some bonus points.

I have scoliosis, bone spurs, and other damage from snow skiing, and it takes the right chemistry in a mattress to dull the pain. With a pretty generous 3″ of pure Talalay latex tucked right under your body next to the cover, it’s good at distributing pressure away from the body.

9. Trial Period, Warranty, Customer Service 10 out of 10

Nolah mattress packages all three of their models in gently compressed and vacuum packaged fashion, shipped directly to your door. They offer a 120 night trial period, a lifetime warranty, and free returns if you are not completely satisfie.

The turnaround time of 9-21 days to receive your mattress is acceptable. Customer service is something I thoroughly checked out too, with a highly responsive chat team and phone support.

10. Shipping And Delivery Experience 10 out of 10

Shipping and delivery is typically reliable with most online mattress companies, and Nolah Mattress is right up there in my opinion.

The boxes are double layered cardboard and the mattress is double bagged after being gently rolled and inserted into the box. Weighing 135 lbs. in queen, and 135 lbs. in king, the product is pretty manageable by one person or a team of two. Nicely packaged, slick looking box.

Ideal For: Couples, light sleepers, hot sleepers, shoulder pressure, side sleepers.

Considerations: Not ideal if you want a really firm mattress. Not ideal for bigger bodies (over 275lbs.)

Nolah Natural Mattress Review: Features And Benefits

I had The Nolah Company ship their Nolah Natural 11″ Hybrid Mattress to our facility in New Orleans where I subjected it to my typical objective testing. Afterwards, we had another tester who is an athlete struggling with pain and injuries from soccer to hear what he had to say after trying it out for two months. Hear what Justin Schneider had to say about his experience:

“Finally, I’m getting restful sleep! I find that I have more energy during the days that I did sleeping on my previous mattress. The Nolah mattress is the perfect balance of soft and firm with just the right amount of give. It stays cool so I never feel overheated…there was no oder when I opened the mattress…I have experienced this with other mattresses I have owned- for days. This is the best mattress I’ve ever owned!”

Ideal For: Allergies, Those Seeking Natural/Eco-Friendly Options, pressure relief.

Considerations: more bouncy than memory foam, not ideal for bigger couples over 400lbs. combined weight.

Natural latex is a renewable resource also, and when you pair it with just the right superstructure underneath, as in the Nolah Natural 11″ Mattress which uses individually pocketed coils placed beneath 3″ of purely natural latex, you get chemistry. The kind of chemistry I’m referring to is both relaxing and gently buoyant, sumptuous but not lumpy and crevasse like, nestled in but not wedged in.

An Ideal Option For Side Sleepers- Shoulder And Hip Pressure Relief Without Sinking Or Bottoming Out

If you are a side sleeper and have issues with shoulders or hips, you’ll get better pressure point relief than you would from conventional memory foam beds (and without the chemical smell), and you’ll be able to turn without waking up. For back sleepers, the organic cotton and wool top layer works synergistically with the natural latex to help fill in void areas like that pocket in your lumbar area, and between shoulder blades.

The Nolah Natural 11″ Mattress was developed to fill a void in the mattress marketplace that didn’t have a model that offered natural components that were guaranteed to be free of chemicals, but still offered the benefit of underlying support and lift offered by a pocketed coil system.

Using just the right degree of coil firmness, calibrated with just the right level of density and bounce factor with natural latex, takes a bit of alchemy from a mattress design team.