Tom's Guide Verdict
The eco-friendly Nolah Natural 11 lives up to its title as Nolah's "most responsive mattress" yet. After a month of sleeping on it, we believe it's a great choice for restless sleepers who change positions thanks to its ease of movement and above-average motion isolation. Its certified organic materials promote cooler sleep so we recommend it for hot sleepers seeking an alternative to memory foam. However, the overall bed feel was inconsistent for our testers — we certainly wouldn't call it a bonafide side sleeper mattress for most people.
Pros
- +
Premium certified-organic materials
- +
Breathable and sleeps naturally cool
- +
Great ease of movement
Cons
- -
Inconsistent support
- -
Lacks cushioning for side sleepers
- -
Didn't expand to full size
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Nolah Natural 11 Mattress review in brief
Nolah aims to create "superior sleep experiences for side sleepers" — and its Nolah Natural 11 Mattress is billed as the brand's most eco-friendly, using GOLS-certified organic latex and other natural materials. But is the Nolah Natural as good for our sleep as it is for the planet, and does it live up to Nolah's self-given title as a side sleepers' brand?
We slept on a full-size Nolah Natural for four weeks to get the full experience from delivery to the end of the recommended break-in period. If you only have time for the highlights, here's our review in brief...
Type: Latex hybrid
Materials: Natural organic latex, organic wool, organic cotton, coils
Firmness (1-10): 6/10, (we rate it 7-7.5)
Depth: 11"
Trial period: 120 nights
Warranty: Lifetime
MSRP: from $1,499 at Nolah
We were first acquainted with the Nolah Natural during an afternoon of mattress testing at the 3Z Brands showroom in Arizona. When we initially tested it, we were struck by its uniquely bouncy and flexible feel.
Throughout the full reviewing process, our lead tester found that some of her initial observations held up, while others not so much. A side-and-back sleeper under 130lbs, she initially felt the mattress would be best for back sleeping and may settle into becoming a side-sleeper bed that Nolah claimed it to be. However, after weeks of side and back sleeping on the Nolah Natural, she found it wasn't pressure-reliving enough for side sleeping yet it wasn't supportive enough for back sleeping either.
There were mixed reactions from our wider testing panel, too. Some testers loved it for back sleeping, while others felt most comfortable on their side, which goes to show that the unique latex feel makes it a very polarizing mattress. Overall we rate it as 7 or 7.5 out of 10 on the firmness scale; Nolah's self-assessment is a 6/10.
That said, there's a lot to love about this mattress, especially its non-toxic materials. Organic latex, cotton, and wool along with recycled steel coils provide natural temperature regulation and a long-lasting build. The edge support is stable and despite the buoyant surface, this mattress does a sound job of isolating movement.
While its durability and high-quality materials make this a worthy investment, this is a premium mattress that shouldn't be bought without doing your research. Sitting in the luxury price bracket at full retail price, the Nolah Natural is still upper-mid even at its regular discount, with a queen usually going for $1,364. There are some decent extras though, such as a 120-night sleep trial and a lifetime warranty.
Nolah has impressed us over the years with its memory foam hybrid mattresses, so it's only natural (no pun intended) that the brand would add a latex hybrid to its lineup. Keep reading for our full Nolah Natural 11 Mattress review, and find out if it's the best mattress for your sleep needs...
Nolah Natural 11 Mattress Review: Price & Trial
- Always 35% off, with a queen regularly sold at $1,364
- After discount, this organic mattress sits in the upper-mid price bracket
- Includes a 120-night trial, free shipping, and a lifetime warranty
The Nolah Natural 11 sits in the premium price bracket at MSRP, as is common with the best organic mattresses due to their sustainable materials, but it's bumped down to the upper-mid price tier thanks to a regular 35% sale at Nolah.
The Nolah mattress deals very rarely veer under 35% off, though we have seen them throw a flash 33% or 30% off sale right before major holiday events, such as Black Friday, to make their standard 35% discount seem like a bigger price drop.
Here are the official prices for the Nolah Natural, and the prices you can expect to pay:
- Twin: MSRP $1,499 (normally sold at $974)
- Twin XL: MSRP $1,099 (normally sold at $1,104)
- Full: MSRP $1,099 (normally sold at $1,234)
- Queen: MSRP $2,099 (normally sold at $1,364)
- King/Cal king: MSRP $2,499 (normally sold at $1,624)
- Split king/Split Cal king: MSRP $3,398 (normally sold at $2,209)
The beauty of this standard discount means you don't have to wait for a major holiday event (such as the Presidents' Day mattress sales in February) to get the Nolah Natural at its lowest price. As always, it comes with a 120-night sleep trial as well as a lifetime warranty that's valid for as long as you own the mattress. However, like most lifetime mattress warranties, this one is prorated — and in this case, Nolah will only provide totally free repairs and replacements within the first two years.
The Nolah Natural is in or around the same neighborhood as the leading latex mattresses, the Avocado Green Mattress and the Birch Natural Mattress. However, the Avocado Green does come with a longer, more generous trial of 365 nights whereas the Birch Natural has a slightly shorter 100-night trial.
Nolah Natural 11 Mattress Review: Materials & Design
- Fiberglass-free latex hybrid design featuring five internal layers
- Organic materials with GOLS and GREENGUARD Gold certifications
- Soft, breathable top cover plus a lower cover with handles
What separates the Nolah Natural from the rest of Nolah's lineup is its certified organic materials, including natural latex. Aside from its sustainability, latex is known for its breathability, durability, hypoallergenic properties, and responsiveness.
While Nolah's website fails to mention whether the latex used is Dunlop or Talalay, we've deduced that it's Dunlop since it has a GOLS (Global Organic Latex Standard) certification, which verifies that a product contains more than 95% certified organic raw material of the total weight. (GOLS certification can't be awarded to Talalay due to the way it's processed.)
Dunlop has a lot of advantages over Talalay: it's more eco-friendly, it's denser, it's cheaper, and it lasts longer. However, Dunlop doesn't provide as much cushioning as Talalay and can have an inconsistent feel due to its process of being baked and set into foam. (More on this later.)
As its name suggests, the Nolah Natural 11 is 11" tall and contains five internal layers. The first layer is an organic wool flame barrier, used as a non-toxic alternative fire retardant to fiberglass. Fiberglass has become a hot topic in the mattress industry due to safety concerns about its adverse effects on home and health, so the Nolah Natural 11's fiberglass-free design is a huge plus.
Next up is a 2" comfort layer of organic latex for responsive flexibility and a 1" transition layer to support the 8" individually wrapped coils below. The coils are made from recycled steel and are designed to provide targeted support for proper spinal alignment. To support the coils, the last layer is made of cotton and organic wool for durability and stability.
These layers are sandwiched between a soft-touch organic cotton top cover for a breathable surface and an organic cotton bottom cover complete with handles to make it easier to move and rotate.
In addition to having GOLS-certified latex, the Nolah Natural is also GREENGUARD Gold certified, ensuring low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and adherence to strict guidelines for air quality and overall health.
Nolah Natural 11 Mattress Review: Comfort & Support
- After initially scoring the bed a 6.5, we now rate it 7-7.5/10 for firmness
- Incredibly responsive for restless or combination sleepers
- Not enough pressure relief for most side sleepers
We first tried a queen-sized Nolah Natural in a factory showroom for our Nolah Natural 11 mattress hands-on review, where our varied panel evaluated its comfort, edge support, and motion isolation. This hands-on review was performed in a single day, so we weren't able to properly gauge what it feels like to sleep on each night.
Fast forward a few months, and we've now fully tested the Nolah Natural 11 by setting it up for ourselves and sleeping on it for four weeks — and we've noticed some key differences that we chalk up to three things: a different bed size, a different bed frame, and the fact that the showroom mattress had never been condensed and rolled into a box.
For our in-depth review, we placed the mattress on a slatted base where the slats are 3.5" apart. (The Nolah Natural is compatible with any type of bed frame, but if you're using a slatted base or box spring, Nolah advises that the space between slats should be no more than 5" apart for optimal support.)
First of all, there was less bounce to our mattress compared to the showroom's, which may be a good thing. While we like the hammock-like sway of the Nolah Natural in the showroom, we also know it's an acquired taste.
Our full-sized Nolah Natural mattress wasn't as bouncy but it still had plenty of responsiveness and ease of movement, which is ideal for restless sleepers, combination sleepers, and those who prefer to sleep "upon" a mattress rather than "in" it.
Our test unit also had a firmer feel than the showroom model. Originally, we rated it a 6.5 out of 10, or medium-firm. We've since bumped that to a 7 to 7.5, which is closer to firm. (Nolah rates it as a 6 out of 10 on its firmness scale.)
In terms of pressure relief, our test mattress scored pretty much the same as the showroom's, with the amount of "sink" at the center of the bed being equal to the head of the bed.
During our hands-on showroom review, our main tester (a lightweight side-and-back sleeper) said she didn't feel immediately comfortable when lying on the mattress on her side but presumed that she would feel more comfortable after having time to "break-in" the mattress after a few weeks.
However, after sleeping on it for almost a month, our lead tester felt that the mattress simply didn't provide enough pressure relief for side sleeping. She thought she'd be more comfortable on her back but in this position, she felt the mattress didn't keep her hips upright.
We theorize these issues may be down to (1) the comfort layer's responsive latex design, which is there to provide flexibility to side and combination sleepers rather than plush contouring; and (2) the amount of pressure relief in the hip region is equal to the top of the bed. That said, the lack of plushness may be more comfortable for side sleepers with heavier bodies.
Our wider testing panel included a side-and-front sleeper and a stomach sleeper, both of an average build. The stomach sleeper actually felt most comfortable on her side as she felt the mattress offered relief in the hips and shoulders. Meanwhile, the side-and-stomach sleeping tester loved it for back sleeping as she felt it evenly distributed her weight.
Nolah Natural 11 Mattress Review: Delivery & set-up
- Although left for a day to expand, the bed didn't reach its full dimensions
- Set-up is a two-person job due to the heaviness of the latex-hybrid design
- Virtually no off-gassing thanks to its natural materials
The Nolah Natural is a mattress-in-a-box, meaning it's rolled up and packed in a box that's shipped to your door. This is a latex-hybrid bed, so it was extremely heavy to carry while in the box, especially when taking it upstairs. With that in mind, we strongly suggest enlisting someone to help you carry it to your bedroom and unbox it.
The mattress comes with a welcome pack that includes an instruction pamphlet and some Nolah-branded stickers. The instructions are simple and straight forward, but unboxing your mattress does take some heavy lifting and maneuvering.
When we freed the mattress from it's plastic wrapping, it unfurled and expanded almost immediately — so much so that by the time we realized it was upside down, it was already a full-blown mattress. It would be a great help if there were some markers on the packaging to show which side up the mattress should be, but we've had this trouble with almost all boxed mattresses, so this criticism is aimed at the mattress industry rather than Nolah in particular.
However, two of us were able to flip and rotate the mattress onto the right side without too much difficulty thanks to the side handles. As for off-gassing, there was none. I put this down to the natural latex foam, which gives a sweet, subtle, almost nutty aroma that, to many of our testers, resembles baked goods.
Nolah advised us to let the bed expand fully for 24 hours before sleeping in it, which we did. However, by the 24-hour mark, we found it had not expanded to its full size. A full size mattress is 54" wide by 75" long, but even after three weeks, we found it only expanded to 53" wide and 74" long and didn't fill the bed frame.
Score: 4 out of 5
Nolah Natural 11 Mattress Review: Performance
- Edge support is sturdy on the sides, but weak on the foot of the bed
- Sleeps incredibly cool thanks to the naturally breathable materials
- Surprisingly good motion isolation for a buoyant latex bed
We performed a hands-on review on a queen-size Nolah Natural in a showroom, but below are the results after one month of testing a full-size Nolah Natural Mattress at home. As well as recording our own experiences sleeping on the mattress, we also carried out tests to gather concrete data on motion isolation, temperature regulation, and edge support. Here's how we fared...
Motion isolation
Latex isn't known to be the best at absorbing motion due to its buoyant feel. Add springy coils into the mixture and it doesn't bode well for restless couples.
To gauge the motion isolation of the Nolah Natural, we placed an empty wine glass in the middle of one side of the bed, where a person would usually sleep. From 25" away from the glass, where another person would typically sleep, we dropped a 10lb weight from a 4" height to simulate a restless sleeper. We then dropped it from 8" and 12" to simulate someone jumping into bed and observed the movement of the empty glass.
We were pretty surprised by how stable the wine glass stayed, only toppling over during the jump simulation. That said, if motion transfer is a main concern for you, we suggest going for one of the best memory foam mattresses instead as latex is known to be too responsive for maximum motion isolation.
Score: 4 out of 5
Temperature Regulation
We knew we were in for a refreshing night's sleep when we saw the materials list: moisture-wicking organic cotton, airflow-boosting coils, temperature-regulating wool, and naturally breathable latex.
Our main tester slept with an all-year comforter, wearing multiple layers of sweatshirts, next to an oil-filled radiator, with a hot water bottle for extra warmth... and this mattress still kept incredibly cool. While you shouldn't expect the same level of cooling tech that you'd find in the best cooling mattresses, we think you'll find the Nolah Natural to be a great choice if you find memory foam mattresses to be heat traps.
Score: 4.5 out of 5
Edge Support
To test edge support, we placed a 56lb weight on the edge of the mattress, towards the middle of the perimeter, and measured how far down the side it compressed. We found the weight sank 2.25", which is pretty sturdy. In fact, our lightweight main tester said she could sleep right up to the edge without feeling she was going to roll out of bed and found it easy to sit on without dipping.
However, the foot of the bed is a different story. Upon sitting on the bottom of the bed, our main tester found herself dipping into the mattress and feeling unsupported. This shouldn't be a problem while sleeping or getting out of bed, but if you like to sit at the foot of the bed to get dressed, it may be an issue.
Score: 4 out of 5
Nolah Natural 11 Mattress Review: Customer Reviews
- The Natural has an overall rating of 4.8 stars out of 5 on Nolah's website
- Reviews are mostly positive, with many praising the bed's quality
- Complaints are mostly about firmness and motion transfer
Customer reception to the Nolah Natural has been mostly positive, with an overall rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars on Nolah's website as of December 2024. Most praise is directed toward the quality of the build and the medium-firm feel, with some saying they've finally found the firmness they've been looking, while others say they've found the softness they'd been looking for. (Further proof that comfort is subjective.)
However, some couples complained that it becomes too soft when both sleepers are in bed, while those who share a bed with a restless partner claimed that the mattress shifted during the night. Like our main tester, there were some side sleepers who felt uncomfortable on their side and needed more cushioning.
Should you buy the Nolah Natural 11 Mattress?
If you're looking for a non-toxic medium-firm bed with eco-credentials and a responsive surface to adjust positions on, the Nolah Natural 11 should be a good fit for you. Its certified organic materials not only provide premium quality but also fantastic natural temperature control for those who find memory foam beds leave them hot and sweaty. Its latex build also means it's a good investment, as this material is incredibly durable and guarantees you and your mattress won't be parting ways for over 20 years.
That said, the Nolah Natural is still a luxury bed that shouldn't be purchased on impulse, especially when there are plenty of cheaper alternatives out there. If you do decide to buy, we urge you to take advantage of the 120-night sleep trial to see if it's truly worth the premium price. Just as we did, measure the bed to see if it has expanded to its full dimensions and make sure you're well-supported if you sleep on your stomach or back and well-cushioned if sleeping on your side.
Overall, it's pretty hard to pinpoint who exactly this bed is for. While it's eco-credentials will impress any environmentally conscious shoppers, there are still plenty of other organic mattresses on the market that clearly cater to specific types sleepers. For example, the Avocado Green Mattress and Naturepedic Concerto Pillow Top Mattress (both recommend below) are meant for stomach sleepers and side sleepers respectively, whereas the target customer of the Nolah Natural isn't as clearly defined.
Nolah Natural 11 Mattress Review: Also consider
