Nolah Original vs. Leesa Original
In today’s review, we’ll be focusing on two popular all foam mattresses, Nolah Original vs Leesa Original, coming from two well-known online mattress companies.
Nolah is a new entrant to the market, unique in that it features a special Nolah Air Foam which sleeps cooler than other foams and is more durable than latex, while the Leesa Original is a new, updated version of the original Leesa mattress, a popular online memory foam mattress that helped pioneer the Bed-In-A-Box mattress industry over the last few years
Let’s find out which may be the right match for you. Last updated
Nolah Original
The Nolah Original mattress is unique in that it delivers the benefits of memory foam without the use of the memory foam. Nolah created their own proprietary foam, Nolah Air Foam, which sleeps cooler than memory foam and is more durable than latex.
Nolah Original mattress
Construction and Materials
The Nolah Original mattress is 10″ thick and made up of 3 layers of proprietary foam:
- 2″ Top Comfort Layer – This layer is 2″ of proprietary cooling Nolah Air Foam designed to provide superior pressure relief and comfort and ensure cooling during sleep. It will contour perfectly to your body without making you feel trapped in foam.
- 1″ Transition Layer – This layer is 1″ of deep supportive high-resilience foam that is stronger and more durable than latex. It provides a healthy and responsive bounce and aids in transitioning motion between the upper and lower layers.
- 7″ Support Layer – This layer is 7″ of high-density breathable base foam that provides durability and stability to the mattress, excellent support as well as deep compression support for the body.
Nolah Original mattress layers
The cover of this mattress is a new snow-white Botanic Origin Tencel cover. It is a sustainable cellulosic cover of botanic origin that has a nice soft textured pattern and feel to it.
Firmness and Support
The Nolah Original is a universal comfort model and it only comes in one firmness option, which we rate at a 6-7 out of 10 (10 being the firmest). It initially may feel a little bit firm, but after a week or two, it totally adapts to your body.
This model is ideal for all sleeping positions as it offers enough give in the top comfort layer to support your shoulders and hips and has necessary firmness if you switch to your back or stomach.
Nolah Original mattress, corner view
Comfort
Although the Nolah Original mattress initially feels rather firm and not as cushioned, as the time passes your body adapts to it and molds to memory foam.
The Air Foam and the other layers in its construction work well together to provide the classic memory foam feeling of body hug and contour without causing you to feel trapped in a mattress.
The layer of high-resilience foam does a good job at supporting your body and providing good responsiveness when changing positions during the night without causing excessive motion transfer.
Sleeping Hot
The Nolah Original does a good job at creating a cool sleeping surface due to the use of the proprietary Nolah Air Foam. It retains a minimal amount of heat which is typical for most all foam mattresses, but it’s nothing too serious to cause sticky, sweaty feeling and deprive you of sleep.
Sinkage and Motion Transfer
With the Nolah Original mattress sinkage and motion transfer are reduced to the minimum. Andrew who is 230 lbs compressed the mattress to a certain degree, but he did not sink all the way down through it and come to rest on its foundation which is often the case with other all foam mattresses.
Nolah Original mattress – profile
Edge support is also good with this mattress as edges don’t compress when sitting or lying near them, and they don’t cause the feeling of rolling off the bed.
Smell / Off-Gassing
The Nolah Original had an average amount of off-gassing when taken out of the box and packaging. This is to be expected due to its all foam nature and the fact that it is delivered wrapped in a plastic package within a box, but any smell that was present dissipated within a few hours.
Customer Service:
- 120 Night Sleep Trial Period
- Lifetime Warranty
- Made in America
- Free Shipping
Price
This model is reasonably priced coming in at $799 for a Queen, which is a good price given the quality materials used in its construction.
Click here to read the full Nolah mattress review.
Leesa Original
Construction and Materials
The Leesa Original is an all foam mattress that combines premium foams for extraordinary cooling, contouring and pressure-relieving support. It is composed of the following layers:
- 2″ Cooling Foam Top Layer – The top layer is 2″ of the special cooling foam, designed to provide both hug of a classic memory foam and enough bounce which facilitates moving around in bed and prevents you from feeling stuck in foam. The special structure of this foam also allows greater airflow through the mattress and aids in cooling.
- 2″ Contouring Memory Foam Layer – This layer is made up of 2″ of contouring memory foam designed to support the body and provide pressure relief and proper spinal alignment.
- 6″ Core Support Foam Base Layer – This layer is 6″ of dense support foam that serves as the foundation for the layers above and works with them to provide excellent support for all types of sleepers and all sleeping positions.
Leesa Original mattress layers
The Leesa Original has a seamless gray, twill fabric cover that is extremely soft to the touch. The cover works to provide a cool sleeping surface that is pleasant to the touch and increase the overall comfort and luxuriousness of this mattress.
Firmness and Support
The Leesa, like the Nolah Orignal mattress, comes in a universal firmness option designed to appeal to a wide range of sleepers, and it is around a 6 out of 10 on the firmness scale, with 10 being the firmest.
However, firmness is largely weight dependent and I tended to compress the top layers less than Andrew who weights considerably more than I do. Unlike its predecessor, the Leesa Original mattress provided us with excellent support in all sleeping positions and did not cause Andrew to compress the mattress so much and bottom out when sitting up on it.
Leesa Original, corner view
Comfort
The Leesa Original mattress is a comfortable mattress. Its top comfort cooling foam layer is soft enough to mold to your body and offers incredible pressure relief to prevent the appearance of pressure points and dead arm sensation while it’s at the same time supportive enough to keep your spine properly aligned regardless of your the position you sleep in.
The special foams used in its construction also provide a bit of responsiveness and bounce which facilitates moving around and getting in and out of bed during the night.
Andrew felt this mattress was supportive enough for his heavy weight, and it didn’t cause him to reach the foundation of our bed. So, if you are a heavier sleeper, you will find this mattress quite comfortable and it’s thinner construction won’t affect your overall comfort and the quality of your sleep.
Sleeping Hot
As for sleeping hot, the Leesa does a good job here, and it is about average in this category.
Its top comfort layer made of the special cooling foam combined with the soft breathable cover prevents the build-up of excessive body heat, eliminates any discomfort and the feeling of stickiness usually present with many all foam mattresses and provides you with a cool and comfortable night’s sleep.
Sinkage and Motion Transfer
As it has been already said, sinkage and motion transfer is highly dependent on sleeper’s weight and as Andrew weights around 230 lbs, he compressed a bit the top comfort layer of this mattress, but the special foam used in this layer worked perfectly with the memory foam layer and the firmer base layer below to prevent him from sinking all the way down through the mattress and bottoming out.
Leesa Original profile view
Edge support is also good with this mattress. Andrew didn’t press all the way down through the mattress and come to rest on the foundation of our bed when sitting on or near its edge, and it worked perfectly well for me as well. We also didn’t experience any feeling of sliding and rolling off the bed.
As for motion transfer, there is almost no motion transfer with this mattress due to its all foam construction which isolates movements between partners to the least bit.
Smell / Off-Gassing
There is a small degree of off-gassing/smell upon opening the box. It is due to the all-foam construction of this mattress, but it is nothing overpowering when compared to some other mattresses we have reviewed.
Customer Service:
- Shipping – free shipping, arrives in 3-6 days
- 10 Year Warranty
- 100 Night Sleep Trial Period
- Made in the USA
Price
Leesa is pretty reasonably priced when compared to the in-store brands, and it comes in at $1099 for a queen.
Click here to read the full Leesa Original mattress review.
Click here to read the full Leesa hybrid king mattress review.
Nolah Original vs. Leesa Original Mattress Comparison
Below is our comprehensive side-by-side comparison of the Nolah Original vs Leesa Original mattress.
| Nolah Original | Leesa Original | |
|---|---|---|
| Layers | 2″ of proprietary cooling Nolah Air Foam, 1″ of deep supportive high-resilience foam, 7″ of high-density breathable base foam | 2″ of the special cooling foam, 2″ of contouring memory foam, 6″ of dense support foam |
| Height | 10" | 10″ |
| Cover | A new snow-white Botanic Origin Tencel cover | Seamless gray, twill fabric cover that is extremely soft to the touch |
| Firmness | 6-7 out of 10 | 6 out of 10 |
| Support | Very good | Very good |
| Motion Transfer | Very minimal | Very minimal |
| Price-Queen | $799 | $1099 |
| Price-King | $899 | $1299 |
| Warranty | 15 years | 10 years |
| Trial Period | 120 days | 100 days |
| Shipping | Free shipping | Free shipping, arrives in 3-6 days |
| Refunds & Returns | Yes | Yes |
Which Mattress Is Right for You?
Choose Nolah Original mattress if you like:
- Memory foam feel – As it has been already mentioned, this mattress offers a classic memory foam feel without the actual use of memory foam. The company created their own Nolah Air Foam which sleeps cooler than memory foam and is more durable than latex. It perfectly molds to your body and provides a hug typical for memory foam mattresses without causing you to feel trapped.
- Supportive mattress – The Nolah Original mattress does an excellent job at supporting your body in all sleeping positions. It will not compress too much under your weight, and it will not cause you to sink down to the foundation.
- Sharing your bed – With this mattress, there is almost no motion transfer which means that it is perfect for couples. So, if you plan on sharing your bed with a partner, the Nolah Original mattress may be the right pick for you. It will allow you to move freely around your bed and get in and out of it during the night without disturbing the sleep of your beloved one.
Choose Leesa Original mattress if you like:
- Memory foam feel – The softness of the Leesa cover combined with the initial soft response from its memory foam layers provide a soft feel typical for memory foam.
- Sleeping cool – The thin cover of this mattress and the use of the special cooling foams in its construction allow easier air flow, make this mattress breathable, and eliminate the feeling of stickiness usually present in memory foam mattresses.
