If you’re looking for a bed-in-a-box mattress with two firmnesses in one, you’ve come to the right place.
Here we review the Nolah Signature 12-inch bed, the best double sided mattress.
We’re going to take a look at its construction, my experience with it, who it’s a good fit for and who it’s not a good fit for.
Let’s get started.
As the name suggests the Nolah Signature comes from Nolah, producer of some very high quality and good value mattresses.
Right now they have three different models: the Nolah Original mattress, the Nolah Signature mattress and the Nolah Evolution hybrid.
The Signature is their flippable model, has two firmnesses in one and because of that, it’s a good match for many types of sleepers.
How does it all work. Let’s start off by talking about the construction.
Table of Contents
Construction
It’s going to be 12 inches tall.
We’re starting off on top and working our way down from the soft side down to the firm side.
We have a soft breathable cover, lots of nice airflow through the top of the mattress. It’s also removable for when you flip the mattress.
The top layer is two inches of cooling AirFoam, proprietary to Nolah. It’s a nice responsive type of foam, but also very comfortable. Also designed to be cooling and breathable.
Below that a foam transition layer. It’s going to have some more bounce to it,
Moving down, you’re going to have your support layer. It’s going to be some base support foam, very high density.
Below that is a thinner layer of the cooling AirFoam. That is the firm side of the mattress.
So what does all this mean?
It’s a flippable mattress. You have your soft side and your firm side. More comfort layers on the soft side for some more softness. A thinner comfort layer on the firm side for some more firmness.
Also speaking of cooling, with the cooling AirFoam designed not to trap heat, the way memory foam does. Also breathable cover. Shouldn’t be sleeping too hot overall.
Last but not least, speaking of durability, looking its overall construction, its high-end materials gonna last for between seven and ten years.
Firmness and Feel
Now let’s talk about firmness and feel.
In terms of firmness, this matters is close to a 6 out of 10 on the soft side and an 8 out of 10 on the firm side.
Speaking of feel overall, it has more of a bouncy responsive feel. Push my hand in, bounces back into place very quickly.
It’s got a decent amount of bounce, but I can say for myself, moving around on this mattress is not too difficult.
Sleeping Positions
Now let’s talk about how I feel in different sleeping positions on the Nolah Signature mattress.
Starting on the soft side on my back, a good balance of comfort and support, my hips sink in the right amount, some good contouring, some good overall support.
Moving to my side, some decent pressure relief in my shoulders and my hips, sinking in, but I’m not bottoming out.
Moving to my stomach however, it’s definitely not supportive enough for me. I am bowing at the hips and I’m getting out of alignment.
But flipping to the firm side on my back, also a good match for me, even more supportive, hips don’t sink in quite so far, but for me as a larger person, a good match. If you’re a lighter person, it might feel too firm to you when you’re back sleeping.
Moving to my side though, way too firm for side sleeping, some serious pressure on my shoulders and my hips,
Moving to my stomach though, being the firmer side, good support under my hips, I’m not getting out of alignment, good overall support.
Pressure Map
I like to mix subjective opinion with objective tests and one of those tests is the pressure map.
I lie down on my back, side and stomach. I see anywhere from blue for no pressure, all the way up to red for high pressure.
When doing the test on the soft side of this mattress, it was mostly blue with some green on my shoulders and my hips.
Motion Transfer
If you sleep with a partner, you also want to think about motion transfer.
Basically you’re lying down on one side of the mattress and your part moves around on the other side, are you going to feel that motion or not.
To test out the motion transfer with the Nolah Signature two sided mattress, I placed a glass of water in the center, pushed the other areas around it and there was not too much disturbance in the water. The motion transfer is quite good.
I will say on the firmer side, you might not get quite as good motion isolation as you do on the soft side.
To test out the motion transfer on this mattress further, I asked a friend to lie down on one side of the mattress, move around, change positions while I was on the other side of the mattress.
I didn’t feel too many motion transferred to my side, so overall some decent handling of motion transfer.
Edge Support
If you sleep with a partner or you like sleeping towards the edge of the mattress, you also want to think about edge support.
When you’re sitting down or lying down to the edge of a mattress, do you feel secure or going to roll off and onto the floor?
When I’m sitting down near the edge of the Nolah Signature, it’s collapsing a little bit, I do feel secure enough to lean over and tie my shoes.
Lying down on this mattress, I’m lying pretty close to the edge, it’s not collapsing too much under my weight. So overall some decent edge support.
Pros
Now let’s talk about the pros. Who I think this mattress might be a good fit for.
First off, it is a good option if you want two firmnesses in one mattress. It is a flippable mattress, it has a firm side and a soft side. Because of that, a good match for different sleeping positions. A good match for back sleeping, side sleeping and stomach sleeping.
Last but not least, if you prefer more of a balanced foam feel overall, that’s soft but also quite responsive, definitely take a look at the Nolah signature.
Cons
Now let’s talk about the cons and who I think this mattress might not be the best fit for.
First off, if you’re a larger person over 250 pounds, it might not be the best option for you. You might want to take a look at the Nola Evolution hybrid.
Also if you want more of a medium firm mattress, probably not the best choice for you. You have a soft side and a firm side, but not a medium firm side.
And last but not least, speaking of feel, I prefer more of a slow moving feel overall. You don’t really get that with the Nolah Signature. It has more of a bouncy responsive feel overall.
Comparison of Double Sided Mattresses
If you’re taking a look at the Nolah Signature, you might want to know how it compares to the Layla mattress, one of its major competitors.
Let’s do that right now.
First off, looking at their construction, they are both flippable mattresses. They both have a firm and a soft side.
The main difference is going to be found though in their comfort layer. The Layla mattress has a slow-moving copper-infused memory foam. The Nolah matters has an AirFoam, which is more responsive.
Because of that, you have a different feel with these two mattresses. The Layla has more of a slow moving feel overall. The Nolah has more of a bouncy responsive feel overall.
Speaking of firmness though, they’re both pretty close at 8 for the firm side and a 6 for the soft side.
But speaking of price, the Layla cost a little bit less than the Nolah Signature.
So who should get one and who should get the other?
In terms of who should get the Nolah, I think it’s a better option for those who like more of a responsive balanced foam feel.
And in terms of who should get the Layla mattress, it is a better match for fans of memory foam and a memory foam feel. And a good option if you want to spend a little bit less on your mattress.
Best Mattress With Two Different Firmness (Flippable Mattress)
Unboxing
So the Nolah Signature is a bed in a box mattress. It’s going to come to your house in a cardboard box.
How do you unbox it?
It’s easy to follow these instructions.
Ask a friend for help. These boxes can be quite heavy, you don’t want to hurt or strain yourself. Then bring the box inside and into your bedroom. Open up the top of the box and take out your rolled up mattress.
Place it on your frame or foundation and slowly and carefully cut the layers of plastic. You don’t want to damage your brand new mattress.
Then give it about 24 to 40 hours to off gas and expand and you’re good to go.
Policies
Now I want to give you some additional information on the Nolah Signature mattress.
It comes with free shipping and returns, a 120 night sleep trial, a lifetime warranty. They offer other mattress models, accessories and financing as well.
Wrap-up
Is the Nolah Signature a good mattress?
In our experience, it’s definitely a great mattress. It’s the best double sided mattress.
But it’s definitely about what you’re looking for.
If you want something that has a responsive feel overall, with two firmnesses in one, it’s definitely good option for you.
But if you want more a medium firm mattress, you prefer more of a slow moving memory foam feel, you might want to look elsewhere.
In the end we think the Nolah Signature is a great option if you want a flippable mattress, if you sleep in multiple sleep positions and you like a responsive feel overall.
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