We’ve praised Nolah’s mattresses many times, as they’re known for their distinctive memory foam feel and reliable structure. We’ve also recommended its Original 10″ and Signature 12″ for side sleepers for some time now.
However, if you’re looking for a mattress that’s suitable for all types of people, the Nolah Evolution Hybrid is an option we recently tested. This bed is a departure from Nolah’s previous mattress recipe and features a plush pillow-top and multiple firmness options. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
A First Look at the Nolah Evolution Hybrid Mattress
When we first got the Nolah Evolution Hybrid, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Nolah’s first hybrid mattress. I’ve seen many brands take one of its all-foam models and replace the support foam with a layer of coils before creating a hotel-style pillow-top mattress — but Nolah did things differently.
After opening the mattress and giving it some time to fully inflate and harden, I was immediately impressed with the look and feel of the bed. How a bed looks isn’t that important because you usually only get to see the outside of your mattress when you change your sheets, but after testing hundreds of beds over six years I appreciate a good-looking mattress and in my opinion the Nolah Evolution is certainly that.
It didn’t feel at all like previous Nolah models, even though it used the same kind of foam. The Nolah Evolution felt more like a hotel mattress rather than a mixed feel between memory foam and a more neutral, reactive foam and I had a very good impression of this mattress from the start.
Nolah Evolution Hybrid Construction and Feel
The Nolah Evolution Hybrid is a thick mattress, measuring 15 inches tall, which means you should buy some deep-pocketed sheets if you decide to buy the Nolah Evolution or any other bed with a similar height.
The lowest layer is a thin layer of high-density support foam. You won’t feel this layer when you sleep on the mattress. This is simply so that the 8-inch layer of pocketed coils has a stable base.
These coils are of a thicker gauge along the perimeter of the mattress and in the middle third to provide reinforced edge support and zoned support. I was recently able to visit the factory where Nolah makes this mattress, along with dozens of others, and see how the coils are made. The coils are exactly as Nolah says.
Above the coil layer are two separate layers of responsive transition foam, and above the transition foam is a layer of zoned airfoam. This foam is similar to the main comfort layers found in the Nolah Original 10 and Signature 12, and it has a few unique features.
It has the same body-conforming quality as more traditional memory foam, while being much more responsive, which gives other Nolah beds a blended or mixed foam feel.
The Nolah Evolution has a thick pillow-top on top of the Airfoam, which gives a soft, responsive pillow-top feel that I can compare to beds I’ve slept on in hotels. I find it hard to imagine people trying this bed and finding it uncomfortable at all.
Firmness and Sleeper Types
The Nolah Evolution Hybrid is available in three different firmness options: a plush model, a luxury-firm model, and a firm model. These firmness profiles give sleepers plenty of options that should suit most sleeping preferences.
We rated the plush model between medium-soft and medium on our firmness scale, which is closer to the medium-soft end of the spectrum. This option will appeal to side sleepers looking for maximum pressure relief.
The Plush-Firm model is noticeably firmer than the Plush, which comes in at a flat medium, which works well for most sleeper types, especially couples and combination sleepers.
The Firm model will be around medium-firm, which will appeal to back, stomach, and combination sleepers.
The Plush-Firm is the most popular and I would recommend it for people sharing this mattress and people like myself, but I think having the special firmness profiles available is a huge bonus.
There is also a variant of this mattress called the Nolah Evolution Comfort Plus that uses extra thick gauge coils and the base is a little more firm (but not by much) than the Nolah Evolution’s Firm model. This bed is designed to be extra durable and supportive for heavier individuals.