What is the Nolah Evolution?

What is the Nolah Evolution?

Evolution Mattress:  Nolah’s Most Popular Mattresses

If you’ve been researching mattresses online, you’ve probably come across the Nolah Evolution.

There’s a reason it gets so much attention. The Evolution is Nolah’s premium hybrid and packs quite a bit into one mattress: zoned support, an 8-inch individually wrapped coil system, AirFoam® Luxe, reinforced edges, three firmness options, an organic cotton cover, and an optional GlacioTex™ Cooling Pillow Top.

It’s also GREENGUARD Gold certified, uses CertiPUR-US® certified foams, and is fiberglass-free.

We recently added the Nolah Evolution Luxury Firm to our Green Bay showroom, so instead of giving you another generic mattress review, we wanted to break down what’s actually inside this mattress, what the different features do, and who we think should consider it.

First: What Is the Nolah Evolution?

The Nolah Evolution is a premium hybrid mattress that combines multiple foam comfort and support layers with an 8-inch individually wrapped coil system.

One of the biggest differences between the Evolution and a basic hybrid is the amount of zoning built into the mattress.

Instead of making every part of the mattress feel exactly the same, Nolah uses different levels of flexibility and support throughout the bed. You want your shoulders to have enough room to sink into the mattress, while your hips and midsection generally need more support to help maintain alignment.

The Evolution addresses this with zoned AirFoam® Luxe, Tri-Zone™ foam, and zoned coils.

In other words, there’s more going on here than simply putting foam on top of springs.

Nolah Evolution Quick Facts

  • Mattress Type: Premium hybrid
  • Height: 14 inches with the standard cover
  • Firmness Options: Plush, Luxury Firm, and Firm
  • Comfort Foam: AirFoam® Luxe
  • Coil System: 8-inch Zoned Ascension Coils
  • Standard Cover: Organic cotton
  • Cooling Upgrade: GlacioTex™ Cooling Pillow Top with an additional inch of quilted foam
  • Zoned Support: Yes
  • Edge Support: Reinforced perimeter coils
  • GREENGUARD Gold Certified: Yes
  • CertiPUR-US® Certified Foam: Yes
  • Fiberglass-Free: Yes
  • Designed & Assembled: USA

Three Firmness Options

One of our favorite things about the Evolution is that Nolah doesn’t try to make one firmness work for everyone.

You can choose between Plush, Luxury Firm, and Firm.

Plush — The softest Evolution. This is the option we’d look at for dedicated side sleepers and people who want deeper cushioning and pressure relief.

Luxury Firm — The middle option and the version we chose for our showroom. You still get plenty of cushioning on top, but there’s noticeable support underneath. This is a great place to start for couples, back sleepers, side sleepers, and people who switch positions throughout the night.

Firm — Less sink and a more supportive, on-top-of-the-mattress feel. This is designed for sleepers who simply prefer a firmer surface or need additional support.

Keep in mind that body weight matters just as much as sleep position when choosing firmness. A 120-pound side sleeper and a 230-pound side sleeper aren't necessarily going to experience the same mattress the same way.

What Is Actually Inside the Nolah Evolution?

This is where the Evolution gets interesting. There are multiple layers working together rather than one thick piece of foam sitting on top of coils.

With the standard configuration, the construction includes:

  1. Organic Cotton Cover
  2. Quilted Foam
  3. AirFoam® Luxe
  4. Gel Swirl Foam
  5. EverAdapt Transition Foam
  6. Tri-Zone™ Foam
  7. 8-inch Zoned Ascension Coils
  8. High-Density Base Foam

Each layer has a different job, from pressure relief and cooling near the top to stability and support deeper inside the mattress.

AirFoam® Luxe: What Is It?

One of the materials you’ll see mentioned frequently when researching Nolah is AirFoam® Luxe.

AirFoam® Luxe is Nolah’s high-density proprietary comfort foam. In the Evolution, the foam is perforated in zones to change how it responds to different areas of your body.

The shoulder area uses larger perforations to create more flexibility and pressure relief. Through the lumbar area, the foam maintains more resistance and support.

It also incorporates heat-dissipating copper to help move heat away from the sleeper.

That combination is important because your shoulders and midsection don't necessarily need the same thing from a mattress.

Your shoulders need room. Your midsection needs support.

An 8-Inch Zoned Coil System

Underneath the foam layers is an 8-inch Zoned Ascension Coil system.

These aren't traditional interconnected springs. Each coil is individually wrapped, allowing different areas of the mattress to respond more independently when pressure is applied.

The coils are also zoned to provide targeted support, working together with the zoned foam layers above them.

Individually wrapped coils have another advantage for couples: motion isolation. Because the coils can react independently, movement on one side of the mattress is less likely to travel across the entire spring system than it would with a traditional interconnected innerspring.

The open space within a coil system also gives heat somewhere to escape instead of surrounding you with one solid block of foam.

Reinforced Edge Support

The Evolution also uses reinforcement coils around the perimeter.

If you've ever sat on the edge of a mattress and felt like you were sliding off, you've experienced poor edge support.

A stronger perimeter helps reduce compression around the edge when you're sitting or sleeping near it. It can also make more of the mattress surface usable, which is especially helpful for couples sharing a queen or king.

Why Side Sleepers Keep Finding the Nolah Evolution

This is probably where the construction of the Evolution makes the most sense.

When you sleep on your side, much of your body weight becomes concentrated around two areas: your shoulders and hips.

If a mattress is too firm, those areas can build pressure. If it's too soft, your hips may sink too deeply and affect alignment.

The Evolution addresses both sides of that equation.

The foam layers provide cushioning and redistribute pressure, while the zoned support system is designed to provide additional support through the lumbar and hip area.

The AirFoam® Luxe is also specifically designed to be more flexible around the shoulders while maintaining firmer support through the middle of the mattress.

That's much more interesting to us than simply labeling a mattress "good for side sleepers." There's an actual design reason behind it.

What About Back Sleepers?

Back sleepers have a slightly different problem.

You still want enough contouring for the mattress to follow the natural shape of your body, but excessive sink through the hips and midsection can become uncomfortable.

That's where we think the Luxury Firm becomes especially interesting.

You still get the cushioned top of the Evolution, but the Tri-Zone™ foam and zoned coil system underneath are designed to provide additional support through the center of the mattress.

For someone who switches between their back and side, the Luxury Firm is probably the first Evolution we'd suggest trying.

Does the Nolah Evolution Feel Like Memory Foam?

Not exactly.

There's plenty of foam in the Evolution, so you still get contouring and pressure relief. But the responsive AirFoam® Luxe combined with the coil system gives the mattress more bounce and responsiveness than you'd typically associate with a slow-moving memory foam mattress.

If you like the pressure relief of foam but don't want to feel stuck in your mattress, this is one reason the Evolution is worth trying.

How Does the Nolah Evolution Handle Heat?

Cooling isn't based on one feature in the Evolution. Nolah uses several different materials and construction techniques to manage heat.

  • Perforated AirFoam® Luxe helps improve airflow.
  • Copper infused into the AirFoam® Luxe helps dissipate heat.
  • Gel Swirl Foam adds another cooling component.
  • The coil system creates open space for airflow through the lower portion of the mattress.
  • AirBreath™ border gusset is designed to help body heat escape through the sides of the mattress.

And then there's an optional upgrade for people who want even more cooling.

Organic Cotton or GlacioTex™: You Have a Choice

This is a feature we think more people should know about.

You do not have to get the GlacioTex™ cooling cover with the Nolah Evolution.

The standard Evolution comes with a soft and breathable organic cotton cover over a one-inch layer of quilted foam.

For shoppers who prefer having a natural fiber at the surface of their mattress, the organic cotton version may actually be the more appealing option.

If cooling is the bigger priority, Nolah offers the optional GlacioTex™ Cooling Pillow Top.

GlacioTex™ uses high-thermal-conductivity fibers designed to draw heat away from your body and create a noticeably cool-to-the-touch surface.

The upgrade also adds another inch of quilted foam, giving the GlacioTex™ version two inches of quilted foam total and adding additional cushioning and pressure relief.

So the choice really comes down to what matters more to you:

Organic Cotton Cover: Soft, breathable, and made with organic cotton fibers for shoppers who prefer a more natural material at the sleeping surface.

GlacioTex™ Cooling Pillow Top: A cool-to-the-touch performance fabric plus additional quilted foam for people who prioritize cooling and extra cushioning.

Neither option is automatically better. They're designed for different priorities.

What Certifications Does the Nolah Evolution Have?

Comfort isn't the only thing worth researching when you're buying a mattress. It's also worth knowing what's inside it.

The Nolah Evolution carries two important certifications:

GREENGUARD Gold Certified

The entire Nolah Evolution mattress is GREENGUARD Gold certified.

GREENGUARD certification involves testing products for volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. The Gold certification has stricter emissions limits than standard GREENGUARD certification.

For shoppers paying attention to indoor air quality and chemical emissions, this is an important certification to look for.

CertiPUR-US® Certified Foams

The polyurethane foams used in the Evolution are also CertiPUR-US® certified.

CertiPUR-US® certified foams are tested by independent accredited laboratories and must meet standards for content, emissions, and durability.

According to CertiPUR-US® requirements, certified foams are:

  • Made without ozone depleters
  • Made without PBDEs, TDCPP, or TCEP ("Tris") flame retardants
  • Made without mercury, lead, and other heavy metals
  • Made without formaldehyde
  • Made without phthalates regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission
  • Tested for low VOC emissions for indoor air quality

Is the Nolah Evolution Fiberglass-Free?

Yes.

Nolah states that the Evolution is fiberglass-free and meets federal flammability requirements without using fiberglass as a flame retardant.

That's another specification worth knowing, especially if avoiding fiberglass is part of your mattress search.

Is the Nolah Evolution Good for Couples?

There are several reasons we'd put the Evolution on the list for couples.

First, the individually wrapped coils help reduce motion transfer compared with a traditional interconnected spring system.

Second, the reinforced perimeter gives couples more usable sleeping space near the edges.

And third, having three firmness options gives you a better chance of finding a middle ground if you and your partner have different sleeping preferences.

This is one of the reasons we chose the Luxury Firm for our showroom. It sits right in that middle range where you're getting noticeable cushioning without giving up the underlying support.

Who Should Put the Nolah Evolution on Their List?

We'd take a serious look at the Evolution if:

  • You're primarily a side or back sleeper
  • Pressure around your shoulders or hips is a major concern
  • You want cushioning without an extremely slow memory-foam feel
  • You tend to sleep warm
  • You and your partner have different sleeping preferences
  • Edge support matters to you
  • You want multiple firmness choices
  • You prefer an organic cotton sleeping surface
  • You want the option of upgrading to an active cooling cover
  • GREENGUARD Gold and CertiPUR-US® certifications matter to you
  • You specifically want a fiberglass-free mattress

Our Take on the Nolah Evolution

What we like about the Nolah Evolution isn't one flashy feature. It's how all of the pieces work together.

Softer around the shoulders. More support through the middle. Individually wrapped coils underneath. Reinforcement around the edges. Three firmness choices. Multiple cooling features. An organic cotton cover or optional GlacioTex™ upgrade.

Each feature is addressing a specific problem sleepers commonly have.

We chose the Luxury Firm Nolah Evolution for our showroom because we think it's the best place for most shoppers to start. You get noticeable pressure relief and cushioning on top while still feeling the support underneath.

But this is also a perfect example of why we built our showroom.

You can read 20 reviews telling you that a mattress is "medium firm," but that doesn't tell you how it's going to feel to you.

If you've been researching the Nolah Evolution online, you can try the Luxury Firm in person at The Online Mattress Store in the Green Bay area and compare it directly with other popular online mattress brands.

Research it online. Try it in real life. Then decide.