Ever since the boom of internet marketing, a number of small mattress manufacturers have sprung up – offering premium quality products at a fraction of the cost of what traditional big brands ask – this has consequently forced these established brands to reconsider their price points and make their products more accessible to the mainstream consumer.
Saatva is one such newcomer in to the sleep industry, and after having established their name with the Saatva innerspring / memory foam hybrid mattress, they’ve launched a full on memory foam product that rivals any luxury mattress brand out there – the Loom and Leaf mattress.
I’ve decided to compare it with Serta’s (a pretty well-known mattress maker) iComfort Blue 100 memory foam mattress to give you an idea of how a newcomer fares against a veteran brand. When you’re through with this Loom and Leaf vs iComfort comparison, perhaps you’ll realize that brand recognition isn’t everything after all, or perhaps we’ll see that years of experience do mean a lot in this industry!
Loom and Leaf Breakdown
The Loom and Leaf is a modern viscoelastic foam mattress that boasts a number of premium features at a quite affordable cost, making it a direct competitor to more established memory foam names.
Construction
Cover
A classically luxurious organic cotton cover adorns the top of the mattress – the material has been used for centuries because of its softness and breathability, and creates a pleasantly relaxing surface for you to rest on. The manufacturer has tightly fitted the cover over the actual mattress layers to prevent the development of bunches and slivers that could interfere with your sleep.
First Layer
The uppermost proper layer of the mattress is made out of gel-swirl viscoelastic foam – and the manufacturer has openly quoted its density at 4 lbs./cu.ft. – a respectable figure that should ensure that the 2” layer is able to yield contouring pressure relief for many long years.
The gel-swirl mechanism introduced into the viscoelastic ensures that it doesn’t suffer from heat retention problems that usually plague memory foam mattresses. There is also a special spinal gel panel that provides targeted cooling to your lower back – because this part of the body is most susceptible to heat accumulation. In addition to this, the layer has a convoluted construction to ensure ample ventilation inside the mattress, thereby continually removing any heat that is absorbed.
Second Layer
The next layer is also comprised of memory foam, but at a thicker density and depth – 5 lbs./cu.ft. and 2.5” respectively. This enables the layer to have a slower reacting response compared to the upper layer, so that it is able to adapt the mattress to the deeper pressure that your body exerts after the initial impact is absorbed by the upper layer.
Third Layer
A layer of transition foam at a depth of 2 inches comes next – this layer binds the upper ‘comfort’ layers to the lower ‘support’ layer, ensuring that there isn’t a sharp transition from one to the next: this is especially likely if you’re weight is high enough to cause your body to sink right through the soft memory foam layers up top, and could result in an uncomfortable sleep experience.
Fourth Layer
5.5 inches of high density polyurethane foam form the base of the mattress. Once the upper layers have shaped up to the contours of your body and provided you with cradling comfort, this substantial slab of tough polyfoam prevents any further sinkage under your body weight, and thus ensures that your entire frame is held up in proper position so that it doesn’t suffer from any undue stress.
Firmness and Feel
Comfort and Support
There are two firmness levels to choose from in the Loom and Leaf mattress, and both have them offer a particular mixture of pressure relief and support.
Relaxed Firm
This is the most popular variant of the mattress – the manufacturer regards it as their flagship, and sagely keeps its precise ILD rating under wraps to prevent others from copying it. The medium-firm response of this variant contains (roughly) equal measures of comfort and support, so it yields the conforming behavior of a typical viscoelastic mattress without succumbing to an excessively ‘engulfing’ feel that is associated with the material. Saatva has rated this mattress 5-7 on their 1 to 10 firmness scale; 1 is extremely soft and 10 is extremely hard.
Firm
This variant is designed to offer a stiffer response that normal memory foam products – it thus reduces the contouring effect of the upper viscoelastic layers, and instead highlights the response of the HD support foam base. In essence, it yields just enough contouring to not be termed a traditional foam product, while still offering some resistance to resemble the latter.
Motion Transfer
As is customary for memory foam mattresses, the Loom and Leaf is able to superbly block out all impacts that occur on its surface – your sleep partner is not going to feel any disturbance at all, even if you’re having a restless night.
However, it should be noted that this dull, deadening behavior of memory foam can be irritating for people who tend to shift around a lot, or otherwise have trouble getting out of bed.
Cooling
The cotton cover, gel-swirl infusion, spinal gel panel, and convoluted construction of the first layer all combine to yield an impressive heat dissipation system for the Loom and Leaf. Of course, since it makes liberal use of viscoelastic and polyfoam, you can expect some heat retention, however, it shouldn’t be as much of a nuisance as it would have been in a memory foam mattress without these features.
Edge Support
This being an all-foam mattress, and with top layers comprised exclusively of plush, yielding viscoelastic, one cannot expect substantial edge support. Thus, you should be prepared to sink somewhat when sitting on the edges – the iComfort Blue 100 has some edge support enhancing capability in its base layer, but even then, it is pointless to expect truly resilient edge response from an all-foam product.
Unique Features
Contouring viscoelastic behavior without heating issues
The multiple layers of memory foam enable the Loom and Leaf to yield a signature memory foam response – it contours exactly to your sleep posture and provides remarkable pressure relief. However, this is the case with all other memory foam products as well; what sets the Loom and Leaf apart is its multitude of heat management mechanisms that prevent it from heating up like a sauna the way ordinary viscoelastic foam mattresses do.
The Serta iComfort Blue 100 may have fancy heat management technologies of its own, but they aren’t as numerous as those of the Loom and Leaf, so while the former may be able to yield a cooler surface to sleep on initially, it is plausible to say that the latter would win out in terms of long-term heat management.
Multiple firmness options
The Loom and Leaf has both Relaxed-Firm and Firm variants, compared to the iComfort Blue 100, which only has a single Gentle-Firm one. While the Relaxed-Firm and Gentle-Firm models are comparable, it seems that the Loom and Leaf is also able to target an extra part of the market segment i.e. those who want less-than-typical contouring from their memory foam mattress.
Organic cotton cover
The Loom and Leaf has an organic cotton cover – besides being soft, cool and hypoallergenic, this material is inherently one of the safest substances that your skin could be exposed to. Serta does not reveal the actual contents of its TempActiv fabric, so it is quite likely that it contains some synthetic fibers that might not sit well with someone looking for an organic sleeping surface.
More value for your investment
Despite the fact that it costs $100 more than the Blue 100, the Loom and Leaf makes up for it with all the extra features it gives you: the sophisticated cooling mechanisms, the fully organic cotton cover, and the substantially greater foam thickness – it even comes with a 5 year longer warranty. When you look at all these features together, it is evident which of these mattresses offers the best value for your money.
Longer warranty
The Loom and Leaf comes with a 15 year warranty as opposed to Serta’s 10 year warranty. This can be interpreted as a mark of greater confidence in their product’s durability on part of the manufacturer. That said, it should also be kept in mind that it isn’t likely that any mattress will stay in a condition that makes it eligible for a warranty claim beyond 10 years, so from a practical standpoint, there isn’t a significant advantage.
Serta iComfort Blue 100 Breakdown
Construction
Cover
The Serta iComfort Blue 100 mattress features a cover made from proprietary TempActiv™ Touch Fabric. They keep the exact constituents of this fabric under wraps, but its functionality appears to be that of a cool-to-the-touch sleep surface that dissipates heat away from your body as soon as you lie down.
First Layer
The first layer of the mattress consists of 0.75” of TempActiv™ Gel Memory Foam whose function it is to provide the initial contouring feel that is expected from a traditional memory foam mattress, while also enhancing heat dissipation by way of its gel beads.
Second Layer
The next layer is also a viscoelastic one – 2” of EverCool® Fuze Memory Foam that further aids in enabling the mattress to adapt to your bodily contours and provide pressure relief. Combined with the first layer, this can jointly be termed the ‘comfort layer’ of the mattress.
Third Layer
This layer is comprised of 1” of Serta® Balanced Support Foam, which serves as an intermediary between the plush response of the upper layers and the stiff support yielded by the succeeding core. It yields a mixture of comfort and support, and ensures that the transition from viscoelastic cushioning to polyurethane resilience isn’t too abrupt.
Fourth Layer
Six inches of Serta® Ultimate Edge® Foam Core make up the supportive base of the mattress. This part of the mattress is responsible for holding your body in proper spinal alignment once the upper layers have ‘enveloped’ around your sleep posture. The stiff construction of this layer also offers decent strength to the edges of the mattress, so that they don’t sink excessively underweight.
Firmness and Feel
Comfort and Support
The Serta iComfort Blue 100 is available in a solitary ‘gentle firm’ firmness level. This lies right between their scale that ranges from soft to firm, and thus it is intended to provide an even balance between comfort and support. This is reflected by the use of viscoelastic foam in the comfort layer to yield the pressure relief and contouring, and the use of stiff polyurethane foam to provide deep support.
It has been reported by some users that the iComfort mattress takes a few days to break into its advertised ‘gentle firm’ level, so don’t be alarmed if it feels a bit stiff initially – of course, the break-in period also depends on your own body weight.
Motion Transfer
Memory foam mattresses are renowned for their ability to completely absorb sudden impacts and prevent them from spreading to the surroundings – the iComfort mattress is no exception to this trend.
Cooling
For a memory foam product, the iComfort mattress is able to perform quite well when it comes to heat dissipation – no doubt this can be directly attributed to the multiple heat removal technologies built right into the memory foam that it uses. However, it is an-all foam mattress after all, so you should be prepared for someheat retention, particularly in warm climate.
Edge Support
While you should expect some amount of sinkage when you sit on the edge (because an all foam mattress will have some inherent give), it shouldn’t be as bad as one might expect from a mattress that uses memory foam so extensively. This is due to the supportive nature of the Ultimate Edge® Foam Support Core that forms the base of the iComfort Blue 100 – it prevents your backside from sinking further once the upper layers have yielded to your weight.
You may be interested in: Serta iComfort Blue 100 Gentle Firm
Unique Features
Smaller price tag
In one of the more surprising instances of my exploration of the sleep market, it appears that the mattress from the big brand is actually cheaper than the one offered by the newcomer. The Blue 100 is the most affordable mattress in the decorated iComfort lineup, and still packs the features (albeit in reduced quantity) that are present in its much more expensive siblings.
Cool to the touch surface
The TempActiv surface fabric actively transports heat away from your body as soon as you’ve laid down on the mattress. While the Loom and Leaf’s organic cotton cover is breathable, soft and luxurious in its own right, the cooling it provides is more passive in nature.
Greater brand recognition
I’ve made this point above a couple of times – Serta and, in particular, their iComfort line, is widely regarded as a high-end brand, so even if the Blue 100 is its cheapest offering, it still commands a degree of respect and conveys a sense of quality and reliability. In a nutshell, owning a Serta iComfort mattress, no matter what tier it is at, will give you more bragging rights than the relatively fresh (and obscure) Loom and Leaf would.
Higher edge support
The Blue 100 has a 6” base layer compared to the Loom and Leaf’s 5.5”, and in addition to this, it has dedicated Edge support technology incorporated into it, so you can expect this mattress to yield somewhat stiffer support around the boundaries of the bed, particularly when compared to the Medium-Firm variant of the Loom and Leaf.
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Which One To Get?
Loom and Leaf mattress
You could get the Loom and Leaf mattress if:
You want the best bang for your buck: If you’re looking for a memory foam mattress that is packed with features yet is economically accessible, you should consider the Loom and Leaf over the Saatva. Even though it costs a bit more, it includes several added features that meaningfully enhance your sleep experience – the longer warranty should also give you some confidence about the durability of your investment.
You prefer to sleep on an organic surface: If you’ve got a skin condition that necessitates sleeping on an organic surface, or you’re just plain uncomfortable sleeping on exposing your skin to synthetic chemicals, the Loom and Leaf’s pure organic cotton cover makes it the obvious better choice.
You want a viscoelastic response with minimal heat retention: The Serta Blue 100’s TempActiv surface no doubt provides more rapid heat transfer from the surface, but as I’ve stated above, it isn’t as well equipped at removing this heat from its internal layers as the Loom and Leaf is with its targeted cooling features and well ventilated construction.
Thus, if you’re looking for a memory foam mattress that doesn’t heat up on long summer nights, it may be wiser to consider the Loom and Leaf over the Serta iComfort Blue 100.
You want more choice in firmness levels: The Loom and Leaf is available in two firmness levels, which makes it appeal to a broader consumer segment. In particular, its ‘Firm’ variant is better suited for bulkier individuals who find that their bodies sink right through softer (more traditional) memory foam mattresses. Similarly, it also works well for people who want to sleep on a bed that is only slightly contouring without being too ‘sticky’ or enveloping.
You like to know what you’re buying: If you’re a sleep geek, you won’t rest easy (no pun intended) until you know exactly the specifications of the mattress you’re sleeping on. Loom and Leaf is impressively open in this regard – the densities of all memory foam layers are explicitly stated, and they can be used to gauge the durability of the product by oneself (they appear to be in line with premium quality products to me).
This is not the case with the Blue 100 which, despite being made by a well-known manufacturer, does not clearly state its foam densities implying that they are perhaps not as reassuring.
A longer warranty matters to you: Although I’ve already stated my reasons for not setting much store by a warranty beyond 10 years, if you believe that a longer warranty correlates positively with a mattress’s durability, you may want to spend the extra $100 on the Loom and Leaf because of its 5 year longer warranty.
iComfort Mattress
However, here are some situations where getting the iComfort mattress may be the smarter move:
You’re on a strict budget: The iComfort Blue 100 sells at a full $100 less than the Loom and Leaf at present, so if you’re extremely budget bound, you may consider getting the former. You’ll get roughly the same kind of viscoelastic conformity as the latter, and with the assurance of a well-established name to boot.
You’ll be sitting on the side of your bed a lot: I’ve already mentioned that the iComfort will have better edge support than the Loom and Leaf because of its thicker and tougher support core – so if you’re caring for a sick family member or read to your child every night, you may find the superior edge support offered by the iComfort to be of use.
You want to sleep on an actively cool surface: The TempActiv fabric cover will create a surface that starts dissipating your body heat instantaneously after you get into bed, which may be comforting for people who tend to get suddenly hot in bed (e.g. women experiencing menopause).
You’re looking for bragging rights: If you’re interested in getting new mattresses for a commercial establishment where you want to be able to advertise the quality of your services, it is quite likely that your guests will more readily recognize the iComfort brand name as opposed to the Loom and Leaf.
Loom and Leaf vs iComfort Comparison
| Loom and Leaf | iComfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Layers Used |
|
|
| Height | 12 inches | 9.75” |
| Firmness | Medium-Firm, Firm | Gentle Firm |
| Motion Transfer | Minimal | Minimal |
| Breathability | Above average | Above average |
| Trial Period | 120-day | 120-day |
| Warranty | 15-year | 10-year |
| Pricing (Queen) | $1,699 | $999 |
| Shipping | Free across the US | Free across the US |
| Discount | None at present | None at present |
Conclusion
Having gone through this comparison, I hope you will have noticed that old-school mattress manufacturers are starting to catch up with the newcomers that have taken the market by storm. Despite this, online mattress companies such as Saatva tend to be more open about their specifications and offer more value for their asking price, which is why they still pose a stiff competition.
If you found this post helpful, please also share it with your friends and family members who are interested in getting a new mattress. Also, if you’ve got any feedback to give or questions to ask, feel free to do so in the comments section below.