Relaxed vs Firm: How to choose a comfort level of the luxury Saatva Loom & Leaf mattress
How to choose a firmness levels when buying the Saatva Loom & Leaf in the Black Friday mattress sales
The Loom & Leaf is a luxury memory foam mattress by Saatva, designed to offer excellent pressure relief and alleviate back pain. The bed is also customizable, allowing you to choose between two firmness levels: Relaxed Firm vs Firm. But how can you decide which one is right for your body and sleep style?
The Saatva Loom & Leaf is brought to you by the brand behind this year's best mattress; the Saatva Classic. While the hybrid Classic is also customizable, the Loom & Leaf features the traditional, body-hugging feel of memory foam beds. However, the overall feel of the mattress will depend on whether you choose Relaxed Firm vs Firm.
In this Relaxed Firm vs Firm guide, we'll help you decide which Loom & Leaf feel to choose if you're shopping the Saatva Black Friday sales. Plus, our exclusive Saatva discount link saves you $400 on all sizes of the Loom & Leaf in one of this year's best Black Friday mattress deals, so now is a great time to buy if you need a twin, twin XL, full, or a queen.
What is the Saatva Loom & Leaf mattress?
The Loom & Leaf is a mattress by Saatva, a luxury online sleep brand. It stands at 12" tall and has an all-foam design, using materials such as premium 5lb memory foam, alongside gel-infused foam and organic cotton.
Our Saatva Loom & Leaf mattress review gave the mattress four-stars, with our lead tester praising its lumbar and spinal support, excellent pressure relief, and superb motion isolation. Our testers also loved the Saatva, including a generously long 365-night sleep trial and lifetime warranty, as well as complimentary white glove delivery (including old mattress removal).
However, be aware that if you decide to return or exchange ir, there is a $99 returns fee — so it's worth getting the feel right first time. Other negatives include the memory foam's tendency to trap heat, despite being a cooling gel infusion and perforations for enhanced breathability. With this in mind, you may want to look at some of the best hybrid mattresses or best cooling mattresses if you're a hot sleeper.
Throughout our review process, we slept on the Relaxed Firm model, but the Loom & Leaf also comes in Firm. While our reviewer loved the feel of a Relaxed Firm, finding it comfortable in all sleep positions, there are some benefits to going firmer. Here's a run-down of the benefits and drawbacks of both firmness options...
Saatva Loom & Leaf: was from $1,595 $1,195 at Saatva
The Saatva Loom & Leaf is now $400 off all sizes in the Saatva mattress sales thanks to our exclusive link. This discount matches the best price we've seen all year on the twin, twin XL, full, and queen sizes. But if you're opting for a king size or larger, you might want to hold out for the next 15% off Saatva sale, as you'll save more on these bigger sizes.
Saatva Loom & Leaf Relaxed Firm vs Firm: Key differences
So, we've already explained that the Loom & Leaf comes in two firmness levels, but what is mattress firmness? Mattress firmness is rated on a scale of one to 10, with one indicating a mattress that's marshmallow-soft and 10 referring to a mattress that's as hard as a plank.
Relaxed Firm is another way of saying that a mattress is medium-firm. Medium-firm is a crowd-pleasing firmness level, as it's designed to offer both softness and firmness for a good balance of comfort and support. Saatva rates this firmness level 5-7 out of 10, while our testing panel rated it 7 out of 10. Saatva recomends it to side sleepers, back sleepers, combination sleepers, and couples — pretty much everyone but front sleepers.
The Firm model is the firmer of the two options, with Saatva rating it 8 out of 10. This puts it in the firm category, with Saatva recommending it to stomach sleepers, restless sleepers, and those who prefer a firm mattress.
Saatva Loom & Leaf Relaxed Firm vs Firm: Support & Comfort
The Saatva Loom & Leaf is one of the best memory foam mattresses if you want an all-foam bed made from luxurious, premium materials that can alleviate back pain. Whichever firmness level you choose, you'll get a mattress that's features a lumbar crown for pressure relieving lower back support and a high-density memory foam core.
However, while the build may be similar, the key difference lies in how firm it feels. Our main tester (a side and stomach sleeper) loved how the Relaxed Firm relieved her pressure points and eased her back pain. She said it would suit all sleep styles, though conceded that it may be a little too plush for some. In terms of body type, we'd reccomend the Relaxed Firm to lightweight and average-sized sleepers.
Saatva corroborates our main reviewer's opinion, and says the Relaxed Firm is designed for side sleepers, combination sleeper, and back sleepers, along with couples who can't agree on a firmness level and need a compromise. (We also rank the Relaxed Firm Loom & Leaf as the best Saatva mattress for couples.)
The Firm, on the other hand, is designed for those who like firmer mattresses, along with stomach sleepers. The best mattresses for stomach sleepers tend to be firmer, as front sleepers need their hips to be firmly supported so they don't sink into the mattress and cause spinal misalignment (which leads to lower back pain).
Saatva also says the Firm version has more "push back", which means it provides a responsive surface for ease of movement when switching sleep positions or tossing and turning at night. We'd also recommend the Firm feel to plus-sized sleepers who need sturdier support to avoid sinking too much into the mattress.
Saatva Loom & Leaf Relaxed Firm vs Firm: Pros & cons
One of the main benefits of the Relaxed Firm is its universal appeal, as the medium-firm feel provides a "Goldilocks" balance of comfort and support. This is great if you can't decide on a firmness or you and your partner have very different preferences, sleep styles, or body types. Its plusher feel is also great for side sleepers who need a cushioning mattress to cradle and soothe their shoulders, hips, and knees.
The drawback of the Relaxed Firm is that it might be too plush for some sleepers, including those who are used to the best firm mattresses or have only ever slept on a traditional innerspring. Some sleepers also dislike how the memory foam "hugs" their body, making them feel stifled and stuffy.
A Firm memory foam mattress, on the other hand, can feel more like a classic spring mattress, suiting those who toss and turn at night and need buoyancy for ease of movement. It's also more supportive for stomach sleepers (though stomach sleepers under 130lbs may prefer the Relaxed Firm) and those who have a heavier-than-average body type.
The downside of the Firm is that it may be too firm, with side sleepers needing something more cushioning to avoid a numb arm, dead hip or joint pain. The Firm feel lacks the same all-around appeal of the Relaxed Firm.
Saatva Loom & Leaf Relaxed Firm vs Firm:Which to choose
Choose a Relaxed Firm Saatva Loom & Leaf if...
✅ You share a bed: A medium-firm mattress can act as a great middle ground for couples with differing sleep styles and body types.
✅ You're a lightweight sleeper: Those under 130lbs will need something plusher as they tend not to sink into mattresses as much as heavier sleepers do.
✅ You're a side, back, or, combination sleeper: Side sleepers need cushioning along the pressure points, while back and combination sleepers will enjoy the balanced support.
Choose a Firm Saatva Loom & Leaf if...
✅ You have a heavier-than-average body type: Plus-sized sleepers will love the support a firmer mattress provides.
✅ You're a stomach sleeper: If you're a stomach sleeper who weighs over 130lbs, the Firm model will keep your hips well supported.
✅ You're a restless sleeper: The Firm is designed to have a springier, more responsive feel which is great for moving around and changing sleep positions at night.
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Frances Daniels is a PPA-accredited journalist and Sleep Staff Writer at Tom's Guide with an MA in Magazine Journalism from Cardiff University. Her role includes covering mattress and sleep news and writing sleep product reviews and buyer's guides, including our Best Hybrid Mattress 2024 guide. She is hugely interested in the relationship between good sleep and overall health, interviewing a wide array of mattress and sleep experts to create well-informed articles about important topics such as nutrition, sleep disorders (from sleep apnea to night terrors), lucid dreaming, sleep hygiene, and mattress care. She is also our specialist on mattress toppers — producing mattress topper reviews and taking care of our Best Mattress Toppers 2024 guide — and takes the lead on all content related to fiberglass-free mattresses for a clean, non-toxic sleep.