Quick. Who would win in a battle between a rocket scientist and an environmentalist? “That’s a strange mash-up, and it’s impossible to know!” you say.
We might never know the answer to something like that, but we can know if a mattress designed by a rocket scientist or a bed designed by a company with serious environmental concerns can get you the best night sleep of your life.
It’s a Loom & Leaf versus Purple showdown, and we’ve got your answer coming up.
About the Brands
Before we start, here are a few things you should keep in mind.
Loom & Leaf
Why to like
- made entirely of eco-friendly materials
- luxury mattress for a budget
- two different firmness options
- backed by a big name in the internet mattress world (Saatva)
Why to doubt
- has no response layer
- no option for heavy sleepers
Purple
Why to like
- excellent for side sleepers
- purple grid layer improves air flow
- excellent pressure point contouring
- rated for heavier sleepers
Why to doubt
- too responsive for memory foam lovers
- the wide disparity between prices in the different mattress styles
Loom & Leaf and Purple Comparison
Both fit into niche areas well. While some of the features are similar, quite a few are different and may depend on your preferences.
How are Loom & Leaf and Purple Similar?
Let’s look at how they’re alike first.
Mattress Philosophy
Remember how you used to wake up on your innerspring mattress feeling like someone had bent you into a pretzel shape while you were sleeping? Now, you’ve got to untangle, and you can’t.
That happens because innerspring mattresses are bad at contouring to your body. You toss and turn looking for a comfortable position, but that only happens if you can get your body into a straight line. That doesn’t happen, and now you’re in pain.
Loom & Leaf and Purple build their mattresses to support and contour. They use top layers that mold to the natural shape of your body rather than forcing your body into something unnatural. It relieves pressure on your spine and joints and keeps you from tossing trying to find a comfortable position.
The support layer of their mattresses prevents you from sinking too far into the bed. Support layers give the mattress structure and edge support as well. The best support layers also prevent heat from building in the core of the mattress so that you sleep cooler.
Motion Transfer
When your partner is incapable of being still during the night, it can be hard for you to sleep, too. Inner springs are connected so that when one moves, they all do.
Loom & Leaf and Purple both reduce the amount of motion transfer from your partner or your pet so that you aren’t jostled awake every few minutes.
Another benefit of reducing motion transfer is that the surface of the bed remains stable. If your partner is significantly heavier than you are, you might find yourself rolling towards him or her in the night. The weight creates a pit that interferes with your ability to find an adequately supportive position. Neither Loom & Leaf nor Purple has this problem.
Edge Support
Innerspring mattresses might not have contouring, but they do have edge support. Traditional memory foam tends to collapse near the edges making it difficult for you to sleep there or sit on the edge of your bed without sliding off.
Both companies have addressed this problem by adding support layers to help the mattress push back even towards the edge. If you sleep with a partner, this is good news because all areas of the mattress will provide the same level of support.
Off-Gassing
Both mattresses are pretty eco-friendly, so there’s no weird smell or off-gassing. Both use materials that are better for your health and the environment.
Manufacturing and Customer Service
Both companies manufacture their mattresses right in the United States. It appears that both also locate their customer service agents in the US as well, which should make addressing concerns or initiating returns easy.
Both companies have a reputation for having helpful and pleasant customer service and responding to inquiries quickly. The last thing you want is a problem when you try to get help solving a problem.
Warranty
Both companies offer ten-year warranties that cover the cost of replacing defective mattresses and some mattresses with unusual wear and tear. Both companies also reserve the right to make judgment calls on when a mattress warrants replacement and any fees associated with the replacement.
Under normal conditions, a defective mattress is replaced for free with both companies.
Financing
If you aren’t able to pay for the entire mattress up front, you have the option to finance with both companies. You can apply and receive approval right on their shopping pages and check out as usual.
How are Loom & Leaf and Purple different?
Now for the original question: who would win? Let’s look at a few significant differences.
Mattress Styles
What can you get with both companies? There isn’t a wide range with either company, but they do offer two crucial things.
Loom & Leaf: Soft or Firm
Loom & Leaf offers one mattress style. It uses a three-layer system of contouring and support. The first layer is an egg crate style layer with a cooling spinal gel that both conforms to your pressure points and keeps things cooler. The second layer is an eco-friendly, five-pound foam that’s made in the US. It’s friendlier on both the environment and your health than petroleum-based foams. It provides a transitional layer between contouring and support while maintaining the structural integrity of the edges.
The final layer is a dense support layer. It has breathable channels for better airflow and to reduce the amount of heat that gets trapped in the core of the mattress. The whole thing is covered in quilted cotton with a natural thistle flame retardant additive.
The mattress has two firmness ratings. The soft version is about a six on a ten point firmness scale while the firm option is about an eight.
Purple: Memory Foam or Hybrid
Purple has two different mattresses. The Original uses three layers. The first is a crazy looking grid layer that’s unlike anything we’ve seen. It reduces the amount of pressure on your joints and spine to almost nothing, which is good news if you’re a side sleeper. The next layer is a high-density polyurethane foam that aids in the responsiveness of the grid layer and transitions to the support layer.
The final layer is a dense foam that gives the mattress structural integrity and edge support. It’s covered in an ultra-responsive knit material that stretches with the mattress. It’s rated at about a six and a half on a ten point firmness scale.
The new Purple uses the same purple grid layer and responsive knit cover, but instead of the original second and third foam layers, it uses pocketed micro coils sandwiched between one-inch layers of memory foam. This gives it more bounce, and with added mesh sides, the mattress is more responsive without losing contouring. It’s rated at about a six and a half on the ten point scale.
Heavy Sleepers
Unfortunately, Loom & Leaf isn’t rated for anyone who is significantly heavier than the average person. If you are, your body will interact with the support layer harder and faster than the average person. It will feel firmer, and you’ll lose some of the contouring necessary for pain reduction.
Purple, on the other hand, is rated for a combined weight of up to 600 pounds, so if you or your partner are on the heavier end of the scale, you’ll still be able to sleep well on the mattress. While other beds take your weight into consideration, you have considerably more grace with the Purple mattress than you do with Loom & Leaf.
Shipping
Purple mattresses ship for free and come compressed in a box. You’ll unwrap and allow the bed to expand for at least a few hours if not overnight. The delivery person isn’t going to help you set up your new mattress, but you don’t have to be home for your box to arrive.
Loom & Leaf uses a traditional shipping company to bring your mattress to your door uncompressed. You pay $99, but the delivery person helps you get everything set up. You can also opt to have your old mattress taken away when you check out with your Loom & Leaf purchase.
Trial Period
Purple gives you 100 nights to try out your mattress. It’s essential that you have time to adjust to the new bed to decide if it’s alleviating your pain and helping you fall asleep and stay asleep. If you don’t like it, you can return it before the 100 nights are up and receive a refund or a replacement.
Loom & Leaf gives you 120 nights to sleep on your mattress. Their policy from there is the same. If you decide it isn’t for you, the company will refund your money or replace the bed.
Cost
The original Purple mattress is about $1200 for a California King, while Loom & Leaf is just under $1500 for both soft and firm versions of their California king. It’s not an insignificant difference, but it’s nothing too extreme.
The new Purple is a bit of an outlier. You have three different grid layer options. The two-inch layer is about $1900, the three-inch layer is about $2700, and the four-inch layer is about $3500 all for California kings.
And The Winner Is…
Purple
We’re confident recommending Purple as the best choice based on our analysis of key factors that an average, discerning mattress shopper would care most about. Although the new Purple is quite expensive, we feel that the grid layer of the original, along with the option for micro coils or memory foam, is an excellent balance to the disparity in price. Also, it’s crucial that the Purple is more gracious with weight requirements than the Loom & Leaf.
We love that the Loom & Leaf offers two firmness options, but more importantly, Purple’s reduction of pressure on known pain points is something that’s vital to sleepers, particularly those who sleep on their sides. It edges out the Loom & Leaf.
- Quality – Tie
- Price – Purple (original)
- Reputation – Tie
- Sleep Trial – Loom & Leaf
- Warranty – Tie
- Customer Support -Tie
- Product Selection – Purple
For sleepers with specific needs…
Side Sleepers: Choose Purple
Here’s why. That grid layer. It reduces pressure down to just about nothing so when you sleep you won’t get those painful hitches in your shoulder/hip area, and you won’t toss and turn trying to get those parts into the right position. Serious game changer.
Stomach Sleepers: Loom & Leaf
Here’s why. The firmest version of Loom & Leaf gives you more firmness so that your back doesn’t overextend while you’re sleeping. It also has excellent edge support to go along with it.
Back Pain: Purple
Here’s why. The grid layer of purple keeps your spine in alignment but releases pressure from your lumbar region as your body settles into a more supported position.
Heavy People: Choose Purple
Here’s why. Purple is rated for up to 600 pounds, so it’s going to be a lot more forgiving of extra weight. You’ll have the same amount of contouring and support as someone of lesser weight. That said, we recommend you try Ghostbed (rated for up to 750 pounds) or Winkbed Plus, a bed explicitly made for heavier people.
Couples: Choose Purple
Here’s why. Purple’s layers are bouncier and more responsive, which is better for couple activities. It provides good combination support and minimizes motion transfer while providing edge support.
Conclusion
Loom & Leaf is a wonderful mattress from Saatva, but we feel the Purple mattresses will appeal to a broader range of sleepers. It’s more responsive, seriously reduces pressure around common pain points of the body, and gives you the option of complete memory foam or a hybrid mattress.
Do you think the extra expense of the New Purple is worth it for a hybrid mattress? Are you a die-hard inner spring lover? Let us know in the comments below.
