April 28, 2004

9:42 AM

The Chillow might be a great help in enduring the hot Texas summer, but it could also be a gimmick. Are any metafilter readers familiar with this product?
posted by Beholder to (6 comments total)

I have one for my dog. It works.
posted by dobbs at 10:01 AM on April 28, 2004

I, too, was somewhat skeptical about Chillow when my cohort Ryan purchased one. But my wife and I bought them and I must say, they work beautifully.

Be sure to heed the Chillow's instructions on doing a monthly "sweep," and keep it away from sharp objects - the surface is somewhat fragile. Initially I was worried that the thing would stay as stiff as it was out-of-the-box, but it softened up nicely in a matter of weeks.

I use it every night, and pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes prior to going to bed. Nice and cool. Highly recommended.
posted by hijinx at 10:23 AM on April 28, 2004

Hi. I'm the cohort.

The Chillow is a godsend. Here are a few things I've written about it:

http://www.dailyping.com/archive/2003/07/27/

http://www.dailyping.com/archive/2003/09/27/

They've wound up being great gifts, too. If you're a "pillow flipper," you'll love it.
posted by laze at 10:25 AM on April 28, 2004

The replies are appreciated. Thanks.
posted by Beholder at 10:56 AM on April 28, 2004

i was bemused by the product because it does seem to be little more than a plastic bag with some foam inside. i tried looking for patents, but turned up nothing for that company, which seemed odd, since they claim it is covered. but then i found this bbs post which (if you ignore the evils of mlm, at least) gives a little background to the company and "feels" - at least to my vibe-detector - like it's a real product (it also explains that the patents are for friends, which would be under a different name).
posted by andrew cooke at 4:40 PM on April 28, 2004

hmm. but having read the links above, i suspect you could make your own. i was assuming it was some snazzy chemical with amazing specific heat capacity etc etc. when really it's just open cell foam and water. still, i bet a home-made version would leak and it seems like it works (the physics makes sense, it's just not the kind of thing i thought needed a patent...)
posted by andrew cooke at 4:48 PM on April 28, 2004