Pillows Not Pancakes [Not Pancake-ist]

October 21, 2021 10:06 AM

I have a chronic problem with the pillows I buy in that they go flat so quickly -- usually within a year. I bought a pair of bamboo pillows in July and they are already half their original thickness. It's so expensive and wasteful to keep replacing my pillows so often. Is there a particular type or a brand of pillows that will reliably stay plump and fluffy for several years?

Just to explain a bit more about my pillow preferences, I have a total of six pillows on my bed, and use three at night. I have a pair of very solid, thick, blue-striped ticking covered pillows that I use as the bottom pillow of each stack of three. I bought those pillows 15 or so years ago for $6 each and they've lasted. I think one could run them over with a truck without permanently changing their shape. However, while the blue-striped pillows are a big help in achieving the elevation/height I want, I don't want to actually rest my head on them as I want something softer and more cushiony in a top pillow.

Right now I'm using a blue-striped pillow, a several years old, cushion top-type pillow that isn't much more than two inches thick, and a bamboo pillow, and it's getting to the point that I have to use those three pillows plus the second bamboo pillow from the other stack to get a comfortable head rest.

Suggestions for comfy, cushiony, yet durable pillows to buy?

posted by orange swan to Home & Garden (19 answers total)

I like these pillows and have found them to be durable: link to pillow .
posted by Last_wave_by at 10:19 AM on October 21, 2021

I have the Nest Bedding Easy Breather Pillow. I've had it for 6 months so far, still as poufy as it was the day I bought it.

I have it because it's Wirecutter's Pillow Recommendation. It ain't cheap, but so far it's worth it.
posted by magnetsphere at 10:24 AM on October 21, 2021 [2 favorites]

Shredded memory foam, but I discovered recently they're not all equal. I love these, but hated these.
posted by supercres at 10:25 AM on October 21, 2021

I got this pillow from Casper a year ago and it has held up beautifully, no matter how much I manhandle it for back support while reading/head support while sleeping.
posted by cakelite at 10:31 AM on October 21, 2021

Have you tried washing your pillows a few times a year? And running them through the dryer with no heat in between washings? This can be a big part of making pillows last longer and keep their loft since they get weighed down with perspiration. From the Wirecutter article:
In between major washings, you can utilize the dryer’s air-dry cycle (aka the no-heat setting) to help keep your foam pillows lofty and fresh. “Knead your pillow like a loaf of bread once a week to let the shredded foam inside open up,” Alexander told us. (You can also put it in the dryer for 10 minutes on no heat.) For down and down alternative, Sukalac said, “When I sell somebody a new pillow, I tell them once every three, four weeks, put it in the dryer for an hour on regular heat to evaporate out moisture [and] perspiration that has collected.”
posted by bluedaisy at 10:48 AM on October 21, 2021 [1 favorite]

As a side sleeper, I find the perfect combination of height and softness to be a fairly thick, non-shredded memory foam pillow with a pretty pancaked regular pillow on top of it -- the more broken down the better, since the memory foam is providing all the height I need and the top pillow is just there to keep my ear from hurting. I have had the same memory foam pillows for over a decade and they haven't changed noticeably.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:02 AM on October 21, 2021

If you're not opposed to down, it will stay fluffy for your entire lifetime.
posted by HotToddy at 11:03 AM on October 21, 2021 [1 favorite]

Do you fluff them regularly? As in, stand them up on each side and ventless karate chop them to make them thicker in the middle.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 11:20 AM on October 21, 2021

My partner and I have been using buckwheat hull pillows for over 10 years now, and we love them so much we bring them on overnight trips with us, because no other pillows can compare. They're weapons-grade heavy to the point you'd probably KO someone in a pillow fight, but they're extremely supportive and you can easily make a little "nest" for your head and neck. If at any point they start to flatten out, just unzip and add more buckwheat hulls (which are inexpensive). I am typically a side sleeper, but they are comfy if I roll over onto my back, too.

All that said, they are not exactly *soft*. but I find the support and shape-conforming features to override softness in terms of how friendly they are to my back and neck. YMMV, of course.
posted by aecorwin at 12:19 PM on October 21, 2021 [4 favorites]

Replacing pillows yearly is not a bad idea from an allergen and dust mite perspective. I buy very cheap pillows and know that I’ll replace them. A local animal shelter takes my old ones.
posted by Bottlecap at 12:29 PM on October 21, 2021

If you're not opposed to down, it will stay fluffy for your entire lifetime.

In my experience, this isn't the case. Every down pillow we've had has compressed, from inexpensive Ikea to $$$$ boutique down specialist.

Memory foam is the only thing that's worked for me.
posted by Special Agent Dale Cooper at 12:47 PM on October 21, 2021 [1 favorite]

I second the idea to throw them in the dryer to fluff them up a bit. I have a bamboo pillow that seemed to be flattening out, but once I stuck it in the dryer for a few minutes it poofed up to about twice its size.
posted by Malleable at 1:06 PM on October 21, 2021

I have that nest bedding pillow and jerbus that thing does not flat
posted by St. Peepsburg at 1:47 PM on October 21, 2021

"Shredded memory foam" filled pillows that seem to retain their shape better, in my experience. The full-block foam ones seem either too hard or too soft. The shredded foam ones often let you adjust it by giving you some extra foam that you can stuff in if you need extra firmness, or remove some to let it soften slightly. But not all come with the extra foam.
posted by kschang at 2:09 PM on October 21, 2021 [1 favorite]

I, too, am a fan of buckwheat hulls, but kapok and wool are other materials that remain fluffable over a long time.
posted by Comet Bug at 8:48 PM on October 21, 2021 [1 favorite]

My latex foam pillows are great and last a long time with no discernible flattening.

I hate shredded foam or memory foam. Memory foam traps you in one position and you need to be able to move positions while sleeping.
posted by flimflam at 9:08 PM on October 21, 2021

I had the same issue but have been very happy with a pillow I got at Costco a couple of years ago. I'm pretty sure it's the Novaform Overnight Recovery Gel Memory Foam Pillow with Cooling Celliant Cover.

The tag on it just says "Innocor comfort" but it looks like the one in the picture and some quick searching makes it look like Innocor is the company and Novaform is a brand.
posted by Awfki at 6:09 AM on October 22, 2021

+1 for latex foam (natural, from-a-rubber-tree-latex). Something like this.
posted by Bron at 8:39 AM on October 22, 2021

I have a wool pillow from a UK shop that used to sell them on Etsy, but only has them on the Greenfibres site now. The wool in these pillows is first rolled into little balls which helps them stay lofty and makes them easier to fluff. I have had mine for several years now and it has not gone flat, though I fluff it just about every other night. It's one of the few pillows I have tried that doesn't cause me to overheat. It's a fantastic pillow.
posted by oneirodynia at 7:23 PM on October 22, 2021 [1 favorite]