The ultimate pillow

[ShiftyBagLady]

Of all the things lacking in my life, I find myself most regularly lamenting the insufficiency and disappointment of my pillows. It is a sorry, unendurable state affairs when a woman can't lay her head on a firm yet yielding, cushioning yet supportive, airy yet substantial neck rest to ease her slumber.
Over the years I have committed to many head rests: bolsters, v-shaped, overfilled, underfilled, wandering free... As well as memory foam, synthetic hollow fibre and down but my faith and my optimism was unrewarded.
I turn to Urban, as many do in the blackest hour of the night, for its guidance and illumination on this most urgent subject: what, pray tell, is the ultimate pillow?

 

[quimcunx]

I've tried one million pillows and spent an accumulated couple of hundred quid plus in an effort not to spend £90 on a Tempur one. I've now bought the Tempur one and, while it is not perfect, I've stuck with it for a year or two now, instead of being massively disappointed within a few months.

 

[Manter]

John Lewis sell a feather pillow that has a firm core with a softer curled dick feather outer layer. It's blissful

 

[Ax^]

Of all the things lacking in my life, I find myself most regularly lamenting the insufficiency and disappointment of my pillows. It is a sorry, unendurable state affairs when a woman can't lay her head on a firm yet yielding, cushioning yet supportive, airy yet substantial neck rest to ease her slumber.
Over the years I have committed to many head rests: bolsters, v-shaped, overfilled, underfilled, wandering free... As well as memory foam, synthetic hollow fibre and down but my faith and my optimism was unrewarded.
I turn to Urban, as many do in the blackest hour of the night, for its guidance and illumination on this most urgent subject: what, pray tell, is the ultimate pillow?

do you own a cat..?

















if not get a cat..

 

[Vintage Paw]

John Lewis sell a feather pillow that has a firm core with a softer curled dick feather outer layer. It's blissful

Dick feather.

I'LL TAKE 20.

 

[skyscraper101]

Those Tempur ones, your head sinks into them and they are quite good with heat dispensation. I find them a little bit hard compared to a nice foam or feather pillow but I can see the appeal of them. You probably have to give it a trial run. John Lewis have a very good returns policy do they not?

 

[Vintage Paw]

I have a foam one... it was great to begin with but after a few months I started getting quite bad shoulder and neck pain with it, so I went back to my flat as pancakes pillows instead.

My mum bought me 'hotel quality' pillows for Christmas, whatever that means. They're hollow fibre, and were freaking massive. They've lost a bit of their oomf since then, but are still reasonably comfortable.

I like to sleep - a la shippy - with a pillow to hug. It lets me position my arms to be more comfortable, and I can also pull it up a bit and rest the side of my face against it for extra support and comfort. I started doing it after I got costochondritis a few years ago. My ribs have never been right since, so being able to support my ribcage a bit is really useful. But quite apart from that, it just feels comforting. So the pillow is always close to hand, even when I first get in bed and am invariably lying on my back, I place the pillow on top of me - under the duvet - and it feels nice and heavy and safe.

 

[cesare]

I have four of these (the square ones) that I bought in 1998

Never gone flat, never felt the need to replace them. I love em.

 

[Greebo]

At the moment, I've got a clusterdown (one of the less crushable synthetics) pillow as the base and then two feather pillows in one case as the one my head goes on (and which gets leant on when VP is lying on his side and using the net).

 

[Epona]

I have terrible trouble with pillows. I sleep mostly on my front and the usual medium/firm pillows are utter crap for that sleeping position. Sleeping on your front you want a pillow that cushions your face without feeling like a breezeblock and that doesn't push your head upwards, you don't need the same neck support that firm pillows provide for side/back sleepers. It can be really tricky to find a good soft pillow for frontal sleeping though.

 

[spanglechick]

I have a pocket sprung pillow. In fact I just treated myself to a new one after about six or so years, and passed the other over to grinder's side. He's not fussy, but bed is the best place ever, and I need a pillow that doesn't sink down to nothing or turn into a biscuit After a while.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Feather/down pillows for me. They are nicely squashable so you can build them to the right height/firmness for your liking.

 

[DotCommunist]

Shippou-Sensei

 

[moose]

IKEA do a range for face-down sleepers Epona
I have one for sleeping on, and a thick squishy one from the back-sleepers' selection for propped up reading. I buy cheap and replace frequently.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

For under my head i have some nice john lewis goose down pillows

My dakimakura came with sponge pillows which are ok but have lost some shape over the years.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

I now find i can't really sleep without a dakimakura as i sleep on my side and can't really find a comfy position without one

 

[moomoo]

I've got the skankiest pillow in the world. I've had it about 20 years and it's called Mr Softy.

 

[gentlegreen]

I have a couple of cheap sleeping bags stuffed into a pillowcase.
I like a firm pillow.

 

[DotCommunist]

I now find i can't really sleep without a dakimakura as i sleep on my side and can't really find a comfy position without one

does it not freak you out to wake up next to a pair of huge anime-eyes? that would do my nut in

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

it didn't before you said that....

 

[ShiftyBagLady]

I like to sleep - a la shippy - with a pillow to hug. It lets me position my arms to be more comfortable, and I can also pull it up a bit and rest the side of my face against it for extra support and comfort. I started doing it after I got costochondritis a few years ago. My ribs have never been right since, so being able to support my ribcage a bit is really useful. But quite apart from that, it just feels comforting. So the pillow is always close to hand, even when I first get in bed and am invariably lying on my back, I place the pillow on top of me - under the duvet - and it feels nice and heavy and safe.

I have a hug pillow! it's my firm memory foam one. I like to sleep kind of on my side and kind of on my front so i need a pillow to prop me up a bit or I wake up with terrible spine ache.
it's not because I'm lonely

 

[kittyP]

I hear you shifty sister.
Have tried so many different types and none of them alone work.
I really don't get on with memory foam/tempura stuff either. Too hot and I feel stuck in one place with an added sinking feeling.

Although saying that, it's still not perfect but the best I've had in a while.
On the bottom a hollow fibre pillow and on the top a duck down one. Both with cotton cases and top with cotton under case too.

It depends on how you sleep I suppose too.
Waking up once during the night and turning the top one over or punching it a bit, just the once mind usually, is fine for me.

As I said it's not perfect but it's the best combination I've found.

 

[ShiftyBagLady]

I have a pocket sprung pillow. In fact I just treated myself to a new one after about six or so years, and passed the other over to grinder's side. He's not fussy, but bed is the best place ever, and I need a pillow that doesn't sink down to nothing or turn into a biscuit After a while.

Oh yes, I have one of those too. It's ok, I've had it for about eight months now I reckon. At first I thought that we could make it work but now, it's kind of lost it's shape, doesn't really put a lot of effort into it these days and I have a nagging feeling that I could do better, there might be something else out there for me...

 

[ShiftyBagLady]

do you own a cat..?

When I get in to bed the cat likes to follow me and hang about begging strokes. This irritates me. I started affecting an air of indifference in the hope that it would deter her. It sometimes works, mostly I am left with a smelly, clingy cat invading my personal space.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

I gave up trying to find the perfect pillow and just bought more. This is much better. You can add and remove and reposition pillows as the mood takes you. Pillows are not that expensive.

 

[DotCommunist]

doesn't matter how expensive they are, the 100% win is flipping it over mid sleep so you can rest your cheek on the cool side

 

[Manter]

doesn't matter how expensive they are, the 100% win is flipping it over mid sleep so you can rest your cheek on the cool side

I do that with the duvet too

((Northerner's disturbed sleep))

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I have terrible trouble with pillows. I sleep mostly on my front and the usual medium/firm pillows are utter crap for that sleeping position. Sleeping on your front you want a pillow that cushions your face without feeling like a breezeblock and that doesn't push your head upwards, you don't need the same neck support that firm pillows provide for side/back sleepers. It can be really tricky to find a good soft pillow for frontal sleeping though.

I normally end up on my front as well. Have never found the perfect pillow. Got a goosedown one which started out lovely, but without any inner support, your head just ends up flattening it down

 

[8ball]

I have one of these since I had some neck problems - works pretty well:

 

[ShiftyBagLady]

Have never found the perfect pillow.