The Unofficial Memory Foam/Visco Elastic/NASA Pillow Thread

[Atrac]

Yeah, there definately would be a difference between The Perfect Pillow and the Tempur-Pedic at Brookstone. The Perfect Pillow is missing the "neck contour," so it would be softer and thinner. I imagine The Perfect Pillow to be what the Tempur-Pedic would end up as if it was heated up and started to melt. It would be just a big blob.

In terms of these pillows, I personally was doing fine with my Sobakawa Wheat Husk Pillow. I just like these memory foam pillows better because they are softer and form better to my head.

I have found that a Pillow can be a very picky topic for an individual. It's almost like messing with their brand of underwear, tissues, or toothpaste. No one seems to like the exact same kind and we all end up sticking with what we like. A memory foam pillow is a definite change and usually takes a week to get used to. Some say "then why get used to it at all? Why fix it if it's not broken?" Well, that's a good question. That's why I say check out the stores return policy and try it for a week if it would be an easy return. I was in Brookstone and they told me I could try it for 90 days and if I didn't like it just bring it back. I declined but was so tempted to say "but why, I got the same thing for a lot cheaper somewhere else!" heh heh

Oh and dettamrof, I private messaged you with the link for the LMT 20% off coupon.

 

[El Norm]

I dunno about those buckwheat pillows, they seem like they would make too much noise, like the slightest movement would make a noise, and i tend to move when i am sleeping. On the bright side of things, its great for midnight snacks and breakfast.

 

[Bobomatic]

I used one of those wheat husk pillows, and I move a lot before I fall asleep. They are very very loud. Especially if you sleep on your side because the noise is right next to your ear.

 

[takeru]

i too have a sobakawa pillow. great pillow for 20$ at the time. i can't sleep with any other pillow except that after i got it. the thing i liked about it was that with the sobakawa i never got that sweaty back of the head feel after sleeping on a hot day. i just won a queen size tempur pedic pillow on ebay for 36$ too. i can't wait to try it soon i hope to get a matching tempur pedic full size mattress too.

 

[QSW]

I am in S. Cali and I went to the L N T on Sawtelle and Olympic. I could not find the Perfect Pillow, the only Carpenter pillow they have is called Dream Coil, the box did write that it is Visco-Elastic Foam and it goes for $24.99. I will try other L N T to see if they have the perfect pillow in stock.

Atrac: can u pls PM me the link for the 20% off? Thanks in advance.

 

[Atrac]

QSW: I sent you a pm with a link to the coupon.

I would avoid the Dreamcoil. It's only a Smart Foam "Topped" pillow, meaning the rest is made of boring firm foam. The boxes look similar so it's a good thing you didn't get it. The best way to describe lying on that one is if you were flat on your back using that pillow, you'd be staring at your own groin. My neck hurts just thinking about it! Ouch!

 

[jeffmin]

Originally posted by: Atrac
The best way to describe lying on that one is if you were flat on your back using that pillow, you'd be staring at your own groin.

Just a little more and I think I can see why it would be called the "Dreamcoil"

 

[Atrac]

That's hilarious, jeffmin!

 

[Atrac]

Here's a tip for people buying Tempur-Pedic pillows off of eBay. Tempur-Pedic is a brand name. If a seller claims it is Tempur-Pedic and not "Tempur-Pedic" like, he/she better be able to prove it. How? All Tempur Pedic pillows are ink-stamped directly on the foam. So if you unzip the Terrycloth cover and look on the back of the pillow under the netweave covering the foam, you'll see an ink mark running across the length of the pillow (you can't miss it). It should say something like "TEMPUR 85SOFT" and then the date of manufacture, along with some other unknown numbers. Tempur-Pedic seems to be the only memory foam pillow that I know of that ink-stamps their foam.

I've looked at several different *real* Tempur-Pedic pillows from various stores and they ALL consistently had this inkmark.

I just wanted to add this info because hopefully more of you are getting the real hint I'm trying to give which is that eBay is the best place to get these pillows for cheap. Unfortunately I've seen a few (not many) ads on there that clearly advertise the pillow as "Tempur-Pedic" when I can see that it isn't. One in particular I can see from the pics that it is the same HARD pillow that sells at the "As Seen On TV" store for $39.99 (not to be confused with the Pink one that also sells at the ASOTV Store for $21.99). In the store the box for that pillow says it is a "Swedish Memory Foam Pillow." No Tempur-Pedic logo anywhere. It's a shame because the seller seems like a really nice person and he/she put a lot of work into their ads. Please don't ask me about which ads these are because I still could be wrong (and I am certainly not into sabotaging someone else's auction). Besides it could just be an honest mistake on their part.

Anyway, you now know how to spot the real thing when you get it ...so check it out when it arrives!

 

[zervun]

Oh just thought I would add, my costco novafoam, is novafoam all the way through. I've spent now 2 weeks on it and love it. It's one of those form fitting ones but I can lay in any direction because it pretty much forms to wherever I am sleeping. It's high density foam all the way through also. Still kinds of smells a little funny but going away. But for 25 bones you can't beat this hands down. Does say it's the NASA design also.

 

[LurkingInNC]

Sounds like Tempur-pedic and Isotonic are name brands of visco-elastic foam.

Seems like one should be able to get a pretty good handle on the quality of other visco-elastic foam pillows if able to find out several factors such as: density (sounds like the good ones are 5 lbs.), height (in inches), and maybe material (?) (urethane vs. polyurethane?).

Anybody with the technical background to elaborate further?

 

[QSW]

I found the Perfect Pillow at another LNT. Atrac, thanks for the link

I like it so far! Thanks to Atrac's extensive research, my search for a good pillow ended today. I am gonna take a afternoon nap now!

 

[Atrac]

Glad you like the pillow, QSW!

I'm curious...does it say on the box what the dimensions are of that pillow? I'm curious to know exactly how thick it is. I've seen so many since that one that I forgot.

And LurkingInNC is right that the Density should be about 5 lbs. Definately anything less than 4 lbs would not be very good. I'd also like to know the difference between urethane and polyurethane. My Tempur-Pedic states it is 100% Polyurethane. Of course, that doesn't say a lot since the specific mixture is a "trade secret" (according to the Tempur-Pedic marketing material).

 

[QSW]

They did not list the dimensions on the box. I used a measuring tape and it's approximately 17.5" x 22" x 4.5".

 

[anewbie2002]

Did anyone ever check out the following by Select Comfort :

Thermo-Foam Supreme

http://www.selectcomfort.com/accessories/productSet.cfm?Category_ID=13&SubCategoryID=82

Are these the same as the pure Tempur-Pedic. The standard is on sale now. They have stores too but I don't think there are any store near my area, Maybe someone can try it out and let us know.

 

[mailnride]

I noticed a lot of you talking about pillows being "hot" or "cold". Not to thread jack or anything, but this isn't really the pillow's fault.

This was my major peeve. I finally found something that does something about it. It's called the CHILLOW and it's a thin water-filled bladder that fits inside the pillow case ofyour current pillow. It's basically a flat bladder with a thin piece of foam inside. You fill it up with water, the foam saturates, and you squeeze out the excess air.

The way it works couldn't be easier. You know how a glass of water sitting at "room temperature" always feels cooler than the air temp by about 10-20 degrees? That's it. Now your pillow will feel as cool as a glass of water until you fall asleep. It does warm up by morning, which is nice, you don't need the coolness anymore and you want your pilllow nice and warm.

I don't sell these or anything, I just bought one and really liked it.

Link here: Link

Street price appears to be about $20. Highly recommended because it works and there's really no other product like it.

 

[Bobomatic]

I got that one from costco. It seems like it is the high quality stuff, but I havent seen the expensive ones.

hey zevrun how did you wash the pillow? it says only to hand wash it, but I dont want to spend that lind of time doing that. I want to wash it cause it smells, ummm... interesting. And did the smell go down after you aired it out for a while?

 

[2Crucial]

man i wish i had that kind of cash right now to afford a tempur-pedic. I think i'm gonna have to rely on the sobakawa pillow. Anyone know of any deals for this pillow? if so, please let me know! thanks!

 

[SuperShaz]

I bought the $30 one at sams club and am so far unhappy. It seems kind of soft when I squeeze it with my hand but when I'm laying my head down it seems very stiff and never really lets my head sink down. Maybe if I had a brain my head would be heavy enough but that just isn't the case for me. Also, they show the handprint on the cover but I was unable to reproduce the same effect. When I tried it the foam would go back to normal in a split second. I think I'd take it back to the store but I kind of tore up the box pretty bad when I was opening it. I guess I'll just have to get used to it.

 

[PlatinumGold]

Tempurpedic, visco elastic.

they are just types of Latex. I have a Latex mattress, no name no brand made by a local mattress maker and it is just as comfortable as my neighbors 3000 tempur pedic mattress. same goes for pillows. You'll find that Good latex pillows are JUST AS GOOD as visco elastic ones and for a lot less money.

Trivia time, my King size latex mattress weighs about 200 lbs. it's a b!tch to move.

 

[zervun]

Originally posted by: Bobomatic
I got that one from costco. It seems like it is the high quality stuff, but I havent seen the expensive ones.

hey zevrun how did you wash the pillow? it says only to hand wash it, but I dont want to spend that lind of time doing that. I want to wash it cause it smells, ummm... interesting. And did the smell go down after you aired it out for a while?

I just washed the cover and the smell went away after a while. It's kinda a funky smell, but eventually goes away until you don't notice it. I wouldn't even call the smell really bad, it's just as you said... interesting =p

 

[Atrac]

When I first started investigating Smart Foam Pillows I also checked out some latex pillows. I found them to be totally not for me. The smell was horrendous. For the rest of the day my hand smelled like latex. I literally almost hurled.

In terms of firmness, they seem to sink immediately to the bottom with little support, then pop right back up.

Of course there are probably several types of latex pillows out there; I must have just tried the lame ones.

 

[jamautosound]

Well I just got the Novaform (Costco) pillow from my wife and kids for Father's Day.

BTW, Happy Father's Day to everyone applicable.

It does say "Developed by NASA" and "extra high density temperature sensitive foam" on the box. The thing I was most impressed with was the warranty, 10 years, and it didn't say "limited". Assuming of course, I can remember, in ten years, where the heck it was purchased.

Well, time for bed, g'night y'all.

...and thanks again for the informative post Atrac!

 

[Braverich]

Atrac, I am looking for the Tempurpedic pillows. I remember that u said ebay is a good place to get one...who's the seller....I am new and hope to get your advice

 

[Jerry]

I am particularly interested in REAL rubber foam for seat cushion purposes. I have had one for several years and can?t sit without it, now. It is not the memory foam type, and not artificial rubber foam, but real rubber. It cost more but is worth it.
Anyone know of on-line sources for real rubber foam, for seat cushion purposes?

Jerry

PS I bought, at the same time, a real rubber bed pillow and have used it since. (again, not a memory foam type)

Anyone know of on-line sources for real rubber foam, for seat cushion purposes?