The Unofficial Memory Foam/Visco Elastic/NASA Pillow Thread

[zervun]

4 out of 5 anandtech readers prefer the Costco Novafoam pillow. I personally love mine

 

[Madcowz]

I got the sharper image Heat Sensitive Smart Foam Pillow which Atrac highly recommends:

"I bought the memory foam pillow from Sharper Image earlier this week: Heat Sensitive Memory Foam Pillow ... and I like it! It's a little less dense than the Tempur Pedic, and has a very soft terry cloth cotton cover (I think it has more cotton than the cotton/poly cover of the Tempur Pedic). It seems to be just the right fit for me...enough that I passed my former favorite Cryo-Thermic Pillow on to my roommate (I washed the cover first!). I don't know what to compare this one to, except it reminds me a lot of the Osim Pillows I previously mentioned. It's almost like the same pillow with Sharper Image's tag put on it. It's made in Korea and I'll be keeping it."


I tried it, and decided memory foam pillows aren't for me. If anyone is interested I'd be willing to sell for $37 + shipping? Sharper image sells the thing for $77 shipped.

link to pillow

 

[SharkyTM]

I'll just stick with my Martha Stewart Chenille FuZZy blue pillows.... MMMMMMM fuzzy....

SharkyTM

 

[PlatinumGold]

I'm telling you guys, If your in the market for a mattress, this place really is worth looking into.

LINK

They really have GREAT prices. I got one of their Latex Mattresses and it is AWESOME. if your not sold on the latex they also have the traditional pillowtop serta, simmons etc imitations. better than the original and a lot cheaper.

 

[7pants]

my pillow is old and smelly

 

[dman]

Well, just to add my 2cents...

I purchased the costco's foam pillow for my wife about 6mo's or so ago. She really likes it, I tried it a few nights and didn't care either way. In the meantime I had received a testdrive offer which gave me $50 for brookstone and I finally decided I'd spend the money on the temperpedic version of the pillow.

I like it. It's definitely higher density then the costco one. My wife tried it out and didn't like it at all. It's weird because you put your head on the pillow and 20-30s later it molds around you... almost creepy. The Costco's version is much lighter density and doesn't really mold around you it just is comfortable.

I can't say for sure either is any better than the old-fashion foam pillow I was using--but I attribute that to 8mo old daughter who wakes us up frequently... so I can't say I've fairly tested them. But, I do like the temperpedic better than costco brand and my wife is vice versa.

Oh, another drawback to costco's version - it only comes in the one size, so, king size pillow cases are toooooo big. You can buy larger versions of the temperpedic brand (for more $$$). Twin Size pillows are large enough for our noggins though, so, just need smaller pillow cases.

Overall good pillows, not sure that the temperpedic is worth $99+ or even $50+ but it's still a nice pillow.

IMO, even though I don't use it, The costcos one was definitely worth $29. And even if you don't like it, use it for a secondary pillow: If you've got noisy housmates, and you lie on your side, the costcos one works good over the top of your head to cover your exposed ear -- but the molded shape allows air to get where you need it. Works well for another hour or two of peaceful sleep when you really need it.

 

[adavidw]

Originally posted by: FamilyLaw
I just got an Ebates email with an ad for a Smartbargains sale. The following was included in the "sale"

Visco Elastic Memory Foam Mattress Topper


Retail Value

$69.99 - $149.99

Save up to 60% - $90.00

Our Price: $29.99 - $59.99


The mattress topper that conforms to your body! This cool, luxurious "memory foam" mattress pad is here at a great low price!

I actually just got this from SmartBargains. I wanted to try out some sort of smart foam on our bed without spending too much money. We're currently sleeping on a full size bed while our nice queen is in storage waiting for us to buy a house. So, I didn't want to spend too much money for a bed we're not going to be sleeping on too much longer.

So, I decided to try this pad. I've had it for about a week now. The difference between this and the ones from places like campingworld.com is that this one's not wavy. It's just a flat block of foam, about 1.5 inches thick. It seems pretty dense, and holds a handprint, so it seems like decent quality. Of course, with only 1.5 inches, good quality is probably pretty hard to distinguish from bad. If I was going to do this long term, I'd buy another one so that I'd have three inches.

It's pretty comfortable. My wife and I both like sleeping on it, and would rather sleep on it than go back to sleeping without it. I feel just a little less stiff in the morning after sleeping on this.

-Aaron

 

[randypj]

dman6666--I'll go along with that. IME, I've found nothing to compare with the Tempurpedic $100 pillow at Brookstone. Yeah, it's way too much. I've gotta give Brookstone kudos tho. I'd had my pillow for a couple years, and it had lost its "hold" (probably cause I used it in my car for back support while I was driving, and left it in the heat too often). Brookstone exchanged it....no questions asked, nor receipt needed.
--Randy

 

[Wiz]

Got mine today, ordered from "The Memory Foam SUPERSTORE".
4 inch king size, I put a brand new mattress pad and new sheets on it.
I laid out on it for ten minutes - I feel like I rested an hour!!!
This is probably the best investment I've ever made, I'll know more after the first night sleeping on it.
Now I can hardly wait for this day to get over!

Thanks for keeping this thread alive, Rae Herndon (randhern1@cox.net) at "The Memory Foam SUPERSTORE" was very responsive and the price was right.

Because of this thread I will definitely be getting a better nights rest from now on.

 

[dolph]

i bought a 4" full size from mark's half price bedding. so nice. love it so much. pillow's eh, but the pad is bliss.

 

[hotstuff2000]

OK I finally broke down and read the whole thread. I really wish someone would summarize it and put the summary at the beginning. But anyway, just wanted to say my parents just got a Tempurpedic bed and man that thing is awesome. From reading the thread it looks to me like the Tempurpedic is hands down the best pillow. I'm gonna order one. I liked the point someone made that 30-40% of your life is spent sleeping so whats $100?!? You pay several times that much for a house or an apartment each month that you spend less time awake than asleep in.

Also whoever mentioned putting the pillow behind your lower back while driving, that made all my back pains go away. I usually use a roll of paper towels though, the really thick nice ones. But I think a memory pillow would work much better lol

My neck kills me every morning when I get up. It cracks and pops when I stretch. I think the Temperpedic pillow just may be the answer. Glad this thread is still here, as it forced me to read it finally

 

[hotstuff2000]

By the way, no one seems to have mentioned this, but several stores are out of these pillows. I checked links to Linen's and Things "Perfect Pillow" and I believe one by QVC and HSN (tv channels) and they were ALL SOLD OUT. The AT effect again?????

 

[NewSc2]

Just got sent over from the OT Forum, and I must say it's been an interesting read. I'm really just looking for a real mattress, not a 4" pad, so I'm going to probably stick with my previous decision that I made up a few months ago to get a Full Tempur-Pedic mattress from eBay for about $400-500.

I will look around a bit more, because I really like the density of the tempur-pedic stuff, but I might try out Mark's Half Price bedding deal just to see how it is. (I must admit the Tempur-Pedic's at Brookstone are quite firm, but right now the bed I have is just like a block of plywood)

 

[randypj]

NewSc2--They have true Tempur-Pedic complete mattresses on ebay? Hmmm....that's a way I could go.

hotstuff2000--I used my Brookstone while driving. Now, I use a cheapie that I got from Camper World. Reason: The Brookstone/Tempurpedic seemed to lose its firmness after a year or so. No problem, Brookstone swapped it out for a new one, but they did say that heat was not good for it. And, yes, I had left it in my car a few times in the summer.

Has anyone noticed that putting something between your neck and auto headrest seems to help alleviate neck soreness on long drives? My headrest is too far back to lean my head on, but if I rollup a jacket and put behind my neck/head, it really helps.
--Randy

 

[dirtweasel]

i couldn't find any at the home stores that you guys were mentioning, so i ordered from the camping website. my gf and i really like them. thanks for the tips.

 

[UltraWide]

i got the pad from ebay link posted here during the summer. it was good in the beginning, but after 5months it's starting to loose it's firmness. Not as good as tempurpedic pads. Much less dense although they claim 4lbs. density, save your money and buy the real thing if you can find it on sale some where. it cost me $85, not too bad for the money i guess, but not what i expected.

 

[Noirish]

got the Novafoam from cosco.
first impression: it's comfortable but i could use a smaller size.

one of these days, i'll get one from brookstone if only if they aren't so d@mn expensive.

 

[DanT]

After reading this thread a few weeks ago, I got the Costco pillow. Definitely worth it, even for someone currently unemployed and trying not to spend money.

BTW, for anyone that doesn't have a Costco/Price Club membership, you can get in on a 1-day visitor pass. They charge an extra 5% and won't take a check, but other than that, you can buy anything in the store. And if you're in CA, by law they're not allowed to charge the extra 5% on alcohol, so feel free to stock up when you go buy your pillow.

 

[BlueIce]

I didn't see any one mention which end is the correct end for sleeping on the pillows with one end higher/bigger than the other. Do we want the bigger end to be right under the neck or the other way around?

Any links for directions?

 

[metapy]

BLueIce:

Instructions for sleeping on the pillow w/ one end larger than the other (I assume you are refering the Costco Novaform pillow)

1. Try one side for a night
2. Try the other side the next night
3. Decide which you like better
4. Enjoy

I think the different ends are for different peoples prefences there is no right or wrong, just nore or less comfortable based on your personal prefences.

LOL, kinda funny to think a pillow would need instructions

 

[BlueIce]

Yeah it is silly, but I seen pictures of both ends being used. I am just not sure if it could mess up your neck if it is used incorrectly.

 

[ktg]

I'm still waiting for someone to comment on the hybrid goose down+memory foam pillows. Currently there's a 25% off coupon for JCPenney.com at ebates (plus, going through ebates knocks another 3% off) that would get you a novaform queen-sized hybrid pillow (see product) for $70-80 depending on whether you have it shipped or you pick it up at the store.

Their Sealy memory foam mattress pads (egg crate style) are also on sale. Queen size (here) is $49. Not sure if the 25% off works on sale-priced items...

 

[SpotDancer]

Originally posted by: ktg
I'm still waiting for someone to comment on the hybrid goose down+memory foam pillows.




COMMENT!!:Q

 

[tuan121]

great! i got the brookstone's one for my grandmother. hope it helps her headache. ill post w/ some feedbacks.

 

[lalaw]

Originally posted by: UltraWide
i got the pad from ebay link posted here during the summer. it was good in the beginning, but after 5months it's starting to loose it's firmness. Not as good as tempurpedic pads. Much less dense although they claim 4lbs. density, save your money and buy the real thing if you can find it on sale some where. it cost me $85, not too bad for the money i guess, but not what i expected.

Has anyone else had this experience? I'm on the fence about buying a mattress pad from eBay, but not if its going to end to wear out in less than a year.