Pillow Talk: Tempur-Pedic Pillow Review

I really hate shopping for pillows. There just seems to be so many of them, in so many different sizes, shapes, and weights. Not to mention different materials – feather, foam, and synthetic materials. And if that’s not complicated enough,  you can also get aromatherapy pillows full of scents that are ‘guaranteed’ to make you relax.

So when I was contacted by a PR person and asked if I wanted to review a couple of Tempur-pedic pillows, I was all for it. But I figured that they wouldn’t want to send them all the way out to New Zealand.  Surprisingly they did.

The first thing I noticed when opening the large box that contained the two pillows – a comfort pillow and a  neck pillow – was a strong chemical odor. Not unusual apparently, but probably more pronounced due the distance travelled. A little sticker on both pillows indicated that the smell would go away after a couple of days. The reality was, at least for me, that the odor lingered for a couple of weeks during which time the pillows spent a great deal of time outside airing.

Once the smell dissipated, the testing began. First up, the neck pillow (price range $79 – $159). This oddly shaped pillow ‘that’s ergonomically contoured to support your head, neck, and spine in perfect alignment’ lasted all of five minutes before I threw it off the bed. I tried a couple of more times over the weekend but simply could not get comfortable with it. Yes, I know it’s meant to provide support for the neck but all it seemed to do was give me a neck ache.

But then not all pillows are going to suit all people.

By Monday, I decided that the only way to get a true test of this neck pillow would be to get someone else to trial it. And I knew the perfect person – a colleague at work who had suffered from a neck injury a few years ago. So I packed it back up and took it to work. A week later, a very happy colleague pronounced that, for her, the neck pillow was just the thing. While it took a few nights to get used to it, she found that  the ‘neck pillow was excellent, soft enough for comfort but firm enough for support. Since using the pillow, there was less tingling in the left arm/hand and less neck pain.’ 

Meanwhile, I started testing the more traditionally shaped comfort pillow (price range $79 – $159) and found it more to my liking. It did take a week or so to get used to the heaviness of the pillow (made from viscoelastic material, they are not light and should never be used in a pillow fight ). But once I did, I found that the comfort pillow lived up to it’s name in comfort and sleep. It is, I’ve decided, a keeper.

Which brings me to an important question? How do you choose a pillow to buy? After all, it’s not something that is all that easy to return it doesn’t suit. Not a real issue when buying cheap pillows. But Tempur-pedic pillows are not cheap. So my suggestion would be to do your research and figure out what type of pillow you are looking for.  And then go shopping a few pillows and take them over to a display bed, lie down, and rest your head on a pillow or two. It might just help.

Tempur-pedic pillows, which come in a variety of shapes and sizes, all come with removable, washable allergen and mite resistant covers.

Head on over to the Tempur-pedic website to find out more about their pillows. They also sell beds, and office and travel products.