I’ve been spending so much time researching and determining what kind of mattress we’re going to invest in I hadn’t given the pillows much thought. Any information or direction to find some on selecting the best pillow would be much appreciated!!
Hi rockscreation16,
There’s a pillow thread here which has a few thoughts and ideas and some links to some good resources.
Phoenix
I did some searching through the forum, and I did not happen across any threads on pillows. I mostly just came up with pillowtop threads… Any way you can point me in the right direction?
Hi rockscreation16,
Sorry, I meant to link to the the thread in my last post but I see that I didn’t. It’s now corrected 
Phoenix
Thanks for the link. I’m interested in the biogreen foam pillow with interchangeable layers.
I had a pillow some time ago that I left at a condo on a work trip, and never saw again… It has been my favorite pillow so far.
This is what I can remember of it. It was rather heavy for its size. It was considered a memory foam pillow. It was probably a medium/soft ish firmness. The foam was much faster responding than a lot of memory foam that I’ve used. It almost had a little more of a springy feel. It came in a contour shape. Any ideas what kind of pillow it might have been?
Hi rockscreation16,
There’s a LOT of pillows that fit that description fairly closely including the biogreen (which is also the only memory foam pillow I’ve tried that had absolutely no smell even when it’s brand new).
So unfortunately I really don’t know which one it could be.
Phoenix
Yeah, I’m afraid I have no clue either…
I remember it almost having a latex type feel. In fact when my wife and I picked out our current pillows I selected latex because it was the closest to what my old pillow felt like. Our current pillows seem nice enough, but I think they are a bit too high lofted and aren’t providing enough support for me. I’m starting to wake up with neck and head aches.
I’m certainly considering the biogreen pillow at this point. Any idea what the price point is like? I had to request a quote on the website.
Have you seen any latex pillows in a contour design?
Do you have any opinions on the Z by malouf “Dough” memory foam contour pillow?
I got two pillows from tempflow(aka selectabed, aka relief mart) with my recent purchase of a memory foam bed. The pillows were not the trillo they advertise but both of my pillows did have a slight odor that is hard to describe, almost like a musty smell. Not strong or overpowering and did not last long. Its just they were not odor free. The bed had the same odor . I will review the bed after I have had it for a while, so far I am pleased. My wife is super sensitive to smells but she could live with the odor.But I have to say the odor was disappointing, I expected no odor due to their claim of no VOC’s (and one of the reasons I bought the bed) Other than the slight odor problem I would recommend the pillows , they don’t seem to get hot but as far as longevity we will see how they hold up in the long term.
I just got a quote for the queen/king sized biogreen pillow for right at $200. Does that sound right? Sounds a little crazy to me…
Hi rockscreation,
I didn’t know the price of the biogreen and it certainly is a lot.
I had talked with Rick on quite a few occasions (as I do with many manufacturers) about his mattresses and he wanted to send me a sample of the memory foam they use and sent me the pillow instead so I actually didn’t buy it.
I still am very impressed with the pillow and the foam they use but I agree with you that the price is very expensive and would give me pause.
There are quite a few contoured and/or zoned pillows in latex (a google search on “contour latex pillow” will bring up quite a few). The zoned pillows have a firmer zone instead of the contouring which performs a similar function.
I have the Malouf zoned latex pillow (which is the pillow I’m currently sleeping on) which I like but I’ve never tried their memory foam version. There is such a wide variety of memory foam “feels” and versions … it’s often safer to try a particular version first. Latex is a little more predictable in how it will feel than memory foam although even here the different firmness levels and types of latex can make quite a difference in how they fit each person’s preferences. Like mattress materials though … it helps to know the specifics of the materials in a pillow to be able to somewhat “predict” how it may feel. Their “doughy” description sounds like higher density memory foam and if this is true it would have all the pluses and minuses of this kind of material.
Once you have an idea of the “general” type of pillow you may “need” (which is usually determined by a combination of your body shape, sleeping positions, and the type of mattress you have), then the “feel” of a pillow takes over and the choices become much more subjective in terms of firmness, breathability, coolness, “scrunchability”, stability, motion restriction, and all kinds of other weird and wonderful preferences that people have.
Pillows are fairly easy to get close (based on needs and the general characteristics of different materials) … but really really difficult to get “perfect” (based on unique preferences). Because pillows can be so directly felt and we sleep so close to it with our face … “perfect” is a lot more important (at least for me) and also changes over time so that’s a journey that sometimes seems to be ongoing.
The more that people post about the pillows they have and the reasons they like them … I think the more helpful a pillow thread can be.
Phoenix
Hi rskman,
I appreciate this feedback :).
The pillow I have had almost no odor at all (and my DH is also very sensitive to odors) and I found this quite surprising (I assume that every material and especially memory foam will have a smell).
It’s strange sometimes the differences between each person’s experience with the same material and I think that how long they were left to air out in the factory/warehouse can have something to do with this (along with each person’s sensitivity as well of course).
Your comments with VOC’s and how it is related to smell also brings up some interesting issues. In general all materials will have a smell which come from compounds in the material and even natural rubber has a smell (for example NR can have a rubbery smell which can be quite persistent and blended talalay has a “vanilla” type of smell). In most cases the smell dissipates in a while but some are more persistent than others.
One of the reasons I like independent testing of materials is so that there is some assurance that what we are smelling isn’t a harmful VOC and this is where testing such as CertiPur and Oeko-Tex can be very helpful because they test the VOC’s to make sure that they are not of the harmful type. Every material (including latex produced by some manufacturers) can use harmful chemicals in its formulation (including one of the most common problems which is the aldehydes such as formaldehyde) and people who are more sensitive can react to this if the levels are past their threshhold.
I have had personal experience with reacting to memory foam VOC’s and the symptoms weren’t pleasant to say the least even though I am not usually sensitive to issues like this (I seem to be very smell “tolerant”). In the case of the biogreen I have seen the testing results on their material and they are American manufactured so it’s very unlikely that there is anything in them that can cause harm for the vast majority of people but their testing (at least that I saw) only included “total VOC’s” and weren’t broken down into individual substances. I have encouraged Rick to encourage his foam producer to include testing results or an independent “certification” in their specs or website information. I also know that their memory foam is an MDI formulation (rather than TDI) which IMO can produce higher quality and “cleaner” foam. MDI is more common in Europe and some of the European foam manufacturers are Oeko-Tex 100 approved (meaning safe for babies) which is a more difficult accomplishment for memory foam or polyfoam.
I also noticed that their foam was much more breathable and cooler than many other memory foams I have tried and this was one of the reasons it impressed me. I also think that the odds are very good that their density (5 lb) and formulation will lead to particularly good durability (and durability was one of the reasons that Rick chose this particular memory foam).
Thanks again for your feedback
Phoenix
I just ordered the Z by malouf contour memory foam pillow. At the price I only expect to get a feel for how I like that certain type of pillow. there are quite a few good reviews on it though. I will update with my experiences what I get a chance to use it.
I have the Z by Malouf Zoned Dough Memory Foam Pillow in high loft firm. I find it softer and I sink into it more than I would like; however, I prefer a very firm pillow. I used to scrunch my formerly favored down pillows into a hard surface. I have an old contour memory foam pillow made in Germany (no longer available) from Ikea that is very firm and has held up well, although no longer as comfy as it used to be. This bears out what Phoenix said about the great variability of memory foams: these 2 pillows could hardly be more different, although both claim to be MF. They both say “viscoelastic” on the law tag.
I would not want the Dough pillow to be any softer and squishier than it is, but some may find it just right. It had a mild odor the first day which quickly faded, and I used it the first night. The zoning" supposedly makes it firmer around the edges, and it is, a little bit. It made in China which is probably not in its favor. It has a very soft velvety cover over the naked foam. It is not high enough for me and I use it on an old down pillow and also with some soft fabric laid over it (as well as a pillowcase) which probably firms it up a little.
My overall impression of the quality of this pillow is that it is fine for now but likely will not hold up more than a couple years. In future it can serve as part of a tower of pillows to prop me up for reading in bed. For what I paid, it was a decent deal, while I look around for “The Pillow” :lol: .