The picture I linked is of a buckwheat pillow. Had no idea they were a thing before today.
What about silk or bamboo pillow cases?
I've only ever really used cotton pillow cases and cotton stuffed pillows. I recently upgraded to a foam pillow that I'm enjoying.
Eh, I've tried all of them at least once.
For my money, shredded memory foam is the best. It isn't perfect, but I've had the best balance between comfort, durability, ease of cleaning, and cost.
Buckwheat was good at support, and stayed fairly cool, but the breakdown and difficulty of cleaning made it a problem. It just doesn't last as well. Only thing that was worse in that regard was feathers. Feathers get ruined faster than anything else I tried.
Pillow cases, I'm a cotton fan. High thread count cotton has the right balance of softness vs smoothness. Too soft, and you end up with bunching and wrinkles as you move. Too smooth, and you end up with your head moving too easy but your hair not moving well.
Polyfill sucks for everything except ease of cleaning.
Cotton batting is about the same as polyfill, but not as easy to clean.
Solid foam is just begging to sweat heavy, and damn near impossible to clean well. Plus the durability is iffy.
Pillow cases, actual linen isn't bad, but tends not to be as comfy as cotton. Silk is way too smooth. Satin is just uncomfortable. Synthetics tend to run hot, even though they feel nice. Knit cotton feels the best, but damn does it fall into poor condition fast.
Really all of them? Camel fur? Natural latex? Lyocell? Sheep wool? Pinus cembra shreds? Horse hair? Kapok?
All I want to say is: there is a whole world of relatively unknown pillow stuffings available. This is mostly useful for people with very particular requirements or allergies.
I tried all the regular ones (cotton, different grains, down feathers) plus camel fur, latex and Kapok. Latex was great, durability was mediocre compared to the price though. Kapok became flat pretty fast.
I arrived at the same conclusions as you did: shredded foam. I'd go with natural latex, which has about the same properties and can be manufactured in an eco-friendly, sustainable fashion, but that led to me spending $120 on a pillow that didn't last a third as long as a foam pillow for $22.
Edit: I'm also biased because I want my pillow to be washable. That helps with all kinds of allergies, plus the dirt you see coming out of the pillow... Jesus.
Yeah, latex is by far the best. True, it's expensive but definitely worth it! I've had mine for two years now I think and it's great, no issues whatsoever.
Well, my fav is Aloa Vera filling. But I didn't had much pillows to experience like you both.
Especially when being a guest, I don't know what kind of filling the pillow has.
See, that's what I wanted to say. I had no idea such a thing existed - you learn something new every day. From what I just read now it's a synthetic gel core with a polyester case that has somehow been coated with Aloe Vera extract?
Is that what you are referring to? If so, I'd definitely like to try the gel core, but I'm not at all convinced as far as the case is concerned - the coating would wash out anyway, and I hate Polyester with a passion.
Taking out the gel core and replacing the case with cotton or linen is something that would I try though.
No, the pillow says Aloa Vera Microfiber.
Edit: Ah fuck. I see that the filling is Polyester. It had a big writing on it with "Aloa Vera Microfiber Pillow"... but thats only whats covering the Polyester...
I guess I like it simple and flat?
You'll be even more disappointed when you find out that "Aloe Vera Microfiber" is indeed coated polyester, with a few percent of Aloe Vera extract:
https://www.comatex.cz/en/fabrics/aloe-vera-microfiber-fabric/
http://www.azyhometextile.com/sale-polyester-peach-skin-aloe-vera-microfiber-fabrics-57485532.html
Honestl, I'm equally disappointed - I was keen to learn about a previously unknown fiber.
Have you looked into mattress materials, too? I bought a latex mattress a few years ago, which is pretty good and should last, but I've always been curious about other options.
What do you think is the coolest? I sleep on my side and find my face can get rather hot.
How long do you find buckwheat and feather pillows lasted you?
Depends on what you mean by last.
I still have one feather pillow from about ten years ago. It's still a pillow, but it's gotten lumpy, less full, and it's really only still around because of a strange nostalgia. It got to the point where it slept poorly at about a year. To be fair, it wasn't the "best" possible.
Buckwheat, I got a little longer before it lost enough filling to break down that it wasn't viable, about two years before I was just done with it being progressively flatter.
you can also just add more buckwheat if it gets too flat too. although fwiw I bought one a couple years ago and took out a bit to make it flatter initially, and haven't needed to add it back yet
That's true, but I found that just adding wasn't great. You still have the smaller particles in there, which changes both comfort levels (not by much tbh) and what you might call aroma. It gets a kind of musty smell as it deteriorates, which doesn't totally go away if you filter out the smaller stuff
Deleted: I replied to the wrong comment.