The crème de la crème classic pillow filling is feather, down, or a combination. You can move the stuffing around for maximum comfort and they offer a balance of firm yet cushy that’s hard to beat. It’s also natural and long-lasting. When it comes to these pillows, the more feathers the firmer, the more down the pricier. Goose down is not feathers but the fluffy bits from the birds’ breasts and underbellies, softer and lighter than air and a perfect insulator. But it’s not cheap. A firm pillow for side sleepers filled with Hungarian white goose down in a 430-thread count cover from the Company Store is $224 on sale. Combinations with 50 percent or 90 percent feather are generally more affordable.
If a down or feather allergy is keeping you from these pillows, the artificial down Primaloft is cheaper and shares some of the same attributes, but keep in mind Primaloft pillows don’t last long before they get scrawny.
When pricing pillows, keep in mind that different materials have varying life spans. Cheap ones may last only 12 to 18 months, while those buckwheat hulls last seven years and a quality feather/down somewhat longer. In the meantime any dust mites that take up residence can be deflected by using impermeable covers, or putting the pillow in a plastic bag and freezing it for a while. Skin cells and dust worm their way inside pillows, too. Washable pillow protectors help.
We’ve come a long way from the hard stone or wooden head pedestals the ancient Egyptians rested their heads on, or the clay water-filled ones used by the Chinese. Some peoples in the world today use mats, furs, cloth or leaves to sleep on. But we’re lucky; we can choose foam or feathers to cradle our sleepy heads. All we have to do is figure out which.
