The Purple Pillow

It's ashamed that by default, the new reviews are not listed first. It seems that a lot of the negative reviews here are about the inflatable insert that was done away with. If you are seeing these come up first, I would suggest that you filter the reviews by the newest first so that you read reviews that do not include issues with the insert.I've only slept on this for a few nights, so I may update my 5 start rating later if things change. However, I'm very glad that I ignored the negative reviews and gave Purple a shot. I'm not insinuating that the negs are wrong, but pillows are one of the most subjective products that we purchase and you really shouldn't base your decision to try one based on someone else's experience.I'm 6'2 and weight around 190lbs. I'm disabled from extensive nerve and spinal cord damage and a chronic pain patient. Needless to say, a good night's sleep is hard to achieve under the best of conditions. I recently discovered that I have a cracked vertebra in the middle of my neck, so that makes finding the right sleeping position even more difficult. For over three months now, I've barely had any sleep and when I wake up, I have a horrible headache and really severe pain in my neck and shoulders. Because of the new problem with my neck, I was very hesitant to invest in another expensive pillow. Now, I say expensive though I do not believe that $99 is expensive for something that you sleep on nearly every day of your life. I know people that spend more than that on a single pair of jeans and don't even blink. If I'm going to pay thousands for a good mattress, why would I want to cheap out on a pillow?Being that I have rather broad shoulders, I always assumed that I needed a thicker pillow for back an side sleeping, After reading the reviews about how thin the Purple is, I almost didn't try it. I own several expensive pillows of every imaginable type, and most of those are very thick. After sleeping a few nights on the Purple Pillow, I can now see that my thicker pillows were putting my neck in bad positions. The angle when sleeping on my side was too steep and when I slept on my back, which is my preferred position, my airway was actually being restricted by the sever tilt caused by the pillow. The Purple Pillow keeps my neck and spine perfectly aligned, whether sleeping on my back or side and my breathing but much improved. I didn't jolt awake from the apneas that are caused by insufficient airflow when sleeping.One thing that I should mention is that I sleep on a VERY expensive, all natural latex mattress that I purchased a few years ago. It is absolutely the best mattress that I have ever slept on, and I've owned several of the high-end brands including the top of the line Tempur-Pedic and Sleep Number beds. My mattress allows my entire body and broad shoulders to sink in just enough that I am able to sleep comfortably on my back and side even with such a thin pillow. So it entirely possible that if I didn't own such a good mattress the pillow might, in fact, be too thin. I suspect that Purple created this pillow to use with their mattress to achieve the best results. I believe the key to the best possible sleep is in owning a pillow and mattress that work together. If you are sleeping on a cheap, overly soft or overly firm mattress, you may never get a good night's sleep no matter how much spend on a pillow, no matter how thick, or thin, or what material its made from. If something ever happened to my current mattress, I would probably give the Purple mattress a try. If it's as comfortable as the pillow, it may be a winning combo. I would encourage any of my fellow sufferers of poor sleep who cannot seem to find the perfect pillow to take a look at your mattress and make sure it's not the culprit before wasting more money on pillows.If you do own a mattress that allows your body and shoulders to sink in just the right amount, I highly recommend giving the Purple Pillow a try. Mine arrived in great shape and I have not been bothered by any chemical smell. What I was able to smell dissipated very quickly. I will also note that, as one who sleeps VERY hot, this pillow kept my head nice and cool all night long. A lot of other reviewers have complained about the weight and I agree; it is heavy for a pillow. However, this is not the kind of pillow that needs to be re-positioned and fluffed throughout the night, so once it's in place, you really don't have to mess with it much. And if a 10lb pillow is too much to handle when making the bed or changing your sheets, you might want to consider hitting the gym a couple of days a week. Just sayin'...

This purchase was for my 2nd Purple pillow. I've had one for about 15 months. My Lady recently tried & decided she loves it. It's a good length, but not quite long enough for two, so I bought her one. She's extremely happy with it. I'm still happy with mine and it feels just the same is it did when I got it.I will say it's slightly different than the one I got way back. I'll try to get a comparison pic later. The color is a little lighter, it might be just a titch softer (if I squeeze both simultaneously I can tell but otherwise not when sleeping), doesn't come with any kind of booster (foam or inflatable), and the outer cloth cover is a little different. There is less talcum powder on it the pillow itself. I mention this because people complain about it too much IMO. It comes in a tightly rolled burrito; this keeps it from sticking to itself & tearing when you unroll it. It's there, it's necessary, just be aware & don't dump it anywhere you shouldn't!Now to address some of the negative bits that I've seen in other reviews and are absolutely not true (for me!)...I hope no one takes these all-encompassing "if you're an x sleeper it will/won't work" reviews seriously. I am a side/back sleeper, have tight muscles in my neck leading to neck, shoulder, & back pain, and this pillow is great. Just remember, if it doesn't work for one person, it doesn't mean it won't work for everyone. It provides great support for me...i.e. just enough & not too much under my neck and head. It doesn't sink excessively like memory foam, or make me sweat like crazy. Its heaviness is nice because it doesn't move much, and when I need it to move it slides easily enough (you have to pull it, not push it).There are 2 reasons it might not work for someone: It's too thick, or too narrow. No pillow can work for everyone; for proper side sleep fit, it has to match the distance from the edge of your shoulder to your neck, and then get narrower or have extra give for the head. These distances change notably for back sleeping, and depending on your individual neck depth (affected by spinal curvature). By definition it means one pillow can't work for more than one sleeping position (unless it had a different edge made for each). If it's too short for you on your back, maybe you've just got an extra-curved neck, and need a booster (or a thicker pillow). If you're one of the lucky few with a still-straight neck in our stare-down-at-your-phone-all-day world, it may be too thick. Fortunately for me, it works just right for both side and back. I can even put a hand or my forearm under my head or neck without it being too thick. I'm told I have slightly broader than average shoulders. I'm mostly a side sleeper and it puts me in perfect alignment, making all neck pain go away (my basis of comparison is when I feel all ooey-gooey straight after a round of orthopedic neck massage). Interestingly enough, my Lady is slimmer (petite) & has better neck posture than me, and she thinks it's great too.We sleep on a Purple mattress, so this may have an effect on how much our shoulders sink relative to the pillow's thickness for head/neck.