Sleep Better Sure Support Contour Pillow

For two years I have been happily sleeping on an Sleep Better Iso-Cool Memory Foam Pillow, Contour which I still think is one of the best contoured memory-foam pillows out there (and I have tried a lot). But I recently had cervical spine surgery to fix a problem with two herniated discs AND we bought a new mattress. This, at least for now, slightly changed my pillow requirements. At the moment I am more comfortable with a slightly thicker and firmer pillow than I was using before.

When I saw that Carpenter had this new foam (Avena) which they promise is "balancing comfort with support" I decided to order it, and also because I had had good experiences with Carpenter pillows in the past.

The Avena Sure Support Contour Pillow is relatively light-weight for a memory foam pillow, so at first I was a bit apprehensive I generally find that the lighter-weight pillows do not have the same good quality as the heavier ones. It also was easily pinched and squeezed, deepening my skepticism. But all that disappeared when I put it on the bed and actually tried it out.

Here are my observations in detail:

The foam feels not like a traditional memory foam. It does not really mold to one's head too much and feels quite firm. That said, it still feels surprisingly comfortable and the advantage over traditional memory foam is that it does not let the head sink in much once the body temperature softens the material (my major problem with brands such as Tempurpedic). It also does not feel too hard in the beginning, another problem with other memory foams, especially in cold rooms in the winter. The pillow stays pretty much the same throughout the night every night, providing excellent support. The best way I can describe it is as if my head lies on an air-filled pillow without the need to adjust the air to find the perfect firmness. Contrary to air pillows, no fine-tuning is required :-).

Due to the firm support the higher contoured end felt a bit too high, even for me who usually likes to sleep higher (I am a side sleeper). The lower end of the pillow, however, felt very good and perfect.

The foam itself has little air holes all over, supposedly designed to keep the sleeper cooler and more comfortable (there is a video on the web that talks about the material do a search for Carpenter Avena and you should find it). I freely admit that I did not notice much of a difference compared to other such pillows and believe that this is probably very dependent on the individual using the pillow, their body temperature, climate, room temperature, etc.

The pillow had a slight odor to it when it came out of the plastic wrapping (it was shipped just with this wrapping in an Amazon box, no separate retail box around it), but that is typical for this kind of material and it dissipated within a day or two. Since it wasn't overwhelming to begin with, it did not bother me but people who are sensitive to this might have to air it out for a while before actually sleeping on it.

All in all I am happy with the Avena Sure Support pillow precisely because I prefer firmer pillows. People who like the cloud feeling of sinking into their pillows as if it were down would likely not be satisfied with it. But for me who has lived with herniated discs, headaches and muscle strains for years due to lack of adequate support, this is a very good solution for now.

UPDATE 6/17/2011:

We recently removed a memory foam pad from our mattress which made the surface firmer. I now feel as if the pillow is a bit too soft, leading to somewhat less support just enough for my neck and shoulders to notice a slightly uncomfortable difference. I still think this is a good pillow but it might not work all that well for side sleepers who prefer a relatively firm mattress. I had a very good experience with it as long as the mattress surface was softer.

I'd been trying to find this special pillow since purchasing it at JCPenney (before their makeover). Amazon had it! My neck thanks you--just the right support. I'd been "supporting" another brand for 20 years, after a cervical injury due to an auto accident.

Buy Sleep Better Sure Support Contour Pillow Now

This is the second pillow I have purchased made by Carpenter, I am very pleased with the quality. Stiff neck is a pain of the past.

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