Up until a few years ago, my favorite pillow had been a down feather-filled one, but after many years of great sleep I had to stop using it when I developed an allergy to down feathers. Since then I’ve been on the hunt for another pillow that provided the same comfort and support with a different fill material and it seems that search might be over.
I used to be a really good back sleeper and for a long time I’d sleep like a stone: out like a light when my head hit the pillow, and I’d wake feeling rested in pretty much the same position as I fell asleep. But these days I find myself turning a lot in my sleep, especially onto my sides and occasionally my stomach, and no matter how long I slept would feel tired in the mornings. I needed a pillow that would comfortably accommodate a number of sleep positions and allow me to get a good night's sleep. Each style pillow from Bedgear comes in a range of sizes from 0.0 - 3.0, and according to the Pillow ID chart printed on the back of the box, as a small t-shirt sized back sleeper, my size should be 1.0 which is suitable for both back and multi-position sleepers. You can also use Bedgear’s website’s “Find Your Fit” tool, which also uses your mattress’s firmness and nighttime body temperature to determine the recommended pillow type and size, and that’s precisely how I selected the Cosmo Performance Pillow 1.0. The thickness of this pillow, uncompressed, is about 6 inches and it feels neither over nor under stuffed.
The Cosmo is a dual-chamber style pillow with separated sections on top and bottom containing distinct fill materials giving each side of the pillow a different feel. With the pillow name facing up and readable, the firmer side is on top, and you simply flip the pillow over to use the softer side. The fill insert for the firm side is a solid, domed block of foam with the soft springiness of a marshmallow that has a similar density to a feather pillow when compressed. It does not have the extended shape-retention characteristics of memory foam and tends to spring back pretty quickly after weight is removed from it. The soft side fill insert is marked “Active Core” and feels like shredded tufts of silky poly fiber. It is not a solid mass and therefore rearranges easily and feels a bit mushier. This allows the fill to compress easily and mold around your head and neck while providing medium-soft density support. Personally, I think the firmness differential between the two sides is marginal and I’m often not quite certain which side I’m using, but either way the sleep experience has been very good.
Aesthetically, the pillow has a flashy, space-age design and color scheme with its blue/gray tones and rose-gold metallic stitching and accents. I tend to get warm when I sleep, so the Cosmo works well for me because it employs a number of different cooling technologies to keep me from overheating and help regulate my body temperature; for example, the Ver-tex instant cooling fabric cover disperses heat across the fabric on the pillow’s surface rather than absorbing it so that it remains cool to the touch. This, combined with the side air vents and Air-X breathable mesh on all four sides of the pillow, keeps air flowing within and around the pillow, rather than trapping heat inside it. Since your skin should come in direct contact with the Ver-tex material, you don’t need to use an additional pillow case over it as this could actually reduce its cooling benefits. If you do want to use another pillowcase, Bedgear recommends its Performance pillow protectors that employ the same technologies as the pillow. The two zipper pulls along the front side of the cover allow you to remove the fill material from each section individually, so the cover can be washed. Note that the inner fill material inserts are spot clean only.
I’ve been sleeping on this pillow for a little over a week and from the first night to last night, I’ve had a really great sleep experience with it. Not only do I feel I have the head and neck support I need, regardless of my sleep position, I’m also enjoying the cool-to-the-touch smooth feel of the Ver-tex cover. The pillow doesn’t get hot at night, and I feel I’ve been rolling over less throughout the night while using it and waking up less sore and more refreshed.
