Snuggle-Pedic Ultra-Luxury Bamboo Pillow

So after researching numerous competing products (such as the apparently overrated "MyPillow"), I ended up purchasing this particular pillow based on the generally high Amazon reviews, and the clearly superior customer service described in many of them. I have tried a few pillows in my time, and the Snuggle-Pedic is now at the top of my list. It is a wonderful pillow deserving of the accolades seen here in its many Amazon reviews. I have been using it for about six weeks now and felt that it was probably a good time to write a review, so here goes. The shredded memory foam inside has been great to sleep on for the last six weeks, and far superior to the stuffing in normal cheap pillows we've been sleeping on for decades. Never again will I buy another pillow at Target, Walmart or Ross to be sure. The Snuggle-Pedic pillow keeps my cranial cavity elevated at a comfortable level without the weight of my head excavating a pit through the middle of the pillow down to the mattress bedrock. Nor do I find myself waking up with fused vertebrae in my neck from sleeping at unholy angles. The pillow is fairly heavy as well, for a pillow. Memory foam is not light like normal pillow stuffing. As a result I would not recommend pillow fights with these pillows, especially with children. One well-intentioned blow from one of these things will send your opponent crashing to the floor and down for the count. Having said all that, the only problem I can think of with the pillow itself is that the memory foam within does tend to moderately clump over time in one side or another. To keep it plump all around I have been picking it up by one end before bed and shaking the stuffing back together for a few seconds, which works fine. I have also tossed it in the dryer a couple times since it arrived which plumps it up even better as needed. This clumping is moderate, and really a minor issue for me. It certainly does not take away from my overall satisfaction in this product. I should also add that the bamboo covering on the outside of the pillow is very soft and comfortable, and does not seem to get too warm, as advertised I suppose. When I saw the pillow was named after and made of bamboo for some reason, I thought it was a bit ridiculous as I envisioned the outer covering of the pillow covered in long slices of sharp bamboo rods sewn together with jungle twine, stabbing my head and ears as I rolled around on it in my sleep. How this material is made of bamboo I do not know, which literally shows what I know (or don't know rather). Perhaps bamboo trees are actually filled with super-soft heat-resistant tropical stuffing that must merely be pulled out the ends. Or more likely, this company has mastered some arcane, alchemical process that turns bamboo into something that no longer resembles bamboo in any way. And to think I thought all bamboo was good for was scaffolding in the far east, tasteless filler in Chinese food, and a handy tool to cane the backs of malcontents in Singapore. I would certainly be interested to read a few details from Relief-Mart about what the heck their "viscose" of bamboo is, how it is made, and how it is used to make the pillow covering. This brings me to yet another question. Who walks around thinking about how they can turn bamboo trees into soft and cozy pillow covers? The Dr. Frankenstein who came up with this is clearly a special person. One wonders what could be on deck in the Relief-Mart laboratory, and whether the world is truly ready for kelp bedsheets. Speaking of the bamboo pillow cover, I would be remiss if I did not point out that this company also makes additional removable zipper-lined pillow covers (Zipper Removable Pillow Cover by Snuggle-Pedic - Kool-Flow Luxurious Bamboo Material - All USA Made (Queen Size)). These are made of the same bamboo material that the pillow itself is covered in, but unlike the pillow itself, these pillow covers have a zipper along one end. It's basically a bamboo pillow case to put around your Snuggle-Pedic bamboo pillow for an extra bamboo layer of protection I guess. It also provides me with an additional opportunity to use the word "bamboo" multiple times in each sentence. Relief-Mart actually sent me one of these in addition to the pillow, and I LIKE it. Oh and you know THAT I do. The entire pillow fits easily inside the pillow cover which can then be zipped up. Then the entire pillow can still be placed inside a normal pillow case after that. At least that's what I have done with mine. I like having the option to someday remove the pillow from the pillow cover and wash the cover by itself as needed should it magically find itself stained with foreign material or bodily fluids. Gross I know, but I'm just saying. This hasn't been necessary so far because I take long showers and am extraordinarily clean, but I do hope that when that day arrives, the pillow cover will have proven to protect the Snuggle-Pedic glory inside so that the pillow remains as pristine bamboo-white as it was on the day it popped out of the oven. So for those who hate looking at their stained, nasty little pillows with their pillow cases removed, I highly recommend you get one of these pillow covers as well to protect your pillow investment. And I say "investment" because by the time you buy the pillow and the cover, that's pretty much what it is. Which leads me to a short aside from the pillow itself. Yeah, the pillow is fairly pricey as you probably have already noticed, which is a bit of a bummer. I bought mine for $59.99, plus the cover is another $17.99 as I write this. That's nearly $80 for a really good pillow. I imagine that price is off-putting to many consumers, which is a shame. No doubt if they were cheaper, they would be much more widespread, and Relief-Mart would be dominating the market. As it is, I can only speak for myself when I say that it is probably a worthwhile investment for me considering I may potentially spend a third of the rest of my life laying my head upon this glorious pillow, and the bamboo that adorns it. I have my doubts that I will need to buy another pillow for a very long time now. Considering my wife and I would buy new cheap pillows every year or so after the others would go to crap, I will no longer be spending that money. So I guess I will have an eventual return on this investment a few years down the road, and I will have slept better for it. Ideally, the price on these will come down so more people can pick one up. But either way, I personally feel it is worth it. Lastly, the manufacturer offers free customization of the Snuggle-Pedic pillow if desired. I personally am more than content with the amount of material in mine and have no desire to send it off to their Orange County bamboo farm. But the fact that they do this at no cost to the owner is another feather in their cap if you will. For those who want more or less stuffing, you can have this done for free, which is pretty cool. So five stars from me. Snuggle-Pedic Bamboo pillow...Highly Recommended, and I'm out. Bup.