My boyfriend (let’s all hope he doesn’t come across this thread) has expressed a desire for a pillow filled with husk. He used a name for it, though I can’t recall what it is. I’ve therefore decided to get him one for Christmas.
From what I can tell, they’re filled with the husk of some kind of grain or other. And that’s just about all I know.
Is one kind of grain better than another? How much should I expect to pay? Where is the best place to get one? Anything else I should know?
Maybe locally, Bed, Bath & Beyond or Linens N’ Things would carry them. Maybe even the slightly more upscale department stores.
And when I test my link, I see that JC Penney may carry them…
-mdf
I LOVE my buckwheat pillow. Get one for yourself, too.
How much did you pay? I don’t want to get fleeced just because I don’t know how much they usually go for.
About 4 years ago I paid $30 USD (plus shipping) for 2 pillows.
What does the buckwheet pillow do for you that foam or down doesn’t? How do they compare?
I bought one a few years ago, called a “Sobikawa,” I think. It worked for crap, and it now sits in my closet. Why I never threw it out, I have no idea.
For one thing it seems cooler. It really sheds heat in a way that foam doesn’t. The other real advantage is it is much more moldable than foam. Foam is at the height that the manufacturer says it should be. With buckwheat I can make my pillow higher or shorter as I wish. I find it much more comfortable on my ears than foam.
I find down way too hot for me to sleep. It also doesn’t give enough support, its just too soft. Down doesn’t hold the shape the way buckwheat does, and to a lesser extent foam does.
That sounds really cool. ha! Pun! I’m going to look for them next time I need to go to one of the linen type places for towels or something. Thanks!
Koreans sleep on buckwheat husk neckrolls, which are really firm. I can’t sleep without it. Felt stupid lugging with me on business trips, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Tried the “American style” one’s that are flat and rectangular, but didn’t see the point of that.
My wife bought one a few years ago. I never understood what the advantages were supposed to be. (Regular pillows don’t feel too hot to me, and don’t make my ears uncomfortable.)
It did make a rustling noise every time I turned over or moved my head on it. I found that a little annoying.
I think we gave that pillow to Goodwill.
I’ve used them. They are moldable and firm, like the huge loose bean bags some people use as a cushion. In a way it’s like a waterbed in that it molds to your body (head) and supports all parts of it evenly.
The down side is that the husk gets broken down and compressed over time. I heard somewhere that it loses 10% volume after 1 year of use. It’s best to replace it every year or two. I think you can just refill it with fresh husk. Also I hear some people with respiratory problems should avoid it because of the dust; I never noticed any dust myself, however. Buckwheat husk also absorbs moisture very well, which is a plus for people who sweat a lot.
I currently use a high-tech version: it’s filled with plastic beads rather than buckwheat. It feels very similar and it lasts a long time. It doesn’t absorb any moisture but this doesn’t seem to be a big problem.
I don’t like them!
I had one for a couple of years. Then one day I was pulling the cover off it to wash it, and suddenly the inner liner ripped. A cascade of soba husks fountained out of the pillow and all over the room in an arc as my arm swung round. Soba husks are very light and they travelled all over my three room apartment. I vaccumed up husks every day for the remaining two years in that place, and the day I left was still finding them wedged under skirting boards and behind the fridge!
Well, one of the reasons my guy wants one is because he is fond of firm pillows but is allergic to all down and feathers.
Thanks for the sites! The Perfect Pillow even looks like a Canadian company, so that’ll be cheaper. I checked out one site off of google and one pillow was 45$ US. That was a bit steep.
I’ve used a buckwheat pillow for about 5 years. They’re great, but they’re not for everyone. My wife bought it for herself, didn’t like it and I tried it and I’m hooked for life.
Here’s a link that sells several kinds & sizes. I have a smallish one, probably about like their size small ($27). It looks kinda funny on the bed, but you certainly don’t need a king sized one. I just dump it in a normal pillowcase and fold the excess case under the pillow.
The thing that makes buckwheats great is that they conform to your head and support it without holding your neck at a nasty angle. They’re infinitely adjustable for thickness, contour, etc.
I sleep on my back and the pillow holds my head straight so it doesn’t flop over to either side while I sleep, yet the pillow isn’t pushing my chin down onto my chest like a typical American pillow does.
I.love.my.buckwheathull.pillows.
It is pretty much the only thing I have bought after watching an infomerical when they first came out and were hot, hot, hot. It was the clear tubes filled with the materials of a pillow that convinced me. Feathers in one. Foam in another and Buckwheat hulls in a third. Then they dropped an 10 pound weight into each of them and watched how much resistance ( or not) by each product. I was sold and bought too and have never regretted it.
I haven’t gone back to feather pillows and have even bought the hulls in bulk to make my own. Now if I could only make two the same size to make it easier with the pillow case problem.
It is the support I like.
The only draw back that I’ve found is that if the pillow gets wet
( you spill water on it or, in my case, my son puked on mine) the pillow is done for. Kaput. Finis. You cannot throw it in the washer or let it air dry, as the hulls then expand and make it stiff.
And the better part is my husband hates my 9000 odd shaped pillows with pillow case problems, so he keeps to his goose down pillow.
Oh, and there is little chance of allergen problems with these pillows too, IIRC.