Eve Sleep the memory foam pillow
Buy now £59, Evesleep.co.uk
FirmnessThis pillow feels different to any other memory foam pillow we’ve ever tested. It’s supportive, but also squishier than most solid block foam pillows. That might be because it’s not exactly a solid block – more on the cooling air holes later – or because the bespoke, visco-elastic polyurethane foam (PU foam) that makes up the pillow’s core is designed to have a little bit more give. Eve has a great reputation for their foams, and you can feel that expertise here.
To sleep on, it definitely feels like a memory foam pillow – there’s none of the low sink you get with a down or feather pillow. But the little bit of added softness is a lovely touch if you find solid pillows a bit spartan. Our side-sleeping testers particularly liked this, and found that the pillow was firm enough to keep their neck in alignment but bouncy enough to snuggle your shoulder into.
Read more: 10 best memory foam pillows for extra neck support
The pillow was comfortable right out of the box – somehow Eve managed to avoid the distinctive memory foam smell that can linger around new products for the first day or so.
ComfortThe softness immediately makes this pillow feel more sumptuous and comfortable than most memory foam pillows. The thick, jersey-knit cover – which is actually made of durable 100 per cent polyester – just adds to the feeling of soft sinkability, even once you’ve put a pillow case on.
Where this pillow excels is temperature control. Our main tester usually jettisons her memory foam and foam pillows in really hot weather because they retain heat badly, leading to an uncomfortably sweaty night’s sleep. The Eve pillow core is dotted with a grid of tiny air holes, which keep air circulating even when it’s really hot – and we tested this pillow on the hottest nights of the year so far. Even the thick cover, which we worried might be too much on hot days, could handle the heat – we also used a bamboo pillow case, which naturally helps disperse heat.
SizeThe Eve pillow is the size of a standard UK pillow, at 50 x 75cm, but slightly bigger than other memory foam pillows and foam pillows that we’ve tested (the Emma Pillow is 40cm x 70cm, and the Simba Hybrid is 50cm x 70cm). We really liked having the extra space, and we wondered if this contributed to how cool the pillow felt on hot nights. The pillow didn’t seem oversized on a standard double bed, and two would have fitted comfortably.
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We did find that it was a bit of a squeeze to get the pillow into our standard pillow case, and when we did this it ruffled up the cover slightly. We’d recommend getting a slightly larger case and giving the pillow a bit more room to breathe.
Sleeping positionThis pillow is absolutely ideal for back sleepers: it’s perfectly supportive, but also wonderfully snuggly, keeping your neck in gentle alignment without making you feel like you’re sleeping on something an osteopath might prescribe.
The level of squish made our side and front/side sleepers a bit nervous, initially: people who sleep like this tend to need the most support around the cervical spine, because this position – with the wrong pillow – exaggerates the curve in your neck, leading to pain and stiffness.
On the first few nights we tested it for side sleeping, we paired it with a very soft feather pillow for a little more support in the curve of the neck: after a while, we realised we didn’t need this.
Read more: 9 best anti-snoring pillows for a better night’s sleep
Even though the profile is low and your head sinks into the pillow, there is enough support for side-sleeping. If it feels too low to you, just add a softer pillow, like down or feather, beneath.
AllergiesPerfect for people with allergies. Unlike feather or down pillows, memory foam won’t trigger allergies, and the 100 per cent polyester removable cover is really easy to remove and wash.
The pillow is fully vegan, but the pay-off is that memory foam isn’t, typically, as environmentally friendly as a pillow with a natural fill like wool. Memory foam is treated with a number of chemicals to make it fire retardant, which can take a toll on the environment.
The Eve pillow is OEKO-TEX 100 Class 1 certified, which means it has been tested for and excludes a number of substances that might be harmful to babies and toddlers. It has also been treated with an antimicrobial shield.
CareThe cover is really easy to zip off and wash (40 degrees C) – but don’t tumble dry, bleach, iron or dry clean it. Ours still felt soft and jersey-like after numerous washes. You cannot wash the foam.
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We were really impressed at how well the pillow kept its shape after a solid month of sleep. In our experience, memory foam can lose its shape quickly, and it’s hard to get back – you can’t re-loft it like you can a feather or down pillow. But we found the Eve pillow stayed responsive and supportive over numerous sleeps in different positions.
If the worst happens, Eve has excellent customer service: as well as a 14 night trial period, during which you can apply for a refund at any time if you don’t get on with the pillow, there’s a three year warranty. The warranty doesn’t cover “normal increases in softening and settling of the materials”, but does cover any faults with the foam that might lead to you feeling you’d lost support.
PriceOne of the best-priced memory foam pillows on the market. At £59, it comes in cheaper than its two main competitors, Simba’s hybrid pillow (£99, Simba.co.uk) and the Emma original pillow, (£62, Emma-mattress.co.uk) but still performs really well. It lacks some of the snazzy tech of the Simba Hybrid pillow – the climate-controlling covers, for example – but is much more appealing price-wise if you need to buy two for a double bed.