The Pancake Pillow Review

Finding a pillow that holds your head at the right height with the right amount of comfort can be hard and expensive – not to mention how pillows need replacing once they start to fall flat.

At some point in everyone’s life, stacking old, flat pillows has been a way of life, squeezing out that final needed height to obtain a comfortable night’s sleep.

Interestingly enough, the Pancake Pillow takes that idea and makes it simpler, easier, and much more effective.

The Pancake Pillow might be a saving grace for people with neck pain or who struggle to find the “right” pillow – even after plenty of test drives across styles and brands.

While it has some issues inherit to the design, you might find that customization with your pillow’s height, comfort, and support is worth it.

Here we break down all you need to know, so you can make the right buying decision.

The Pancake Pillow: The Details

Specs

• Dimensions: 26 x 18 x 8 inches
• Case Materials: 100% cotton and 300 thread count
• Pillow Materials: Microfiber/polyester stuffing
• Pillow cases included: Two
• Number of Pillows: Six for each “pancake”, each two inches tall
• Hypoallergenic: Yes

Material Composition

The creators of the Pancake Pillow place a great deal of emphasis on their final product being 100% cotton, but that is only the outer case.

The inside is microfiber, or “down alternative,” which is a nice name for polyester.

Polyester tends to hold onto heat more than other materials, which is an advantage in colder areas, but should you sleep warmer than most – or should you live in hot climates – it might not be the best choice for you.

For everyone else, polyester is super easy to clean if you need to wash it, and it’ll last quite a while – making this a solid material to invest in.

For the outside case, cotton is a soft material that’s pretty common for most households.

A 300 thread count isn’t bad, plus the cases that arrive with the pillows are specially designed to allow easy access, meaning you can remove or add pillows without hassle.

However, if you’re interested in a different material or thread count, just look for a zippered pillowcase.

Satin would be the most recommended since it won’t leave creases, helps prevent wrinkles, and keeps your hair from getting tangled.

Gravity Sleep: The Brand

The company, Gravity Sleep, is a lesser-known brand with a limited internet presence and only three other products to their name.

Usually, this is a red flag, but they have a 97% rating on Amazon and all their products have well-balanced or pretty positive reviews, with only the occasional customer being disappointed and interested in a return.

They seem to be a small business with a niche product, the Pancake Pillow – and there is something to be said about focusing your creative efforts into one excellent result.

The Pancake Pillow Review

Stand Out Features

• One Size Fits All: The real highlight of this pillow is that it’s completely adjustable to suit your sleeping style and needs. You can stack as many or as few pillows as you like to customize it to your own preference while still getting the support you need throughout the night.
• Easy Care: Buying a special pillow doesn’t always have to mean special care. The Pancake Pillow is as easy as pie to clean, taking away any laundry day dread.
• Satisfaction Guaranteed: Investing in a good night’s sleep doesn’t have to be a gamble. You’ll have time to test out the Pancake Pillow before entirely committing so you can be sure this pillow is right for you.

The Positives

Stacking

The concept of a stackable pillow is ingenious.

Whether you only adjust them once to get the right height and comfort you need, or you change them up weekly to suit your altering preferences, having a pillow you can manage on your own without any extra hassle is handy all around.

On top of that, it’s the more-efficient edition of what people are already doing: taking thin pillows (in most cases, deflated old pillows) and stacking them.

The Pancake Pillow allows for better support than using old pillows and comes with a zippered case to keep the layers from sliding all around.

This kind of hands-on, easy customization could be a lifesaver if you have neck pain, sleep apnea, or use any sort of medical device at night.

If you stack more than two of the pillows, you’re bound to get a “cradled” effect that will help you from tossing you’re head too much and keep you sleeping on your back – which is much better for your health anyways.

Consistent Support

The layered effect will also keep your pillow from becoming super flat in the middle (or wherever you lay your head) and puffed up on the sides.

The thin pillows make it so that, while they might compress, they won’t shift around too much.

The materials are long lasting. When you do reach the point in which your pillows just don’t provide the right amount of comfort or support anymore, you’ll likely have a couple other pillows you weren’t using as a replacement.

For All Kinds of Sleepers

This going to be the best pillow you can find if you’re a stomach sleeper.

Rather than going without a pillow in order to get your head at that right angle to, well, no worries, you just remove some of the inserts.

No need to slide your pillow to the edge so you don’t get the puffed up end. Removing the inserts will keep it soft and flat, so you can still enjoy plush comfort without craning your back or cutting off your airway.

If you learn that you never need to use all the inserts, you can buy an extra cover to make a set out of your pillows as well, so every layer of comfort is used up.

This also makes it easy to adjust to different guests and family members, as you can easily tailor this pillow to a variety of needs.

Easy to Clean

With some specialty pillows, the instructions tell you to avoid washing machines, forcing you to either take the time to hand wash your pillow, or take it all the way to the dry-cleaners.

Some give no instructions on how to clean your pillow altogether. 

Thankfully, the Pancake Pillow gives an easy solution. Just throw it in the washer! And when that’s done, you can just pop it in the dryer.

Both the cover and the pillows are machine washable and dryer safe so you don’t have to deter cleaning, or add it to your growing list of things to do.

The company does recommend that you wash and dry it on a gentle-cycle – better safe than sorry!

Guaranteed Satisfaction 

With the Pancake Pillow you won’t have to go out on a limb. You’ll be backed by a 30-day guarantee so you don’t have to be stuck with a product that just doesn’t work for you.

If you purchase the pillow and realize it’s just not the right fit for your bed, simply contact the company to return the pillow at no additional cost, and a refund.

This makes it easy to try out something that could be beneficial to your overall sleep, instead of missing out on it altogether with a worry that you won’t like it.

The Negatives

Materials

The downsides of this product mostly come from the materials within.

The microfiber is bound to get a little lumpy, and it does have a tendency to compress, meaning the two inches of each pillow’s height won’t be so once you lay your head down on it.

That’s good for people who will be stacking a bunch of pillows, for example, if you need to have your head cradled to keep it from moving during the night (such as, if you’re wearing a medical device).

But it isn’t going to be very friendly to side sleepers unless you only want to sleep with a few of the inserts.

Too Much

If you need to use all six of the inserts at once, you might have some trouble getting them all to fit inside the case provided at first.

This is due to each layer (uncompressed) being about two-inches thick and the case being approximately eight-inches tall.

While the fix might just be to wear it down with a bit of use, it still comes as a particular inconvenience for those that need all six inserts at once.

Overall Verdict

For people just looking for that “right” pillow without any extra special needs, you might not need a pillow with removable inserts.

It’s still a good idea if you plan to have it in your guest room or on hand for overnight guests, since we’re sure they’ll appreciate being able to get a good night’s rest.

However, it’ll be better in the long run to simply find the right pillow that works for you.

But if you have chronic neck pain, back pain, have trouble sleeping with medical devices on your current pillow, or have trouble sleeping on your back and want to start, this will be the product for you.

It’s likely that people who need a stackable pillow already have several flat pillows they pile together. The Pancake Pillow makes it not only easier, but much more manageable.

Lastly, this is a great idea for a guest pillow for anyone staying more than just a night or as a gift for your parents.

Like beds, everyone has their own needs and tastes for comfort. This lets them adjust it to their needs with no guesswork on your part.

Where to Buy the Pancake Pillow

We mentioned that Gravity Sleep isn’t a very well known brand. It can be hard to compete with brands that have been around for decades, even if you have an outstanding product.

In addition, the Pancake Pillow is still growing in popularity, so it can be hard to find in-store.

As for finding the Pancake Pillow online, for now you’ll only be able to find it on the Pancake Pillow website (from $79) and on Amazon.

So that wraps up our review on the Pancake Pillow. Are you curious enough to give it a try?