Pillow Cube review: Is it a game changer for side sleepers?

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Getting a good night’s sleep has always been a bit of a challenge for me. I frequently move around throughout the night, trying to achieve the most comfortable position for my body, neck and shoulders. Sometimes, I never truly find the ideal level of comfort so I end up losing out on sleep, and end up feeling drowsy and less focused throughout the day. Plus, I’m a “hot sleeper,” which makes it even more difficult to get a better night’s sleep and feel energized in the morning. Since the Center for Disease Control recommends getting at least seven hours of sleep each night, I’m always looking for different accessories that may help my sleep routine, including sunrise alarm clocks, cooling mattress and gentle comforters.

One part of my bedding I haven’t given much thought to, however, is my pillows. I’m very much a maximalist when it comes to pillows and cushions on beds. In the past, I thought that the larger and more full a pillow was, the better, which, after trying various products from Pillow Cube, I discovered wasn’t always the case.

Below, I share my full experience trying the brand’s products, including firsthand details about what using its pillows is like, whether or not you can use them if you aren’t a side sleeper and more.

SKIP AHEAD: What is Pillow Cube? | How I tried Pillow Cube | Who are Pillow Cube products best for? | What is Pillow Cube’s return policy?

What is Pillow Cube?

Pillow Cube is a brand that sells square-shaped pillows made of memory foam that are designed with side sleepers in mind. According to the brand, They are made to support the area between the neck and the head to prevent pain and help with spine alignment. Pillow Cube sells six pillows: a Side Cube, Side Cube Deluxe, a combo cube for back and side sleepers, a Travel Cube, a Knee Cube and Kids Cubes. These pillows come with a case made from polyester and spandex, though you can also purchase additional pillowcases made of either microfiber or Italian silk separately. Additionally, the pillows are compressed during packaging and expand after you open them. The pillows take 24 to 48 hours to expand fully, according to the brand. For this story, I tried three of the pillows along with its basic white microfiber pillowcase (which the brand sent me to try); I outline them in more detail below.

Side Cube

Pillow Cube Side Cube

Pillow Cube Side Cube

• Pillow Cube Side Cube $ at Amazon

• Pillow Cube Side Cube $ at Pillow Cube

The Side Cube ($69.99), also called the Side Sleeper Pillow, measures 12 x 24 x 5 inches, comes in a square, prism-like shape and is the brand’s bestselling product. It has a flexible and porous cover — that allows air to flow out — and a temperature-regulating foam interior. These help maintain the pillow’s cooling properties, even though it isn’t technically labeled as a cooling pillow. The pillow’s 5-inch height is great for people like me who are between 5 feet 4 inches and 6 feet and 3 inches, according to the brand. For people who are 5 feet 3 inches or shorter, the brand recommends getting a pillow that is 4 inches in height. If you’re 6 feet 3 inches or taller and have broad shoulders, you should opt for a pillow that is 6 inches in height. (Pillow Cube’s deluxe pillows have adjustable heights, according to the brand.)

The inside of the pillow is made of sturdy memory foam material that aligns the spine as you sleep by propping up your head at the appropriate angle. The most noticeable difference between this pillow and your average pillow is its unique shape and resilient and springy texture. I could press my hand into the surface of the pillow and it would maintain the shape of my hand for at least a few seconds, something that’s a hallmark of memory foam material and not common with many non-viscoelastic pillows.

Ice Cube

Pillow Cube Ice Cube Deluxe

Pillow Cube Ice Cube Deluxe

• Pillow Cube Ice Cube Deluxe $ at Amazon

• Pillow Cube Ice Cube Deluxe $ at Pillow Cube

I also tried the brand’s Ice Cube ($79.99), which is also made from memory foam though it has frozen fibers that help it maintain its cool temperature. It’s meant to cater to hot sleepers, who often sweat throughout the night. It can even keep the area around the face and neck cooler than they would be with a regular pillow — up to 10 degrees cooler, in fact, according to Pillow Cube.

The Knee Cube

Pillow Cube Knee Cube

Pillow Cube Knee Cube

Pillow Cube Knee Cube $ at Pillow Cube

Finally, I tried the brand’s Ice Knee Cube ($44.99), a cooling and knee pillow in one. It’s designed to add cushioning between the knees while you sleep to help relieve pressure on the hips and prevent low back pain by aligning the spine, according to the brand. It’s available in a 12 x 18 x 5-in size and comes in both a deluxe and a cooling version — made from memory foam. It is square-shaped with raised edges and has grooves on each side that hold your legs when you place them between your knees. You can place the pillow in a couple of positions — lengthwise or crosswise, as well as between the ankles.

In addition to pillows, Pillow Cube also sells mattress protectors, sheets and mattresses.

How I tried Pillow Cube

On most occasions, I sleep on my side or on my stomach for about seven hours each night in a style sometimes referred to as “the wrestler pose.” However, to test this pillow, I tried to sleep exclusively on my side.

I have a relatively small apartment bedroom with a radiator at the end of my mattress, a staple of pre-war New York City buildings; I also typically sleep with an organic cotton duvet and four pillows. My room is relatively cramped, and since I do not own a window air conditioner (I use a tower fan to stay cool), it gets extremely warm in the summer and winter. Pair that with being a naturally hot sleeper, I prefer pillows and other types of bedding that are soft, supportive and as cool as possible. That said, the pillows I typically use are a few years’ old from Target and are likely a mix of down and/or down alternative pillows.

For this story, Pillow Cube sent me a few of its products, including the Side Cube, the Ice Cube Deluxe and the Ice Knee Cube. When testing the Side Cube, I slept with it under my head and used no other pillows or cushions. I slept with the Side Cube and the Ice Knee Cube for a week before throwing other pillows into the mix. After a week, I added the Ice Cube Deluxe into my rotation; I used it under my head and as a body pillow for a week.

My experience with the Side Cube

I was initially skeptical because many memory foam pillows I’ve tried in the past often feel cozy and supportive initially but become flat after a few hours. I did not have that problem with this pillow. At 5 inches high, the Side Cube is one to two inches taller than my current pillows and felt perfect for my head, neck and shoulders. I did not have to use multiple pillows or my arm to prop up my head like I usually do on most nights. In the past, I’ve often woken up with neck pain after sleeping on my side because I had my head propped up too high. I didn’t experience this at all with the Side Cube.

However, the main difference between the Side Cube and my usual pillows is the overall firmness and resilience against my head. My usual pillows aren’t as soft as Pillow Cube’s and aren’t as supportive. In other words, my head quickly starts to feel like it’s sinking too far into the pillow, whereas with the Side Cube, it sinks just the right amount, so my head is propped up slightly.

NBC Select associate updates editor Zoe Malin has also tried the Side Cube (the brand sent her a sample to test) and also loves how it props up her head, minimizing her neck pain. “I didn’t understand how angled my head was when I usually sleep and what that did to my alignment,” she says. “When I tried the Side Cube, however, there was a noticeable difference and I didn’t wake up with my neck hurting.”

NBC Select editorial projects manager, Rebecca Rodriguez, has used the Pillow Cube for six months (the brand also sent it to her to try) and finds that she moves around a lot less while sleeping with it. “I’ve never missed a pillow before, but when I’m away from home I always find myself wishing I had my Pillow Cube,” she says. “The pillow makes my neck feel aligned with my spine so I never wake up with back or neck pain.” The pillowcase that comes with the Side Cube isn’t the most stylish, but the pillow itself is a good option for those who like a thick pillow, Rodriguez says.

I also found that, even though it is not billed as a “cooling pillow” like the Ice Cube, the Side Cube was very breathable and didn’t maintain much heat. It was not hot on my neck and face, which sometimes happens when I sleep on one side for too long. I slept on the Side Cube with the microfiber pillowcase it comes with on most nights, but I also slept on it without the pillowcase — I enjoyed it both ways. The pillow with the case was very soft, though it wasn’t quite as cool as with the pillowcase off.

That aside, I found the polyester and spandex material of the pillowcase soft but a bit thin and stretchy, and it moved around a lot as I moved my head. Additionally, the pillows have a very distinct smell when you first take them out of the package, which is standard for many new pillows, so I wasn’t too concerned. While I found it a bit distracting at first, the smell went away in about a day or two.

My experience with the Ice Cube Deluxe

The Ice Cube Deluxe is essentially a larger version of the regular Ice Cube pillow, though both are made to be ultra-cooling. Certain pillows I’ve tried in the past tend to radiate heat to the point where I constantly have to flip it over to the other side because it’s much cooler and more comfortable. The Ice Cube Deluxe is not only large but also extremely cooling, in the best way. Even with the heat on in my apartment and my windows closed, the Ice Cube maintained its cool temperature and helped prevent me from overheating in bed — even after sleeping with it for a few hours.

The cover is slightly textured but super cold to the touch. It has a zipper that runs along the side of the pillow and you can remove it and put it in the wash. Within the first few seconds of touching the cover, I could easily feel the effects of the cooling properties, almost as if the pillow had been chilled in the fridge. Even after my nighttime skin care routine, I noticed no staining on the pillow from my oils or moisturizers. There were some evenings when I went to bed with partially damp hair from the shower, and the pillows did not absorb any of that moisture either, which I also liked.

My experience with the Knee Cube

This was my favorite of all the Pillow Cubes. I enjoyed the pillow’s size (12 x 18 x 5 in.) — it didn’t make my legs feel awkward or uncomfortable. The pillow is shorter than a traditional rectangular pillow but long enough that it’s not entirely square. While it may depend on your height, the pillow was about the length between my feet and my knee for me. To me, it was the most versatile out of the three pillows I tried: I put the pillow in between my legs right at the knees.

My legs nicely fit into the grooves on the sides of the pillow, which gently hold your calves in place. I loved that I could keep my legs straight or bend them in several angles. I’ve used traditional pillows in the same way in the past, and while they provide some comfort between my knees, they can sometimes feel uneven or lumpy. Most standard-size pillows are rectangular, so when I put them lengthwise between my knees, they are awkwardly too long. Conversely, when I put a standard non-Pillow Cube pillow between my knees widthwise, it is typically too short to provide a lot of support to my knees and sometimes my ankles still come too close together.

The knee cube’s shape, however, is formulated to fit around the natural curve of the calf, so it doesn’t feel lopsided or uneven. This way, I moved my legs around a lot less than I usually do, so I didn’t feel restless. Additionally, the Knee Cube has a zippered, textured removable covering that I found easy to open and close.

Who are Pillow Cube products best for?

Pillow Cube products are designed for people who sleep on their side — if you have neck or shoulder pain that stems from sleep, the pillows might be a great option. As someone who sleeps on both my side and stomach, I enjoyed using Pillow Cube’s products and found that they provided much more neck support than the pillows that I typically use. Additionally, as a hot sleeper, I appreciated the cooling effects of each pillow — I felt significantly more cool and supported while sleeping after using both the Ice Cube and the Side Cube. Overall, I would strongly recommend the Pillow Cube for anyone who is a side sleeper. That said, it’s aslo important to pair the pillow with sleep aids and apps.

Consider Casper’s cooling foam pillow if you’re looking for a more traditional style that still props your head and neck up. At $139, it’s more expensive than the Side Cube, but it also works for stomach sleepers and back sleepers, not just side-sleeping. Purple is another popular brand that sells an ergonomic square-shaped pillow ($249), though it’s also pricier. Unlike the Pillow Cube and Casper options, which are made with foam cores, the Purple pillow is made from flexible gel material in a grid, which maintains the pillow’s cooling properties, according to the brand.

Are Pillow Cube’s pillows machine washable?

The pillows’ foam interiors are not machine washable. The cover and pillow cases, however, can be thrown in the wash with clothes and tumble dried. The brand recommends washing the pillow cases once a week and the covers at least once a year or more.

What is Pillow Cube’s return policy?

Pillow Cube has a 60-night guarantee policy. Before considering a return, the brand recommends trying its products out for at least three weeks to get the best experience and referencing its size chart to make sure that you get the right size for your body type prior to purchasing. If you find you do, in fact, need a new size, you can exchange your pillow for a new one.

Why trust NBC Select?

Cory Fernandez is a commerce editor at NBC Select, who covers cooking, cleaning, home and lifestyle. He tested three different products from Pillow Cube, including the Side Cube, the Ice Cube Deluxe and the Knee Cube. Fernandez also spoke to NBC Select staff members who have also tried products from the brand.

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