Buckwheat Pillow by PineTales® - Japanese Plus Size 14" x 20" - Designed for Side and Back Sleepers

5 years later I’m writing this review and this beautiful pillow still holds up! It’s 100% the best gift i gave myself. I use it as a side barrier for my chest while side lying. It doesn’t slide and it’s solid for support. Love this pillow.

So here are some of the main points of my review if you get lost:1. I had this pillow for 3 months and thought that is enough time to give an honest review of this product.What caught my attention was the quality of this pillow. I like that it has 2 cases that separate the hulls from the pillowcase. The bamboo pillowcase is thick, heavy-duty, and feels like it will last a long time. The first night I used it, I was amazed by the support and solidity it had on my head. I'm mostly a side sleeper if that matters. I had neck problems when I woke up with my previous pillow and blamed it on the lack of support. After removing some hulls to line my neck to my spine (instructions say to do so for best support)(I also like how customizable it is), I can gladly say after 3 months my neck pain is gone! I heard other people complain about the smell and how noisy it is but the smell goes away after a few weeks (or put it outside to air out in the sun) and once your head is placed on the pillow, the hulls barley (I couldn't help myself) move so noise isn't an issue, at least for me.2. There were issues with my pillow, but me living in a humid tropical environment may have been a factor.About 2 months in, (don't continue reading if this is your nightmare) I started to have a bug problem. Now I read that bugs + buckwheat hulls that are properly treated are RARE. After taking an etymology course last semester, I've identified them as booklice. They're tiny tiny bugs that are some of the least harmful to humans (they want nothing to do with us). Don't be scared of the LICE in the name. They just wanted a little snack of my buckwheat.Now I felt bad that I paid for quite a pricey pillow only for it to last a couple of months, so I contacted customer service. They explained that bug problems with their customers are rare and this may be an environmental issue. From what I learned, booklice like to feed on a multitude of things including decaying bark and appreciate a humid environment (I also sweat a lot when I sleep). I deduced that these bugs externally found my pillow and decided to make a home out of it.So all in all, I would consider if you live in an environment like this to not blame the pillow and bash the brand with a bad review, but to also consider the other factors that lead up to this and contact customer service.3. Their customer service is amazing! (Thank you, Martin, for all your help!)They gave a thorough explanation of their product, and how they plan to help me. You can tell they wanted to help and trust them with the time and concern they put into their email.Here are some of the tips they gave with the environment I’m currently living in:- Every week let the case with the buckwheat lay out in the sun to remove moisture, aerate, and potentially kill or remove bugs.- They plan to add Silica Dry Packs in the future to all their pillows to prevent moisture.Overall, they offered a replacement of my original pillow which I greatly appreciated.Next, this is going to sound bad but I don’t plan to use the new pillow (until later). I’m moving in a few months to a much drier environment in the United States. I know someone in the same state that has a buckwheat pillow and had zero problems. Since then, I vacuum sealed the pillows to prevent anything from getting in. So if you live in an environment like mine, I hope you see this review to make the best decisions for your buckwheat pillows.4. I am not paid to do this review, I don't got time for that. I am a real customer just shopping on Amazon with neck problems and I got time today.Hope you found this helpful in your search for a buckwheat pillow or if you're having issues, never forget to contact the seller.

I discovered Sobakawa pillows in 2000 when my sister gave me one for Christmas. At first, I was very skeptical about how sleeping on Buckwheat Hulls would improve my sleep. I tried it more or less as a joke the next night, thinking that it wasn't going to be comfortable.I woke up the next morning and immediately noticed that I didn't have a sore neck. My wife commented that I wasn't tossing and turning like I usually did. When I positioned my head and was comfortable, it stayed in that position. My feather pillow slowly compressed and caused the angle of my head to change. I would have to fluff it up to get comfortable again. My biggest surprise was that I had slept almost an hour longer than usual. I figured that was just a fluke but decided to keep on using it a bit longer. The results were the same over the next several weeks, fewer aches and pains and about an hour of extra sleep. Ever since then, I've been a loyal Sobakawa user. I tell you this to establish my credentials using Sobakawa Pillows. I've gone through about 6 or 7 pillows during the last 20 years.I received my new "PineTales pillow" yesterday. On my first inspection, I was impressed by the thickness of the cover material. It was much thicker than any of my previous pillows. It was overpacked with Buckwheat Hulls so it could be adjusted to my needs. It also had a sturdy zipper closure to make that adjustment easier. Only two of my previous pillows had a zipper, and none of them were overpacked. I was impressed with the thought they put into the comfort of their customers. So, without making any adjustment, I tried it last night.My first thought was that the thickness allowed me to side sleep more comfortably while keeping my spine straighter. The thickness of the cover material muffled all of the sound from the Buckwheat hulls moving around. The weight of the pillow kept it from moving. I woke up this morning feeling good. I sleep with a Bi-Pap Machine, which records my sleep time, and surprisingly, I slept 9.6 hours last night. This was a new record sleep time for me. That one night experience motivated me to write this very long review. Sleep is critical to a healthy life. If you haven't tried a Sobakawa pillow, it may be a life-changer and a life-saver. The PineTales pillow is definitely the best I've found in my 20+ years of using a Sobakawa pillow.If you were to ask why I gave this product a 5 Star rating, my answer would be that this was all I was limited to giving them. If they added another Star, the PineTales Team would get 6 Stars. It is a very well made product. I am looking forward to many comfortable nights using my new PineTales pillow.Please note that I was not paid in any way for this endorsement, I did purchase the pillow on Amazon, and it arrived yesterday 2/3/2021.