TechRadar Verdict
The Layla Kapok Pillow is an excellent choice for side and back sleepers seeking an adjustable, medium firm pillow that can be made as shallow or as deep as needed (it comes with a bag of extra fill). We found it cool to sleep on, which helped reduce overheating. It feels soft and plush in the hand, but the downside is that we had to fluff ours regularly to regain the shape. The Layla Kapok isn't cheap either, but this is a well-made pillow available on a 120-night risk-free trial, so you'll have a few months to ensure its the right choice for your body type and sleep position.
Pros
- +
Super-comfy for side sleeping
- +
Adjustable design - make it shallow or tall
- +
Stays cool to the touch
- +
Try it risk-free for 120 nights
Cons
- -
Needs daily fluffing to regain its shape
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Layla Kapok Pillow review in brief
The Layla Kapok Pillow is a popular adjustable bed pillow made from shredded memory foam blended with natural Kapok (a sustainably-sourced fiber that feels similar to cotton). It's created by mattress manufacturer Layla Sleep, and there's a big focus on cooling comfort here, making it a good choice for hot weather and sleepers prone to overheating at night. It comes with a bag of extra fill too, so you can make the pillow as shallow or as deep as needed to suit the position you feel most comfortable sleeping in.
After sleeping on a queen size Layla Kapok Pillow for three weeks, we now highly rate it as one of the best pillows for side and back sleepers prone to overheating. It's plush but with enough firmness to balance it out for proper support and alignment, and a winning combination of copper and kapok (pronounced kay-pok) makes for a well-ventilated pillow that quickly draws away body heat. We'll explain the material technology behind this further into our review.
This isn't a perfect pillow though - the Layla Kapok loses its shape easily so we had to re-fluff it each morning, but that's a hardly a nuisance when the result is night after night of restful sleep. And despite the use of memory foam we didn't detect any off-gassing pong when unpacking and sleeping on our review model.
The cost of the Layla Kapok Pillow is on the higher end of the mid-range and priced $109 for a queen size, $129 for a king size. However we frequently see it on sale and you'll be entitled to a 120-night risk-free trial too – most comparable brands offer a minimum trial of 30 nights, if any trial period at all. The five-year warranty is a sign of longterm quality.
Overall, if you want a well-made, durable and cooling pillow that's especially comfy for side sleepers, and one you can adjust in terms of height and firmness, the Layla Kapok is an excellent choice.
Layla Kapok Pillow: materials and care
- Made with shredded memory foam for contouring comfort
- Blended with natural Kapok fibers for a down-like feel
- Removable and washable pillow cover for hygiene
The Layla Kapok Pillow arrives over-stuffed, so don't be alarmed when you unpack it and see how plump it is. Any excess fill can be quickly removed and stored in the included travel bag, and we had fun adding and removing fill to create our perfect pillow height and feel during testing.
As mentioned earlier in our review, this pillow is made with shredded memory foam blended with kapok fibers. To us, kapok feels like cotton or wool, and Layla Sleep chose it to create a down-like feel without any down being used. This combination of foam and kaypok also enables the pillow to contour to the shape of your head and shoulders, all while promoting good airflow to keep you cool.
Layla Sleep makes some of the best mattresses for hot sleepers on a budget (head to our Layla Hybrid mattress review or Layla Essential mattress review for more), and the outer cover of the Kapok Pillow borrows inspiration from those beds in the form of woven copper fibers. In addition to its cooling properties, copper is antimicrobial. So if you're prone to sweating (or drooling) in your sleep, any associated odors and moisture will be kept to a minimum. This is important because sweat is one of the main culprits behind why pillows turn yellow and decay faster than they should.
However, you'll still want to wash your pillow and nestle it inside a good quality pillow protector to keep it fresh and clean going forward. The outer zipped cover of the Layla Kapok Pillow is also machine-washable in cool water, so you'll have an easier time keeping it clean.
Layla Kapok Pillow: Prices and deals
- Buy one get the second for 50-70% off
- Pricier than comparable adjustable pillows
- Comes with a 120-night risk-free trial
The Layla Kapok Pillow is available to purchase direct from Layla Sleep as well from Amazon. It retails for $109 in a queen size and $129 for a king, with free shipping on each, and the prices are the same whether you buy from Layla or Amazon. The trial period is also the same.
Those prices have increased slightly from their original MSRPs, with the queen pillow previously costing $99 and the king pillow previously priced $119, but we're seeing the effects of inflation in many different sectors.
Doubling up is really the only way to save here as Layla Sleep runs 'buy one get one half price' offers on its pillows most months. Some months the discount is even larger. In April of this year, for example, you could have bought one Layla Kapok Pillow and nabbed 70% off a second.
Right now, Layla is running its 'buy one get one half price', so you could bring home two queen size pillows for $163.50 or two king size pillows for $193.50. That's a total saving of up to $65.
How does the Layla Kapok compare in price with similar pillows? One of the most well-known and highly rated adjustable pillows is the Coop Home Goods Adjustable Pillow, and it regularly fluctuates in price, ranging from $55-$80 at Amazon. There's a big difference between these two pillows though, in that the Coop Home Goods pillow has none of the cooling tech found in the Layla Kapok. So while you can adjust its height and firmness, it won't sleep as cool.
Saatva's Memory Foam Pillow offers contouring and cooling support, but it's priced from $165 at Saatva. We occasionally see a 12% discount in the Saatva mattress sale, but the Layla Kapok is still more affordable, especially if you need two.
Layla's 120-night risk-free trial is a genuine benefit for extra peace of mind and the longest trial we've seen on comparable pillows. If you're not satisfied with the Kapok Pillow during that time, you'll be able to return it free for a full refund. Keep it and you'll be covered by a five-year limited warranty relating to materials and workmanship.
Layla Kapok Pillow review: Performance
- Medium firm feel suits side and back sleepers
- Copper-woven cover stays cool to the touch
- Requires regular fluffing every morning
We slept on a queen size Layla Kapok Pillow every night for three consecutive weeks. Our lead reviewer is a side sleeper who tends to wake up in a slight sweat, so we were particularly keen to check out this pillow's temperature regulation. Especially as Layla Sleep makes a lot of noise about the cooling performance of the Kapok Pillow.
Setup
Our testing sample arrived rolled-up and vacuum-sealed. Unlike the Coop Home Goods Original Adjustable Pillow, we didn't have to place the Layla inside our dryer to fluff it up. The brand recommends giving it about an hour to fully expand though, then laying it flat so that you can knead it to evenly distribute the fill.
A fully-stuffed Layla Kapok Pillow has quite a high loft once fully expanded, so we had to make adjustments in order for it to comfortably plug that gap between our ear and shoulder for optimal side sleeping. We hit the sweet spot after removing about a quarter of the shredded foam and kapok fibers, then stuffed the spare fill into the included drawstring storage bag.
Temperature regulation
The highlight of the Layla Kapok's show is the copper-woven exterior. It remained cool to the touch from the moment we unboxed it. Best of all, our lead reviewer, who is prone to overheating at night, has yet to wake up with her hair sticking to her sweaty neck when sleeping on this pillow. In other words, it does a fantastic job of drawing away body heat.
This is all thanks to the breathable Kapok fibers and open-cell memory foam, plus the breathable copper to ensure heat escapes quickly and doesn't build up in the pillow. We used this with a pillow case too and it didn't affect the cooling feel. Some customers had a different experience and have challenged the temperature regulation claims in their user reviews, which we'll look at shortly.
Firmness and support
The Layla Kapok Pillow is described as having a medium firmness and we'd agree with this. It's plush but not in a 'you'll sink too far in' way, meaning it will also suit back sleepers looking for a comfy spot to nestle their head and neck into.
Once we achieved the ideal loft for us, we found the blend of shredded, squishy memory foam and kapok fibers very comfortable to sleep on. It didn't smell either, as we've found with other memory foam bedding accessories.
Our only gripe is that the Kapok Pillow becomes quite flat after a full night's sleep. You'll have to be diligent in fluffing it each morning to redistribute the fill, otherwise you'll possibly end up with a sore neck depending on your sleep position.
Layla Kapok Pillow: User reviews
- Rated 4.3 out of 5 stars from over 3,500 user reviews
- Side sleepers praise its plush support
- Reviews are mixed on temperature regulation
Our lead reviewer is a side sleeper of average build who tends to overheat at night, but the Layla Kapok Pillow has appeal to other types of sleepers too. In order to provide you with a more comprehensive overview of the pillow's performance, and in addition to our testing data, we've combed through thousands of user reviews published on Layla Sleep and on Amazon to see if any specific issues pop up.
At the time of us publishing this review, the Layla Kapok Pillow has a 4 out of 5 star rating on Amazon, generated from over 500 user reviews. At Layla Sleep it has accumulated over 3,000 reviews with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.
A large majority of the positive reviews come from side sleepers who claim the pillow is extremely supportive along the head and shoulders. It also scores high marks for being easy to adjust and for alleviating neck pain issues for a substantial number of customers, which is fantastic to hear and tallies with our testing experience.
But when it comes to the Layla Kapok Pillow's cooling properties, the user reviews are mixed, with some sleepers claiming that the pillow retains heat and the cover isn't consistently cool to the touch. That wasn't our experience but it is worth flagging here for anyone who sleeps very hot or who is dealign with hot flashes or night sweats. Don't forget that you'll also be eligible for a 120-night risk-free trial, so if the Layla isn't cooling enough for you, contact the brand for a refund.
Should you buy the Layla Kapok Pillow?
We spent three weeks sleeping on the Layla Kapok Pillow and loved it. There's a lot to like here if you're a side sleeper, as the pillow has the right balance of plushness and firmness, with ample support from head to shoulder. Back sleepers should also find relief when they adjust the Layla to a low-to-medium loft (any taller and it will push the neck forward and out of alignment). In any case, you'll want to give the Layla Kapok a good fluff every morning to retain its shape. This is to be expected from a pillow that uses down-like materials though.
Your experience may vary when it comes to temperature regulation. We experienced rising-and-falling temperatures in the Mid-Atlantic during our testing period, and through it all we slept comfortably cool each night on the Layla Kapok Pillow. However, some users found that the memory foam retained heat, and the outer cover may lose its cool-touch feel in such scenarios.
At $109 for a queen and $129 for a king size, the Layla Kapok Pillow appears expensive at first glance, but after thorough testing we feel its worth the money. It's well-made, adjustable and breathable, and the cover is removable for washing to help keep it fresher for longer. You'll also be getting a 120-night risk-free trial plus a five-year warranty in return, and those are among the best perks we've seen from any pillow manufacturer so far.
If you want an adjustable pillow yet have a smaller budget, the Coop Home Goods Original Adjustable Pillow retails for $72 from Coop Home Goods (the price fluctuates a lot on Amazon). It comes with a 100-night trial and is also backed by a five-year warranty, just like the Layla.
However, if cooling is your priority, check out the Brooklyn Bedding Talalay Latex Pillow, priced from $66.75 at Brooklyn Bedding. It comes in low and high loft options and features natural breathable materials with a Talalay latex fill plus organic cotton top cover, but it only includes a 30-night trial.
Before you purchase the Layla (or any pillow), we'd recommend performing this simple test, courtesy of a neurologist and sleep research expert, to find out which type of pillow would suit your sleep style, build and mattress. You could also fire up your sleep tracker to see how much better you're snoozing on your new pillow compared to before.
First reviewed May 2022
