TechRadar Verdict
The Purple Harmony Pillow may be the perfect pillow. It has a honeycomb-patterned gel-flex grid covering a latex core. The squishy pillow keeps me cool during the night - and it never gets flat, so my head and neck are continuously supported. It comes in three lofts, so there’s one for every type of sleeper. However, it’s an expensive choice.
Pros
- +
Squishy soft yet supportive
- +
Sleeps cool throughout the night
- +
Never loses its shape
- +
Choice of three lofts
Cons
- -
Quite expensive
- -
May be too squishy for some
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The Purple Harmony Pillow is an unusual pillow that includes a gel flex grid. This stretchable material allows the pillow to mold into the user’s unique shape, providing a soft yet supportive experience. However, the pillow springs back to its original shape when not in use. It’s also a cool pillow as the result of the inner latex -which is ventilated - combined with an airy honeycomb grid, and a mesh cover that wicks moisture away from the body. The choice of a low, medium, or tall height allows the pillow to work for stomach, side, and back sleepers. See how it fares against the rest of the best pillows on the market.
And if you’re looking for ways to really boost your sleep comfort, take a look at our guide to this year's best mattresses for all budgets.
Purple Harmony Pillow review in brief
Initially, I really didn’t know how I would feel about the Purple Harmony Pillow. It’s a ridiculously squiggly pillow, and felt more like a child’s toy than a pillow. It’s also a relatively heavy pillow, not the type you’d be having pillow fights with. However, I was pleasantly surprised that I got some of the best sleep of my life with the Purple Harmony Pillow.
Type: latex pillow (GelFlex Grid Pillow)
Best suited to: side, back, and stomach sleepers
Dimensions: Standard/medium: 26” x 17” x 6.5”; King 34” x 17” x 6.5”
Trial period: 100 nights
Warranty: 1 year
It’s admittedly an expensive choice, but the pillow delivers in spades. In addition to being ridiculously squiggly, it’s also ridiculously comfortable and ridiculously supportive. And every morning when I woke up and got out of the bed, I looked at the pillow, which always regained its original shape without any help from me, and wondered how this squiggly item could deliver such impressive results.
The GelFlex Grid moves when I do, so whether I’m shifting positions, or rolling around the bed, it adapts to my body. And since it’s not memory foam, there’s no buildup of body heat, which means the pillow stays cool – and keeps me cool - at night. The moisture-wicking cover also contributes to a cool sleep experience.
I tested the medium height pillow, which is great for side and combination sleepers. However, it also comes in a low height for stomach and back sleepers, as well as a tall height for side or combination sleepers.
Purple Harmony Pillow review: price and deals
The Purple Harmony Pillow is the top of the line offering from the Purple company, which also makes two other types of GelFlex Grid Pillows. The original Purple Pillow is $134/Sale $120, and the Kid’s Purple Pillow is $79/Sale $63.
Purple also makes two Down-Alternative Pillows: the Purple Cloud Pillow for $59/Sale $53, and the Purple TwinCloud Pillow for $99/Sale $89.
The price point for the Purple Harmony Pillow puts it in the luxury pillow category. In fact, it’s at the very top – and to date, it’s the most expensive pillow that I’ve ever tested.
The Brooklyn Bedding Talalay Latex Pillow is a significantly less expensive alternative ($89/Sale $66) that also has a Talalay latex core. It’s soft and supportive, and regulates temperature as well to provide a cooling experience. In addition, the pillow also has a washable cover, and is available in two different lofts (low and high), but not a mid loft. In addition, the pillow isn’t quite as springy as the Purple Harmony Pillow and needs to be plumped to retain its shape. It’s available in queen and king sizes.
If you’re looking for a more luxurious, squishy option that’s still considerably less expensive, the Casper Hybrid Pillow ($99/Sale $84) combines ultra-soft foam and moldable fiber for a marshmallowy feel that’s also supportive. The pillow springs back without the need for fluffing, and is probably the closest competitor for squishiness. Casper doesn’t claim that the pillow regulates temperatures, but it doesn’t trap heat either, which results in a cool, comfortable experience. In addition, the cover is removable, and the pillow is available in standard and king sizes, and mid or low lofts – but not a high loft.
Purple Harmony Pillow review: design and materials
- Adapts to user’s movements and springs back
- Breathable and temperature regulating
- Choice of three lofts
Talalay latex is at the core of the Purple Harmony Pillow. This latex foam is lightweight and creates the feeling of floating on the pillow, which helps to provide pressure relief. The Talalay latex is also hypoallergenic, and it’s ventilated to be breathable. The latex is covered by a GelFlex grid made of hyper-elastic polymer, a stretchy material that is hypoallergenic and CertiPUR-US certified and also has a CleanAir GOLD certification. This honeycombed layer continuously adapts to the head and neck to cradle and support it, without generating heat.
The moisture wicking cover also helps to create a cool pillow, and the cover can be laundered in the machine (separately) and then air dried. However, the pillow itself should only be spot-cleaned.
Purple Harmony Pillow review: performance
- Supports back, neck, and stomach sleepers
- Temperature regulating
- Squishy/spongy softness
For over two weeks, I slept on a Purple Harmony Pillow to see how it fared in performance, testing for setup, comfort, support, and temperature regulation. I also slept on side, back, and stomach positions to see if the performance was the same. Here’s how I got on...
Setup
5 out of 5 stars
The Purple Harmony Pillow arrived in a badly-battered Purple-branded shipping box. Thankfully, the pillow itself was completely and securely enclosed in plastic. Set up was as simple as removing the pillow from the plastic bag and placing it on my bed. Unlike some pillows that need to decompress, the Purple Harmony Pillow arrived uncompressed, so that step was unnecessary.
Fortunately, I did not experience any off-gassing either during the set-up process or afterwards.
Temperature regulation
5 out of 5 stars
The Purple Harmony Pillow does an excellent job of regulating heat. That’s because the Talalay latex core has air channels to keep heat from getting trapped. The core is surrounded by the tapered grid, and according to Purple, the grid has over hundreds of air zones.
In addition, the mesh cover is moisture-wicking, which keeps the pillow dry. Purple notes that the cover is cool to the touch, although I didn’t notice a specific coolness (as with the Casper Hybrid Pillow). However, the cover was never warm to the touch. The combination of the Talalay latex core, Grid hex technology, and breathable mesh cover all combined to indeed keep me cool while sleeping.
Firmness and support
5 out of 5 stars
It was a complete joy to sleep on the Purple Harmony Pillow. After initially being skeptical because it felt so squishy when taking it out of the box, this quickly became one of my favorite pillows. The Talalax latex provided a feeling of buoyancy and did a great job of providing pressure relief. Meanwhile the Grid immediately adapted to my body movements, and as soon as I moved to another side of the pillow, I could feel that mold regaining its original shape, while a new mold formed to accommodate my new position. Honestly, it actually took a while to get used to the pillow being so responsive, since I’d never experienced such a quick reaction time.
I tested the medium height pillow (6.5 inches), which worked very well for me, since I tend to be a side sleeper – and I also sleep on my stomach. This height is ideal for both side and combination sleepers. Although the pillow is insanely soft, both my head and neck were supported when sleeping on my side, stomach, and back.
However, there’s also a low height pillow, which is 5.5 inches, and would probably be a better choice for stomach and back sleepers – or anyone who prefers a lower height (I don’t, which is why the medium loft was quite comfortable). There’s also a tall height pillow, which is 7.5 inches, and might be a more suitable pick for side or combination sleepers as well (I’m sure this probably would have been my favorite).
Purple Harmony Pillow review: user reviews
At the time of publication, the Purple Harmony Pillow had 2,915 customer reviews with an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars. Customers raved over the pillow’s performance, and the general consensus is that it was worth the money. Some buyers called it life changing for relieving neck pain – some mentioned relief from back and shoulder pain as well. There were also a handful of people who felt the pillow was not worth the price, was too soft, and didn’t hold its shape.
On the Purple site, the pillow also has 4.4 out of 5 stars with 12,476 reviews. Comments were similar to those on Amazon: perfect pillow, best pillow ever. Among the handful of customers who did not like the pillow, comments ranged from it being too thick to being too thin. It appears that the most negative comments were related to the high loft pillow not being as high as expected or not retaining that height.
Should you buy the Purple Harmony Pillow?
If you like squishy pillows that adapt to support your movements, while providing support, and keeping you cool, the Purple Harmony Pillow may be the right choice for you. Admittedly, the spongy-like feeling probably isn’t for everyone. With a choice of low, mid, and high lofts, there’s a choice to accommodate back, side, and stomach sleepers. And the 100-night trial period and 1 year warranty provide enough time to test it yourself.
However, in terms of price, the Purple Harmony Pillow is at the very top. One less expensive option that also has a Talalay latex core is the Brooklyn Bedding Talalay Latex Pillow. It’s not quite as springy as the Purple Harmony Pillow and needs to be plumped to retain its shape. However, the pillow is soft and supportive, and regulates temperature as well to provide a cooling experience.
For a less expensive and squishier option, the Casper Hybrid Pillow has a marshmallowy feel and is also supportive. In addition, the pillow springs back without the need for fluffing. But keep in mind that while the pillow is cool, Casper doesn’t claim that it regulates temperatures.
