Customer Reviews

Organic Buckwheat Pillow - King Size (20" x 36")

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have 4 bulging discs in my neck and 4 bulging discs in my lower back, and until now I have never truly experienced a great night's sleep. And there are few things better in life than a good night's sleep, so it's important to find just the right pillow that will support and pamper your head and neck in just the right ways. Well, after a lifetime of looking I finally found the perfect pillow with all the right therapeutic properties! THANK YOU BEANS72!

As most of you already know, most pillows are filled with feathers, fiberfill, or poly-foam; instead this hand crafted pillow is filled with hypoallergenic buckwheat hulls. During sleep the small buckwheat hulls shift inside the case to match the exact contour of your neck and head. The even support means no more cramps or muscle tension, both of which are known to contribute to more headaches and more stress.

Thank you once more for making my life bearable again!

PS: *PLEASE READ* - I learned my lesson the hard way BEFORE I purchased my first QUALITY pillow from BEANS72.

I was really desperate from my back pain and wanted relief, I had heard about buckwheat pillows on TV and without doing any research I purchased a very cheap "As seen on TV" type pillow.

All I can tell you is that I have never been more disappointed in my entire life! The pillow had been shipped to the USA from over seas, the fabric was of poor quality, the zipper was of poor quality, the buckwheat hulls were of poor quality - they were dirty and there were many small broken pieces, and then to make things even worse, the entire pillow had been FUMIGATED! Shame on me, I learned my lesson, I knew then and I know now that "You get what you pay for". When you buy cheap you get cheap...only worse when I think about it, can you imagine laying your face on a dirty, FUMIGATED pillow and breathing whatever it was fumigated with for 8 hours per night?

Thank you for this FORUM Amazon.

Jack Perry

Real Name without the badge.

This is my second Buckwheat Pillow. Back in high school, my mom bought me a sobakawa buckwheat pillow, but good or bad, all buckwheat pillows will only last so long. Since my last buckwheat pillow, I've tried regular pillows and memory foam (including a pricey tempur pedic). Honestly, none of them were very comfortable after sleeping on a buckwheat pillow for 8 years. So far, I've been sleeping on this Organic Buckwheat King Size Pillow for about a year and couldn't be more pleased. Compared to the sobakawa pillow I had before, this one is much more packed and the case makes it easy to empty or add more hulls.

There are two main reasons to use a buckwheat pillow. Most importantly, it's very supportive and can be adjusted easily to fit the contours of your neck, head, hands and arms. It's very versatile for almost any sleeping position, unlike my memory foam pillows, which were only comfortable if I was able to sleep on my back. The other main feature is how the buckwheat controls heat and moisture. Air flows easily through the pillow, desite how firm and dense it is. The hulls will collect moisture instead of your neck, which is really nice if you sweat sometimes while you're sleeping.

The negatives come down to a little maintenance and sheer heft. Needing to add (or remove) hulls once in a while (i do it once a year) is a small chore, and you may find after a decade or so you are best off buying a new pillow or completely replacing all the hulls. However, memory foam pillows usually don't last that long. The weight of the pillow makes it hard to take places, but you can buy a smaller size pillow or just a small pillowcase with a zipper to take on trips. Finally, you need to be careful not to let it sit with too much moisture or the hulls can get ruined. However, in my expierence this won't hapeen from routine use even if you have a few sweaty nights in a row.

Overall, I highly recommend this pillow to anyone and everyone. I should add that it does take a few nights to get used to the pillow. It does feel very hard and uncomfortable the first time you use it, but you will get used to the extra support. Also, finding the right amount of hulls to leave packed in can take some trial and error. You should definitely buy a bag or two of extra hulls (although I removed a whole bag's worth when I first got mine). The noise the pillow makes when you move can be annoying at first, but it quiets down after a few uses and you won't notice it much after a few nights. If those hurdles don't deter you, then you should have some peace of mind knowing that this is a top quality buckwheat pillow with almost entirely whole hulls and a sturdy, easy-to-use pillowcase.

These are the best pillows ever! From the 1st night, no more neck or shoulder pain. Be aware, however, that they are HEAVY--but that's a good thing as they don't shift during the night. My husband and I used to sleep with 2-3 pillows each, but now we only require one each (the buckwheat pillow) to get a good night's rest. My husband is hard to please but he, too, was thrilled with this pillow and is raving about it to everyone he meets. It's well worth the price.

I bought one of these king sized buckwheat pillows to replace an old "as seen on tv" buckwheat pillow i used for over 10 years.Buckwheat pillows are the most comfortable pillows i have every had.However they are not for everyone.These are very firm pillows that contour to the shape of your head and neck.This being said,if your looking for a soft pillow you had better look elsewhere.

These pillows are very firm and pretty heavy but thats the price you got to pay for a good nights sleep.The only reason i am replacing my older "as seen on tv" buckwheat pillow is because i wanted a larger one.These pillows arent really meant to be easily transported so i dont suggest you try taking it on camping trips if you dont have the room or want to lug a heavy pillow around.

Since the first day i used this pillow,i actually started having very long dreams proving to me this pillow is so comfortable that sleeping wasnt a problem.These pillows dont build up heat like typical pillows do.No need for flipping the pillow around trying to find the "cool" spot.No more head/neck sweats!!

When i first got the pillow i felt that the pillow was overstuffed with buckwheat hulls and i thought i would have to remove some but i didnt.The longer i slept on it the longer the pillow seemed to "break in" and the hulls didnt seem as "fluffy" as they used to be.I am going on 7 months using this pillow i have found out that im gonna have to buy another bag of buckwheat hulls to add to the pillow since there has become spots in the pillow that just doesnt seem to have enough hulls to provide enough support anymore.So if you buy this pillow,expect over time that your gonna have to buy some extra hulls to add to the pillow since it seems to flatten out over time.

conclusion---this is a very well made and comfortable pillow but its not for everyone since they are very firm and a bit heavy.I have been sleeping on these types of pillows for many years so im used to them.I am only giving 4 stars since im eventually gonna have to buy an extra bag of buckwheat hulls which is gonna be fairly costly depending on how much i need.If you want a good quality firm pillow that doesnt build up heat to cause head sweats during the night,then one of these buckwheat hull pillows is the answer.The pillows are heavy but i feel its worth it.

***edit April 28,2011---- I have downgraded this pillow to 3 stars.I have just noticed that the buckwheat hulls are producing a brown dust after being crushed so much after being slept on so much.The brown dust has penetrated the actual pillow case and stained my sheets and pillow covers.The hulls are no where as near as fluffy as when they came 2 years ago.The pillow felt overstuffed 2 years ago and now the pillow is only HALF full and is no longer "fluffy".The hulls become compacted and some turn to dust.I started to have break outs on the back of neck for some reason and now i know why.Its from the dust thats coming through from the crushed hulls.PIC POSTED!!!--I posted a pic of what the pillow looks like.On the right side of the photo, look how brown the pillow is compared to a fresh clean pillow cover on the left side.This is how much dust eventually penetrates the pillow cover.The pillow used to be white!I had to put a garbage bag over top of the pillow so the brown dust wont come through and stain my pillow covers and so my neck wont break out.Now i have to listen to a crumpling garbage bag everytime i move my head!My old "as seen on tv" Sobakawa pillow never had this problem with dust!

Before reading the previous reviews, I had not appreciated how individual the choice of pillows can be.

I first bought this type of pillow some time ago from a health food store and immediately liked it -- I have an old neck injury and this supports my head wonderfully. If you sleep on them for a while, though, buckwheat pillows can become a bit funky, so after a while I poured my old buckwheat pillow's insides into my compost pile and bought two cheap ones online. These were thin and insubstantial, and my wife threw them out almost immediately.

I ordered these buckwheat pillows after that and would describe them as substantial, and non-allergenic (my wife has terrible allergies). They can be molded to any shape but can feel quite hard once shaped, and they are quite heavy. This happens to suit us fine -- if you are used to down they may not be for you, and if you are looking for something light or delicate you should probably look elsewhere.

My king size buckwheat pillow is wonderful. Yes, it's heavy...it's a huge king-sized pillow filled with buckwheat hulls. The nice thin is that it is king-sized. it looks right on my king-sized bed and give me lots of room to pick a spot at night. The buckwheat is wonderfully comforatbale and support me head in just the right way. No more sore neck in the morning. The quality seems to be excellent. The covering is of good quality and the stitching seems to be strong enough to hold all thos hulls in there.

I've used the cheap 'sobokawa' pillows before...these were the only buckwheat pillows available in my area. They were quite small in dimension, so placing them in a king-sized pillow case was just plain silly. My biggest complaint against these cheaper 'sobokawa' pillows is that they would begin to breakdown in a few months as the buckwheat hulls used were not whole hulls, but contained pieces and dust. Yuck!!

But I loved the way I slept on a buckwheat pillow and have been in search of a better option. If you're having this same experience, LOOK NO FURTHER! beans72dotcom makes the best buckwheat pillow I've ever used!

For the first time in months, I have woken up in the morning without neck and shoulder pain. The king-sized pillow fits in the pillow case like a dream. The pillow is heavy...all 17 pounds of it...which keeps it from sliding around the bed and creates a more than ample surface area to rest your head on. So when you roll over, you don't have to wake up enough to drag the pillow with you like the tiny 'sobokawa' pillow.

Thanks, beans72dotcom, for an awesome product. You've got a customer for life!

Well constructed; speedy delivery even at Christmas. Tried memory foam, but this is my second makura pillow, upsized from a smaller one. King-sized pillows look better on the bed, but weigh a lot more. I ordered two, and the package was too much for my girl-friend to bring in from the truck. Both of us love the pillows, however. So do our cats. The smaller makura pillow is still kept for utility duty, and the former non-makura pillows are now tucked away on a shelf.

I don't get the enthusiasm around this pillow; it is like sleeping with your head on the cement sidewalk. Perhaps it is a matter of personal preference, in fairness I am accustom to Hungarian white goose down pillows. I am a side sleeper and prefer a firm pillow but this one is overkill.

Word of caution I order two kings (17lbs each), $33.99 nonrefundable shipping charge same $33.99 to return ship - purchase price $133.97.

My advice, really really make sure you know that you like "buckwheat" pillows before buying this one, the cost to return makes the effort not worth while!

This pillow has a very strong construction and is filled with just the right amount of buckwheat hulls. The size enables me to support my whole upper body. If you have been sleeping on one of the smaller buckwheat pillows (as I was), you owe it to yourself to upgrade.