Is It Worth the Buy?

If there’s anything I love more than the feeling of a soft pillow, it’s the feeling of a soft, cool pillow—especially on a hot, sweltering night. I am already a pretty poor sleeper, and the recent heat waves have made it worse, which is why I was thrilled to discover that the brand behind my all-time favorite pillow, Coop Sleep Goods, also makes a cooling pillow.

Though I’ve sworn by Coop’s Original Adjustable Pillow for preventing neck pain for the last two years, it’s not particularly cooling or breathable. Luckily, the Coop Cool+ Adjustable Pillow is made with gel-infused memory foam fill and a cool-touch cover, making it the brand’s recommended pick for even the hottest sleepers. But, like all new things, I was dubious of its effectiveness. Would it truly help me sleep cooler during hot summer nights, and is it worth the upgrade from the beloved Original?

After a full month of testing, here are my honest thoughts on whether Coop’s Cool+ Adjustable Pillow is worth the buy.

Cons

• Has a slight chemical smell on first opening
• Doesn’t hold its shape perfectly all night

Fill	Visco polyurethane foam with gel and microfiber fill
Liner	Nylon, polyester, visco polyurethane foam pad with gel
Cover	Polyethylene, polyester, and spandex
Sizes	Queen, King
Shapes	Classic, Crescent, Cut-Out

I tested the Coop Cool+ Adjustable Pillow for about a month. I got two of the pillows for my full-size bed, opting for the smaller queen size and in the Classic shape. I am primarily a side sleeper who also switches over to my back periodically through the night. (Note that this pillow also comes in a Cut-Out shape designed specifically for side sleepers, and a Crescent shape for side-to-back sleepers.)

I slept on the pillow during hot summer nights in July and August, evaluating its overall feel and support as well as its cooling performance—how well it regulated my temperature to keep me cool throughout the night. I also made sure to try the pillow with the included cover, as well as with my usual silk pillowcase.

The one thing I immediately loved about this pillow was the customizable support—which is also my favorite feature in Coop’s Original Adjustable Pillow. Just like my tried-and-true pick, the Cool+ pillow is fully adjustable, meaning you can add or remove the fill (a blend of cooling gel-infused plus-shaped memory foam and microfiber) to customize your loft and feel. If the pillow feels too high or firm, you can simply remove the fill to make it flatter and fluffier; alternatively, for a higher loft or firmer feel, you can simply add more of the fill into the pillow.

I decided to try one of the pillows in the original loft as it came, but remove some of the fill for the second one to make it flatter and softer, which was super easy to do. After a few nights of sleeping on both, I surprisingly found myself preferring the as-is pillow with the original loft; it was the perfect height for me as a side sleeper and provided the ideal level of support for my neck to prevent any pain or soreness while still letting me sink in comfortably.

Another great feature about this pillow is that the inner liner is dual-sided, with one side providing a “firmer, supercooled feel” and the other side providing “soft cushioning.” Indeed, when testing it out, one side felt a lot firmer to me while the other had a plusher, sinking-in feel; I found myself usually preferring the firmer side for its more supportive (and cooler) feel, but I loved that I was able to switch depending on my preference.

The one drawback I noticed about this pillow, however, is that it sometimes tended to lose its shape and start to flatten a bit over the course of the night, especially where my head rests most heavily while sleeping. I was always able to easily fix this by fluffing the pillow and redistributing the fill to be more even, but I didn’t love that I had to do this pretty frequently to get it back to its ideal shape.

The Coop Cool+ Adjustable pillow with the outer cover unzipped

The memory foam and microfiber fill inside the Coop Cool+ Adjustable pillow

The Coop Cool+ Adjustable Pillow has several features to help you sleep cooler:

• Fill, which is a blend of cooling gel-infused memory foam and microfiber that comes in super light and wispy, plus-shaped pieces. The brand says this fill is designed for 50% more breathability than other traditional foams.
• Inner liner, which is also designed to be breathable and heat-wicking. One side of the liner is a ventilated memory foam layer that’s infused with cooling gel beads and also features phase change material; this side provides a “firmer, supercooled feel,” while the other side offers softer, plusher cushioning.
• Outer cover, is made of polyethylene, polyester, and spandex and is cool-to-the-touch. According to the brand, the material has a Q-max score (the measure of how cool a fabric feels when you touch it) of 0.48 out of the max 0.50.

This cooling feel was a very noticeable difference compared to my Original pillow from Coop, or the other pillows I’ve tried previously. This one actually felt instantly super cool to the touch on its pillowcase—almost like a blast of air conditioner had been directed at it all night! I loved how chilly it felt on my face; it felt especially nice and refreshing on a hot summer night.

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That being said, I did notice that although the pillow feels chilly when first touching and lying on it, this cooling effect eventually starts to fade as you stay in the same position. I imagine this is because the pillow gradually absorbs some of your body heat the longer you stay in one spot. However, it didn’t feel like it trapped heat and got hot, like some other pillows I’ve tried before. I also tend to toss and turn a lot while I’m sleeping, so I still loved that it still felt nice and cool on the other spots of the pillow whenever I shifted positions.

I also tested the pillow without its original cover, and instead with my favorite silk pillowcase from Slip, and found it to feel less cool—which leads me to believe that Coop’s cool-to-the-touch cover definitely makes a difference in terms of the cooling sensation. That being said, the Cool+ pillow with my silk pillowcase also still felt cooler than with my previous pillows paired with the silk pillowcase.

The Coop Cool+ Adjustable pillow with just the inner liner

The Coop Cool+ Adjustable pillow with the outer cover

Another thing I loved about Coop’s cooling pillow is that it’s made with quality materials. In fact, the brand says that this pillow is CertiPUR-US certified—meaning the foams are tested to ensure they meet strict standards for content, emissions, and durability—as well as GREENGUARD Gold certified, meaning it’s been tested to emit very low amounts of chemical gases into indoor air. As someone who suffers from chronic allergies, I appreciated knowing that the materials had been tested for chemical emissions and other potential concerns.

Having allergies also means that I make sure to wash my pillowcases very often—so I also liked that this pillow came with a separate, removable outer cover that I could just throw in the washer and dryer for easy cleaning (the brand recommends washing it in a cold gentle cycle, then tumble drying low). So far, I’ve found that the pillowcase washes and dries well without any shrinking or noticeable changes in texture.

My final verdict? The Coop Cool+ Adjustable Pillow is definitely worth the buy. Not only is this pillow super soft yet supportive, it’s also fully adjustable with removable memory foam and microfiber fill—making it fully customizable for all types of sleepers.

The best part, though, is that it’s actually cooling. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice and chilly it felt, especially with its instantly cold-to-the-touch pillowcase, but also with the help of the breathable, cooling gel-infused memory foam fill and a heat-wicking inner liner. Although this cooling effect does tend to fade as you stay in the same position, I still felt that this pillow did help me sleep cooler throughout the night overall, even during the summer heat wave. Combined with the adjustable, cloud-like support, this definitely made this Coop pillow a winner.

Personally, I’ll be sleeping on this pillow for the rest of summer, and I highly recommend it for anyone who’s looking for a great pillow for neck pain that’s also cooling—whether you’re just looking for something to keep you cool during hot summer nights, or you’re a hot sleeper looking for year-round relief.

Shop the Coop Cool+ Adjustable Pillow