How To Choose A Pillow: Height, Density And Down

What a pillow has to do for your neck

A pillow has one structural job: fill the space between the mattress and your head so your neck holds the same neutral line it has when you're standing. Get that right and you stop noticing the pillow at all. Get it wrong and you wake with a stiff neck, a dull headache or an ache across the shoulder. So how to choose a pillow really comes down to height and firmness, in that order.

Everything else, the casing, the brand, the look of it on the bed, matters far less than those two things. We sort it the same way every time: size first, then density, then the down quality your budget allows.

This is a guide for adult sleepers, not for a baby's sleep space and not for orthopaedic or clinical pillows. Both of those sit under different rules, which we come to below.

Your sleep position sets the loft

Ask us how to choose a pillow and the first question back is always how you sleep. Side sleepers need the most height, because the pillow has to bridge the gap from the mattress to the side of the neck across the width of the shoulder. Back sleepers need moderate height that supports the curve of the neck without pushing the chin toward the chest. Front sleepers need the least, and usually the softest, because any real loft twists the neck.

The ten second check at home

• Lie the way you actually sleep: not on your back for a side-sleeping test, and with the mattress you own, not a showroom one.

• Have someone look along the bed: the line from your nose to your chin should sit roughly parallel to the mattress, with the neck neither kinked up nor dropped away.

• Account for the mattress: a softer mattress lets your shoulder sink into it, so you need less pillow. A firm mattress holds the shoulder up, so the gap is larger and you need more.

That last point catches a lot of people out. The same person can need a different density after changing mattresses, so it's worth telling us about your bed when you're choosing a pillow.

Density and fill power decide the feel

Density is how firm the pillow feels, and it's set by the amount of filling we put in, not by the type of down. We fill to five densities: Soft, Soft-Medium, Medium, Medium-Firm and Firm. A low-profile soft suits front sleepers, medium suits most back sleepers, and medium-firm to firm is where broad-shouldered side sleepers usually land. If you're weighing the three main options, our guide on soft, medium and firm down pillows goes further into the feel of each.

Fill power measures how much space a given weight of down occupies, so a higher fill power reaches the same density with less filling inside the case. That's why a premium pillow can feel supportive and still be light. Our grades run:

• European duck down: 700 fill power, and generally the more affordable way into natural fill. Good for a soft, low profile duck down pillow where you want minimal height.

• 95% Polish goose down: 750 fill power, the everyday goose down step up in loft.

• 95% White Premium Polish goose down: 850 fill power, noticeably lighter for the same support.

• 95% Premium Polish Mother Goose down: 900 fill power, collected from the breast only, from the White Koluda goose, whose eggs come from the Polish Government breeding program. This is our most popular pillow, and the King size medium-firm Mother Goose pillow sits in the density range side sleepers usually need.

• 98-99% hand select Mother Goose down: 900 fill power with a turbidity of 1000, which means it does not get any cleaner, hand sorted so only the largest clusters go in. It sits at the top of the range because the down alone costs us over AU$800 per kilo, not including customs and some freight costs.

Australian and USA pillow sizes differ

An Australian standard pillow and a USA standard pillow are not the same size, so a case bought in one market often won't sit properly on a pillow made for the other. If your linen came from a US retailer, or you have a US-size bed, buy the pillow to match the cases you already own rather than the other way around.

We make four size families. Australian standard and King cover local bedding. USA sizing suits imported American linen, and we sell it in pairs too, such as this USA Queen medium density pillow pair. European pillows are square at 65cm, which is why a standard case won't cover one and you need a European sham. If you sleep propped up to read, the European size medium Mother Goose pillow is the one to look at.

Two pillows in the same size and casing can hold different densities, so one of you gets firm and the other soft and the bed still looks the same! We do the same thing in bedding with our His & Hers two-sided quilts, a different warmth level on each side. Stacking two pillows is not the fix. They hinge apart during the night and your neck drops into the join.

What a down pillow really costs

We don't publish a single price for pillows, because it moves with size, density and down grade, so each one is priced on its own product page. Every Australian purchase includes GST, and delivery is free Australia-wide. We also ship free to the United States, tariff free for all USA customers, plus Canada, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore. If you're not sure which grade is worth paying for, contact us before you order and we'll work through it with you.

What matters more than the ticket is how long the pillow lasts. A down pillow that is washed and re-lofted on schedule holds its support far better than one that isn't, which is the whole argument for natural fill. Wash yours every six to twelve months, use a protector between washes, and give it a shake each morning so the clusters open up again. Our note on which pillow fill holds loft longest covers the maintenance side properly. Replace a pillow when it stays flat after fluffing, has gone lumpy, or you're waking sore on a bed that used to be fine.

Care labels and fill claims under Australian law

A pillow counts as a household textile, so under the mandatory care labelling standard enforced by the ACCC it has to carry permanent care instructions covering washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and dry-cleaning. Since 5 March 2024 those instructions can be English words alone, ISO symbols alone, or both together, per ACCC Product Safety. If a pillow reaches you with no permanent care label, that's a fair question to ask the seller.

Fill content labelling works differently. As the ACCC notes in its review of the clothing and textiles standard, fibre content labelling is voluntary and isn't required by the care labelling standard, but any content claim a seller does make still has to be accurate under the Australian Consumer Law. That's the reason we describe our down by percentage and grade rather than calling everything "goose down", and why we provide our Veterinary Health Certificates for every imported shipment showing the down is free from Avian Flu and other known diseases and sterilised to strict Australian standards.

One more boundary worth knowing. A pillow marketed for a therapeutic purpose is regulated as a medical device by the TGA, and unless it's exempt or excluded it must be included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods before it can be supplied. Our pillows are comfort bedding, not clinical devices. If you have persistent neck pain, that's worth raising with a health practitioner rather than solving with a purchase.

None of the above applies to babies. ACCC Product Safety advises settling a baby on the back on a firm, flat surface with no pillows, bumpers or loose bedding, because padding around a baby is a suffocation hazard. We don't make a pillow for a cot and you shouldn't put one there.

How we pick and fill your pillow

We've been in business in South Australia since 2001, originally in Parkside and now from Para Hills West, and owner Shane Grimwade has more than 30 years in the bedding industry behind the range. Our down comes from Cedrob and all our casing fabric from Weidmann Germany, both imported by the container so we control what goes into every pillow. The work itself is done here.

1. Confirm the size: Australian standard or King, USA sizing, or European square, matched to the cases and bed you already have.

2. Set the density: chosen from your sleep position and the firmness of your mattress, using the nose-to-chin check above.

3. Choose the down grade: duck down through to hand select goose down, which changes the weight and the price but not the density you picked.

4. Plan the upkeep: a protector from day one, a shake each morning, and a wash every six to twelve months.

If you're between two densities, or you and your partner want different ones, contact us with your sleep position and mattress type before you order. We're at N2, 21 Beafield Road, Para Hills West SA 5096, Australian owned and operated!

Frequently asked questions

How often should I wash a down pillow? Every six to twelve months. Use a protector in between, because that takes most of the wear. Wash quilts and mattress toppers far less often, roughly every three to five years.

Does down trigger allergies? Cleanliness is what we can speak to. Our down is sterilised and we supply the Veterinary Health Certificates for every shipment. Use a protector and wash on schedule. If you have a diagnosed allergy, check with your doctor first.

Which pillow suits a hot sleeper? Higher fill power in a fine, breathable casing. Our German Batiste TE270 cotton casing is a 380 thread count. Less filling is needed to reach the same density, so there's less bulk trapping heat against your head and neck.

What if it isn't right when it arrives? Tell us. Under the consumer guarantees the ACCC administers, what we sell has to be of acceptable quality, and if a guarantee isn't met you're entitled to a repair, replacement or refund. For a density that simply doesn't suit your shoulders, contact us with your order details and the position you sleep in.