DogBones Ortho Bone Cervical Pillow, Black

I've had upper back / neck pain for a long time. I found that standard pillows exacerbated the problem, by generally keeping my head angled forward. I got an orthopedic pillow from a chiropractor which had a triangular jut at the bottom to put under my neck, which was amazing -- but it was expensive and only lasted a couple of years. I tried a similar orthopedic pillow with a swell instead of a triangular jut, but it wasn't nearly as comfortable. I searched Amazon and found this -- highly rated, though it looked weird.I had my doubts about this pillow during the first week after its arrival -- it was much smaller than I'd imagined, was flatter under my neck than I'd hoped, and did not incline itself to side sleeping.I soon realized that the "bone" portion of the pillow can be rotated / rolled in the direction of the tapered portion of the pillow to achieve more height under the neck -- which has turned out to be even better than meeting my desired support level by default, since it means I can easily adjust to slightly more or less padding under my neck as I lie in bed.As for the size, the only part of a pillow that really matters is the part that touches your body, and the pillow guts which ensure proper support. Having that nailed, it's nice to have less excess pillow hanging around. I now sometimes sleep with my hands above my head, since the areas beside my head are now free.Now, as for side sleeping, this pillow isn't amazing for me. Mind you, it's far from bad, and is still better for my comfort than side sleeping on a standard pillow -- it simply doesn't provide as huge of an improvement to side sleeping as it does to back sleeping.If the time comes when I need to purchase a new pillow, I fully intend to get this pillow again.

TL;DR: It's a great pillow to use when you are trying to minimalize neck pain due to positioning.Comfort: It's a very comfortable pillow. It kind of feels like it cradles your neck when you lay on it. Doesn't matter what position I take to sleep on it; it's still fairly comfortable all throughout the night.Firmness: On a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 as something comparable to memory foam pillow kind of firmness, it comes as an easy 8.I bought this pillow mostly because when I was younger, my dad bought a dog-shaped pillow very much like this one and it was certainly the most comfortable thing I had ever slept on. After suffering from neck pain for a couple of days, I decided to try and find one for myself.It was certainly a pretty hefty adjustment for the first two minutes, but as soon as I got myself in place at the pillow I just sank, relaxed, and fell asleep relatively quicker than usual. Woke up, and my neck wasn't sore at all.I tried sleeping on my side the next night, and it was certainly comfortable. Didn't feel like my neck was bending too much like most pillows would do to it, actually. It was very nice.I would highly recommend getting this as your primary pillow!

I was developing a bit of neck pain with my latex pillow, and wanted to try something more supportive. This looked pretty well-reviewed, and rather inexpensive, so I figured I'd give it a try. I used it exclusively for a night, and honestly, I had some neck pain the next day. I chalk this up to the fact that I'm used to a completely different pillow, and this is just a new thing for my neck.Reversing the neck side with the upper head side seemed to be more comfortable for me (I sleep on my back mostly but occasionally all other positions). I went back to using my old pillow again, but this is still a supplemental go-to pillow for certain times or situations. It's high quality and worth the price in my opinion. If it's not perfect for you, at least you didn't shell out $100 for it.

Adding more stuffing was the key for me, as it was too soft out of the package. With a little extra stuffing in the bone part, and a medium amount of extra stuffing in the back part (without it, it felt like my head was tilting backwards), it makes it fairly firm and the best pillow I've ever had. I also have one of the original Bones pillow, without the back part, and I like it too (same need to add a little stuffing). I prefer this pillow with the back part because it's an all-in-one, no multiple pillows to shuffle around. I've been using the Bones pillows for a few months now and can report that i've had zero neck or shoulder pain upon waking. Also, I sleep much quieter. I used to spend equal time on my stomach, back, side and roll around a lot. Now I'm about 80% on my back, 20% on my side, and literally 0% on my stomach. When the price lowers back down a bit I will be getting a couple more of these to have on hand, as I have no idea how their longevity is and really don't want to be without. Thank you for producing this item!!

I this would make a good travel pillow for most people, but it may not hit all your needs for a regular pillow. If you're a side sleeper, you might end up with a chunk of the bone part mushed in your face (not all that comfy). Also, if you roll from one side to the other, you'll roll right off it since it's not very big; I'm more of a "flopper", so that isn't really an issue for me. I also have a fairly small frame, neck, and head (I wear older kids' glasses) and would say that most adults would probably find this too small. My biggest annoyance with it would actually probably be the material; since it's made out of a velvet fabric, there is no "cool" side of this pillow and it gets pretty toasty. A pillowcase helps a little but not much.I've suffered from neck traction issues for years and have sworn by the "core" pillows (the ones with the padding all around the outside but a dip in the middle). This doesn't work quite as well, but would be great for travel purposes so I don't have to lug a full sized pillow around.