How to Choose the Perfect Pillow: A Comprehensive Guide

Choose a pillow by its filling, not by how you sleep. Goose down is the softest and lasts longest, duck down costs less and feels similar, duck and feather gives firmer support, and synthetic washes easily. Quality varies enormously within each of those, so what is inside matters far more than the label on the front.

Start by finding out whether you need one

Lay your current pillow across your forearm. A pillow with life left in it holds its shape. A finished one flops.

"It's rubbed together with attrition and turned into dust. And when it reaches this stage, I think you ought to be thinking about buying a new pillow."

That is my father, William, and that is the whole test. It takes five seconds and it is more reliable than counting years, because it measures the thing that actually wears out. Every night you use a pillow the clusters inside rub against each other, and eventually that friction reduces them to dust.

If yours holds firm, you do not need anything from this page. If it folded over your arm, read on.

What is actually inside a pillow

"Down comes from the belly of the goose or the duck and feathers obviously is from the top of the bird."

Down is the soft under-layer, a three dimensional cluster with no quill. It traps air, which is what makes a down pillow feel almost weightless. Feathers have a shaft, so a feather pillow feels firmer and more structured, and you can sometimes feel the quills through the cover. Some people dislike that. Some people want exactly that.

A duck and feather pillow sits between the two: more supportive than pure down, and noticeably cheaper.

Goose, duck, feather or synthetic

For longevity, goose, and that is the reason to pay more.

"Goose down lasts longer than duck down and doesn't break down with attrition of rubbing together."

Goose clusters are larger and more resilient, so they survive the nightly friction longer. Goose down is also lighter and warmer than duck, though warmth matters far less in a pillow than in a duvet where you are under the thing all night.

Duck down is not a poor relation. Softer than feather, cheaper than goose, and for a spare room or a child's bed it is often the sensible choice rather than the compromise.

Synthetic is worth having for guest rooms and for anyone who wants to put a pillow through the wash. We sell those too.

But the word on the label tells you very little

This is the part that costs people money.

"I've used the analogy of Mercedes cars, you can get a Smart car and an S-Class with both Mercedes, but there's a world of difference. And so it's true of downs."

Two pillows can both say goose down and be entirely different objects. What separates them is fill power, cluster size and grade. We sell a goose down pillow at roughly half the price of our best goose down pillow, and both are genuinely good. The difference is inside, not on the packaging.

Our best one exists because of a trip my father made:

"I remember, probably about 14, 15 years ago, I went over to Germany to the best pillow manufacturer in the world. And I actually asked to see their pillows and I said, what is your best one? And then they showed me. I said, is it possible to actually make the pillow even better than that? And they did. And this is the result."

It is filled with 100% European pure white goose down, Class 1. It is the most expensive pillow we make and, oddly, our most popular.

The short version

• Down comes from the belly of a goose or a duck. Feathers come from the top of the bird.
• Goose down lasts longer than duck down because it resists breaking down through the friction of rubbing together.
• Goose down is lighter and warmer than duck down, though warmth matters far less in a pillow than in a duvet.
• Quality varies enormously within goose down itself, so the words "goose down" on a label tell you very little on their own.
• A down pillow needs replacing when it flops over your arm instead of holding firm.
• A standard British pillow measures 48 by 74cm. A super king bed needs a larger pillow, 50 by 90cm.
• An allergy no longer forces you into a synthetic pillow. Woods pillows are made hypoallergenic.
• Woods stocks 15 pillow designs, each made in three shapes, all to our own specification.

Does your sleeping position matter?

Less than the industry would like you to think.

"There is an argument about whether you're a side sleeper or front sleeper or back sleeper but the truth is really we don't really stay in one position, at least I don't. I toss about all night long."

There is some truth in the advice. A side sleeper has a larger gap between ear and shoulder to fill, so a fuller, firmer pillow usually suits. But most of us move all night, and choosing on a sleeping position label tends to push people towards the marketing rather than the quality of the fill.

Start with what is inside it, then think about depth and firmness. And if you can get to Harrogate, lie on a few. That is still the only reliable test.

Size, and allergies

A standard British pillow is 48 by 74cm and suits single, double and king beds. For a super king, use 50 by 90cm so that two pillows meet in the middle rather than leaving a gap. Continental squares at 65 by 65cm are mainly for dressing the bed, though some people sleep on them.

Two pillows a side looks considerably better on a made bed than one, even if you only sleep on one.

On allergies, this used to be the one real argument for synthetic and it no longer holds. Our pillows are made hypoallergenic, so an allergy does not mean giving up down.

Where to look next

If you want the best we make, it is the one my father brought back from Germany. For most of that feeling at half the money, the Luxury Goose Down Pillow. For firmer support, the Goose Down Surround, which puts down next to your head and feathers locked in a core pocket underneath.

All of them are in pillows and bolsters. If you are weighing goose against duck specifically, that comparison is here, and if you have been told thread count is how you judge bed linen, my father has views about that.

Any questions, contact us. We are a small shop and we do actually answer.

Our mailing list is the Heritage Partnership, where my father writes about what he is buying and why, and where we say first when something scarce arrives.