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PolarPillow Lightning Review: A Constant Cool Side of the Pillow

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Unless you live in Antarctica or just lack proper blood flow to the head, you've probably spent a few sweaty, sleepless nights flipping a pillow over and over, seeking the refreshing refuge of its cooler side. With the PolarPillow, that's not an issue. Its cool side stays really cool.

What Is It?

A pillow filled with 200 ounces of liquid cooling gel—no feathers, no foam—just a gigantic, comfortable version of a freezer's icy pack. Except it doesn't need time in the freezer to do its thing.

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Who's it For?

People who sweat at night. People who flip pillows to keep cool. Extremely strong, hotheaded people. Weightlifters?

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Design

The PolarPillow veers from typical pillow design by being smaller, less fluffy and a helluva lot heavier. It's a lot of compromise to stay cool! The endothermic gel draws heat from your head, but it is very dense—the manufacturer claims it weighs 12 pounds, but a test scale at home registered 14. And it's heavier than it sounds.

Using It

Apply a pillow case, and place the product onto your bed. At night, change into your pajamas, brush your teeth, wash your face, and lie down (head on pillow). Enjoy the coolness. Don't bother fluffing it up.

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The Best Part

It works! Even through a pillowcase, you can immediately feel the pillow's coolness. PolarPillow says the cooling effect lasts for 2 hours, which is plenty of time to get to sleep. Even on muggy days, the temperature is perfect and constant. It feels like your scalp just chewed a stick of Doublemint gum. Refreshing!

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Tragic Flaw

You cannot imagine a 14-pound pillow. Not in your wildest, insomniac, fever-dream hallucinations. No way. Nothing can prepare you for the weight of this immovable bedmate. It's heavier that you ever imagined a pillow could be. And then heavier than that.

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This Is Weird...

It's also a good bit smaller than your traditional pillow.

Test Notes

  • The PolarPillow doesn't elevate your head as high as non-Polar pillows.
  • No fluffing fun! If you love plumping up pillows, forget it. Doesn't work. The gel just flattens out and re-shapes itself to your head.
  • It's best for people who sleep on their backs and don't move much. Don't put your arm beneath it. Between the coldness and the weight, that arm goes numb in no time.
  • You could dominate pillow fights with the PolarPillow. You could possibly kill someone.
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Should You Buy It?

Probably not. Even though the cooling effect works like magic, the PolarPillow compromises too much in key details that make a pillow a pillow. It's also, at $100, pretty expensive. But so are Sheex! A cool night's sleep is a luxury indeed.

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Polar Pillow

• Price: $100
• Dimensions: 21"L x 16"W x 3"H
• Weight: 14.4 pounds
Gizrank: 2.5 stars