Recently, the Pancake Pillow has emerged as one of the most popular adjustable pillows on the market. Traditionally, adjustable pillows have been stuffed with loose fiber filling or shredded memory foam filling that you can add or remove to increase or decrease the loft height of the pillow.
Pancake Pillow is a unique innovation on adjustable pillows because it’s essentially a series of pillow layers stacked atop each other. This pillow comes in two sizes — standard and king size pillows. The standard pancake pillow measures 18×26 inches while the king size pillow measures 18×34 inches.
Each layer in the pillow has a loft height of 1.5”, which is extremely slim. You have to stack the pillows atop each other and then seal them inside the primary standard or king size pillowcase. If you use a single pillow layer, the entire pillow will have an extremely low loft height of only 2 inches. As you stack more pillow layers into the pancake, the loft height will continue increasing till it exceeds 8.5 inches as well.
Depending on whether you’re a stomach sleeper, back sleeper, or side sleeper, you’ll generally need to use between 1 to 4 layers within the pancake pillow.
The pillow layers are encased within a 300 thread-count 100% cotton cover that’s highly breathable and permits air circulation. This is crucial to prevent heat from getting trapped within the pillow. The primary pillow cover has a zipper on three sides so you can easily add or remove layers. Furthermore, the pillow seams are double stitched and sewn well so the pillows remain protected.
Each pillow layer is made of alternative microfiber polyester, which is extremely soft and it’s infused with cooling gel to further enhance the cooling sensation.
All things considered, the Pancake Pillow is highly adjustable and convenient. You can easily increase or decrease the loft height of the pillow without dealing with the messy filling of shredded memory foam or polyester fiber filling.
Please continue reading for a detailed overview of the advantages and disadvantages of an ultra thin pillow pancake along with some brilliant alternative adjustable pillows you can use instead.
Advantages of a Pancake Pillow
The following are some of the primary advantages of a pancake pillow:
- It’s ideal for stomach sleepers, side sleepers, and back sleepers.
- You can adjust the loft height easily by adding or removing the pillow layers.
- The pillow is extremely comfortable and breathable.
- You don’t have to remove any of the fillings.
- The pillow is machine washable.
Disadvantages of a Pancake Pillow
The following are the major drawbacks of a pancake pillow:
- The zipper often catches on the pillow layers.
- The thin pillow layer is extremely soft so you can’t get a firm yet thin pillow, which is necessary for stomach sleepers.
- Stacking several pillow layers inevitably makes it firm so you can’t have a soft high loft experience.
Best Alternative Adjustable Pillows
Elite Rest Shredded Memory Foam Pillow — Best Adjustable Pillows
Elite Rest Shredded Memory Foam Pillow is one of the best adjustable pillows on the market — it’s also a traditional adjustable pillow featuring shredded memory foam. You can add or remove the shredded memory foam filling to increase or decrease the loft height according to your convenience. The memory foam is one of the best materials when it comes to offering spinal support. This pillow is perfect for all kinds of sleepers — stomach sleepers, back sleepers, and side sleepers. It also comes with an extremely breathable bamboo cover.
Elite Rest Ultra Slim Sleeper — Best Memory Foam Pillow
Elite Rest Ultra Slim Sleeper is the best thin pillow on the market because it’s a memory foam pillow with a loft height of only 2.5 inches. While you can’t adjust the loft height of this pillow, it’s ideal for stomach sleepers because it has a low loft while still being medium-firm, which prevents the loft from sinking under your weight. As such, this pillow can keep your head in a neutral and stable position, thus facilitating spinal alignment. It also has a flat bottom to increase stability.
TruContour Lumbar Pillow — Best Thin Pillow
TruContour Lumbar Pillow is one of the best thin pillows for back sleepers and stomach sleepers. This is an extremely thin memory foam pillow featuring a series of stackable pillow layers. Just like a pancake pillow, you can add or remove the memory foam layer (instead of loose filling) to increase or decrease the loft height, making it extremely neat. The Light Support version of this pillow has two foam pad layers while the Super Lumbar version has three layers. You can remove the third layer to decrease the loft height. You can then use this as a stomach pillow or you can place it under your back as lumbar support. While this pillow isn’t as adjustable as the pancake pillow, it’s still a great alternative for those looking for thin pillows.
Verdict
Pancake Pillow is one of the best adjustable pillows on the market because it features a series of stackable pillow layers. Depending on the number of pillow layers you use, you can adjust the loft height of the pillow according to your sleeping position. This is an extremely neat and convenient means of adjusting the loft height, compared to traditional adjustable pillows in which you have to add or remove the filling. However, this pillow doesn’t allow you to achieve the exact loft height you want and there may be some issues with the firmness level, which you can’t control. Elite Rest Shredded Memory Foam Pillow is one of the best alternative adjustable pillows because it’s made of shredded memory foam filling — you can easily adjust the loft height to the exact level you want and also adjust the firmness according to your preference.
