Feather pillows have been well-liked for centuries. Does one deserve to be on your bed? Let's look at their main advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages
Feather pillows are very soft, cuddly and moldable. They contour to the head and neck reasonable well and provide more support than down. You can scrunch the pillow to provide your head and neck with support where you need it.
They are also among the most durable pillows that you can buy and will last for ten years or even longer with reasonable care. They usually can be machine washed and dried. Feather pillows are considered a strong value because they often last so long.
Because birds fly, their feathers must be light weight or they would not get off of the ground. As a result, feather pillows weigh very little, usually weigh no more than a pound or two.
Disadvantages
Feather pillows often do not maintain significant support throughout the night because they tend to sink in to some degree.
As a result, you may find yourself needing to adjust the pillow during the night. And fluffing the pillow or shaking it may also be required to return the pillow to its preferred loft. As the pillow ages, increased fluffing or shaking will be required.
The hard quills of the feathers can often be noticed through the case and can even poke through. Further, you may notice a crunching-like noise when the pillows are compressed because the feathers can contain hard parts or because the pillow has a plastic layer to prevent the feathers from poking through.
Finally, feather pillows have been known on occasion to have an odor, maybe of water fowl or chemicals used to sanitize the feathers.
