I slept on Simba's most affordable pillow for a fortnight – its cooling tech meant no sweaty head in the morning

My Simba AeroDown Pillow review puts the brand's most affordable pillow through its paces to see how it compares to the best pillows on the market.

In a nutshell

If you're a side sleeper who wants a medium-soft, mid-height pillow that won't cause you to overheat and is fully machine washable, the Simba AeroDown pillow could well be the one for you.

I think its £60 price tag is pretty steep for what's essentially a polyester-filled pillow (although those fibres are made from recycled plastic bottles, which is better news for the environment), but the addition of Simba's ‘Stratos® tech’ on the outer cover did mean my head stayed cooler than normal when I slept on it.

There was no flipping the pillow over to find the cooler side during the night with the Simba AeroDown, which, as a 45-year-old perimenopausal woman, I appreciated.

I also appreciated the fact that it's fully machine washable, as it means it's very easy to care for, and I liked the fact that it comes with a 30-night sleep trial, so you can test it out for yourself before you commit to keeping it.

Simba AeroDown Pillow review

Specifications

• Best for: side sleepers who prefer a medium-soft pillow and don't want to overheat
• Materials: inner: 'Simba Renew Bio™' which incorporates recycled plastic bottle fibres, cover: cotton with Stratos ‘cool-touch’ tech on one side.
• Dimensions: 50cm x 75cm
• Care instructions: machine washable up to 40°C on a delicate wash, tumble dry on a low heat
• Manufacturer sleep trial: 30-night

Comfort

Now I’m quite fussy when it comes to pillows. I'm a side sleeper who sometimes sleeps on my back, and I don't like a pillow that's too firm, so some of the best memory foam pillows on the market are too 'brick-like' for my preferences

However, a pillow also can’t be so soft that it doesn't offer enough support for my neck and spine. Overall, I prefer a pillow with a medium level of firmness, and that's medium height.

Simba describes the AeroDown as having a soft to medium level of cushioned support, so I had high hopes it might do the trick and solve all my pillow needs in one fell swoop.

When I lay the Simba AeroDown pillow for the first time, I found it felt quite high for my sleeping preferences, both on my back and my side. However, it was soft and comfortable.

Being Simba, I'd initially thought that I might be able to adjust the amount of filling in this pillow to lower its height, but Simba says not. Unlike the Simba Hybrid pillow and Simba CustomFlex pillows, which use removable nanocubes or layers that allow you to adjust the pillow height, the AeroDown is one height only.

As such, I found it too high for back sleeping, but I did find it offered me enough support to keep my neck and spine in alignment when I slept on my side. And I found it didn’t let my head sink too far down towards the mattress or make my head and ear ache like some firmer pillows.

Temperature regulation

One of the key selling points of the Simba AeroDown pillow is that one side of its cotton cover has ‘Cooling Stratos® technology’ added. Simba states that this cooling technology means the pillow sleeps 3°C cooler than non-treated fabric.

According to the brand, ‘Cooling Stratos® technology’ is 'cool to the touch, prevents the build up of heat, and helps moisture to evaporate, for drier, more comfortable sleep'.

The cooling side of the pillow can be differentiated by the fact that it has a grey geometric pattern design, whilst the other is plain white, and I found it does feel cool to the touch.

The first time I slept on this pillow was during winter; however, my husband had cranked up the central heating, and, in my opinion, our bedroom was too warm. Lying on the Simba AeroDown pillow felt like an instant breath of fresh air, making my head and neck feel cool and refreshed. I fell asleep quickly and didn’t wake up in the night, feeling too hot.

I’ve got long, thick hair, and as a 45-year-old peri-menopausal woman, when I wake up, I find it’s often damp and sweaty. However, when I slept on this pillow, it wasn’t.

I also gave the Simba AeroDown to my youngest son to test. He's nine and also tends to get very hot in the night. However, sleeping on this pillow, he said that he didn’t wake up feeling hot and sticky like he usually does, and didn’t need to turn it over to keep finding the cool side as he does with his usual pillow.

All in all, I can’t fault the temperature regulation of this pillow.

Ease of care

The Simba AeroDown pillow can be machine washed at 40°C on a delicate cycle and after testing a lot of pillows where only the cover can be washed, I liked the fact that the whole pillow can go in the wash for a proper clean.

Simba just advises shaking the pillow after washing to disperse the filling and then tumble drying on a low heat.

I put it to the test, and found that it came up as good as new after being washed and dried.

The cover does also have a zip, so if you do only want to wash the cover rather than the whole shebang, that's an option too.

Sleep trial

Simba states that the Simba AeroDown pillow comes with a 30-night sleep trial. That means you can purchase it, test it out on your own bed, and then return it if you find it isn't the right fit for you.

When it comes to how to choose a pillow and finding the best filling for a pillow, there's no one-size-fits-all approach, so I think the option of a sleep trial is a great way to avoid wasting money on a pillow that ends up not quite fitting your needs.

Value for money

The Simba AeroDown pillow costs £60, and, as of testing, it's the most affordable pillow in the Simba range.

However, that is still quite a lot of money, especially considering this is essentially a polyester-filled pillow, and you can pick a two-pack of those up at the supermarket for under £10.

It is made partially from recycled fibres – the Simba Renew™ fibres are made from recycled plastic bottles – but then so are the Dunelm Fogarty Pack of 2 Anti-Allergy Side Sleeper Pillows, which are only £12 for a pack of two.

However, what does set the Simba AeroDown pillow apart – and could justify its higher price point – is its cooling cover, and I did find that this pillow slept cooler than your average polyester pillow.

So is it worth the money? If you're a hot sleeper who likes a medium-soft, mid-height pillow, then yes, I think the Simba AeroDown pillow could well be worth the investment.

How I tested

Rachel Tompkins

I’m Rachel, a mother of two and a product reviewer who helps the Ideal Home team put all manner of products through their paces to find the top recommendations for our readers. For this review, I tested the Simba AeroDown Pillow.

In order to test out this pillow, I slept on it for two weeks on my own bed to assess its comfort and temperature regulation. I also assessed its ease of care, any sleep trials available, and how it compares to similar products on the market to see if it offers good value for money.