Casper has been a major player in the sleep business since 2014 and was one of the first mattress companies to popularize the mattress-in-a-box concept (MIB). As with nearly all successful mattress companies, eventually, we see them branch out into making pillows. What we’re reviewing today is the Casper Original Pillow. Currently, Casper sells 6 different pillows but this one remains their most popular and most widely available online and in retail stores.

While the Original Pillow is their first, it is still an innovative dual-layer pillow often referenced by Casper as a "pillow in pillow design". This idea is that the firmer inner layer provides the height needed to support your head while the softer outside layer replicates the feeling of a traditional down feather pillow. We have seen a few different attempts at replicating the feel of down and we know that many people love the initial head hitting the pillow feeling but rarely do down pillows remain comfortable throughout the night.

Another interesting feature is the way the pillow is sewn. It has a 2” gusset wrapping around the pillow which, in theory, should enable the pillow to maintain a more square shape, which is very important for side sleeping. We purchased the Casper Original Pillow at a Bed Bath and Beyond shop for this review on 1-5-22 with the aim to test and understand if Casper’s first pillow is as good as their mattresses. Let's dive in.

We are all incredibly different when it comes to our sleep, from differences in our bodies, preferences, and sleep habits we find it is rare to find one-size-fits-all products when it comes to pillows, mattresses, bedding, etc… We believe that real data is often missing from sleep reviews and recommendations and we’re trying to change that with our reviews.

Our process for reviewing pillows is a simple and objective one. Due to the fact that our bodies and sleeping positions are all highly unique, we believe that measuring the pillow firmness and support in the real world is the best way for us to make recommendations to our readers. We take a series of measurements on the support of each pillow we review in person using a simulation we developed to replicate real sleeping situations for typical male and female head weights. These measurements allow us to quantify how a pillow will support your neck and head and ultimately contribute to or detract from a good night's sleep.

When formulating our sleep product recommendations one component is consistent and that is obtaining neutral spine alignment. It is widely agreed that when our bodies rest in a neutral spine alignment, the risk for joint or muscle pain risk is reduced and you often can achieve better sleep as a result.

The Original Casper Pillow is fairly thick, measuring in at 7.5” thick but when compressed with our weights, measured in at 1.6” to 1.75” which makes this pillow among the thinnest pillows we’ve reviewed when loaded up. Essentially 75%+ of the pillow is compressed. This should help it achieve that down feather feel but it will wrap around the side of your face quite a lot.

Side Sleepers - We recorded a compressed thickness between 1.75” and 1.6” with the Casper Original for our female and male average simulations which is far from ideal for side sleeping. As we mentioned above, the Casper Original, despite being 7.5” thick initially when compressed, is among the thinnest pillows we’ve tested and side sleeping by its nature requires a thicker pillow and ~3” of compressed height for an average person. With your head only 1.75" to 1.6” off your mattress, sleeping on your side almost certainly ensures spine alignment issues for anyone other than someone extremely small or petite. Note: we run into this issue with almost all pillows. The thickest pillow we’ve reviewed measures in at 2.6” of compressed support, which is still less than ideal for side sleeping in our view.

Back Sleepers - What often makes for a bad side sleeping pillow usually makes for an amazing back sleeping pillow and the Casper Original is no different. With 1.75” to 1.6” of compressed support the Casper Original is in the sweet spot of back sleeping, especially for those of us who like the feeling and plushness of down.

Combination Sleepers (back/side) - While never ideal, we think using the Casper Original for combination sleeping between back and stomach could work really well. It's thin enough for both situations but its plushness will provide a lot of comfort for stomach sleepers, especially those of us that have our arms around our head when stomach sleeping.

Using our process, we took the following measurements from the Casper Original Pillow. As with all pillows, the height of the uncompressed pillow has little bearing on whether the pillow will be a good fit for you as we regularly find pillows that compress 60%+ of their uncompressed weight. Some pillows will compress 90%!

StartSleeping Measurements:

Size and pricing data obtained from pillow packaging and Amazon product page on 2-6-2022 or measured by StartSleeping team on pillow sample

The Casper Original Pillow has a series of layers due to its design, but nearly everything in the pillow is made out of cotton or polyester. The outer cover is 100% cotton, followed by 100% polyester filling (to replicate the down feel). The inner core is a more solid 100% polyester-filled layer, covered again in cotton. We always like to see cotton outer layers, it's a natural and naturally breathable material that makes a lot of sense to use in pillows, bedding, or mattress outer layers.

Trial - While Casper's 100-day trial only applies to their mattresses, they do offer a 30-day trial on all their other sleep products including pillows. If you don’t like your pillow they will provide a return label for you to send it back and get a hassle-free refund. This would work the same way if you’re purchasing on Amazon as well.

Warranty - Casper has a warranty specific to their pillows which covers your pillow for 1 year on defects in material, and workmanship and a repair or replacement will be performed to make the situation right for you.

Customer Service - Casper is a large established brand with real support available to you as a prospective customer or an existing customer. You can call them at 1-888-498-0003 or chat with them on Casper's website

Company -  Casper is an established brand in the sleep space, having helped popularize the mattress in the box, they are always releasing new innovative products with increasing personalization and options which is great. Casper is a company that will stand by their products and work to keep you happy if something goes south with your purchase.

Where to Buy - Casper products are available in a variety of physical and digital locations from Bed Bath and Beyond stores, to Amazon and directly on Casper.com.

We think the Casper Original Pillow is a great buy for back and combination sleepers. While it measured too thin during our sleep test for us to recommend it for side sleeping (unless you’re small) it offers a level of responsiveness to the sleeper that we haven’t measured in other pillows we’ve reviewed. Where other pillows often bottom out at the same point regardless of the sleeper, the Casper Original will adapt to you as a sleeper and we were able to measure and quantify that. While you may be taking a risk purchasing a pillow online that you can’t return, based on our interactions with the Zoma and Amerisleep brands, we’re confident they would make it right if you were unhappy.