Of the 50 pillows I've tested, the Tempur Cloud is the most expensive. I slept on it for two weeks to see if it's worth the £149 investment

My Tempur Cloud SmartCool Pillow review puts the brand's bestselling memory foam pillow to the test to see how it compares to the best pillows on the market.

The Tempur Cloud SmartCool pillow is an unusual pillow, unlike anything else I've tested. It has a memory foam core, but this memory foam is very different in feel to most memory foam pillows; it is shaped more like a standard pillow and much more malleable in how much it contours around the head.

I tested the Cloud SmartCool pillow for two weeks, and at the end of this testing period I'm still unsure how I feel about it!

In a nutshell

All in all, I think it's a pillow better suited to someone who tends to go to sleep and wake up in the exact same position. That's because once the memory foam has moulded around my head in one sleeping posture, I find it quite difficult to change my sleeping position.

Once I roll over, I have to wait quite a while for the memory foam to rebound and then remould around my new posture – all of which leads to a slightly disturbed sleep for an active sleeper like me who swaps from my side, to my back, to my other side during the night.

I also found it quite firm to sleep on. Once the testing period was over I was quite happy to swap back to a feather and down pillow for some squishy relief.

Overall, my testing experience didn't convince me to cough up the eye-watering £149 retail price. However, when it comes to how to choose the right pillow, we all have very different comfort needs. So for you, it could be just the ticket. And thankfully, a 30 night sleep trial makes testing it out far less of a gamble.

Tempur Cloud SmartCool Pillow product specs

• Best for: back sleepers
• RRP: £149
• Support: soft / medium
• Height: low
• Materials: cover: polyester, inner: memory foam
• Dimensions: 74 x 50cm
• Care instructions: the removable cover is machine-washable at 40°c, the memory foam core can't be washed

Comfort

The Tempur Cloud SmartCool Pillow comes in two firmness options; soft and medium. I tested the medium feel.

It's a memory foam pillow, but very different to any other memory foam pillow I've tested. Most memory foam pillows – like the Panda Memory Foam pillow – have a static 'block' like design, but the Cloud SmartCool pillow is shaped like a normal pillow, and its memory foam core is far more malleable than most.

This meant that I could (sort of) scrunch and squish it into shape under my head, although pummelling its foam core is fairly hard work, and this pillow is heavy.

This makes sense, as the Tempur Sensation mattress and Tempur Pro Plus SmartCool mattress are two of the heaviest mattresses we've reviewed. However, it's somewhat at odds with the Tempur Cloud SmartCool Pillow's light and airy name!

Just like the mattresses, which are very quick to mould around the body when laid on, when I rested my head on the Cloud SmartCool, its malleability meant it soon moulded around my head.

After a few weeks of sleeping on it, I found this extremely malleable memory foam had its pros and cons; it meant I could bunch it up higher for side sleeping, or let it flatten a little for back sleeping, and the foam cradled my head in both positions, but it also meant the foam dipped considerably under my head's weight, so my head slowly dropped lower during the night.

Whilst this might not bother everyone, I found it made my neck muscles have to work quite hard as my head slowly sank to its final resting position. So if you have any kind of neck pain, I'd recommend a firmer static pillow, like the Kally Sleep Neck Pain Pillow instead.

As I'm an active sleeper who changes position quite frequently during the night, I also found the pillow's adaptable core posed some other problems.

Once the foam had moulded around my head in one sleeping position, it then felt quite lumpy if I tried to shift my head on the pillow. It took a while for the dip where my head had been to rebound, and the pillow felt uneven whilst I waited for it to reform around my new positioning.

I also found the memory foam felt quite hard to sleep on. Perhaps that's because I keep my bedroom fairly cool, and memory foam usually becomes softer in warmer conditions, but overall it felt unyielding under my head once it had settled into shape.

All in all, sleeping on this pillow felt like a bit of a battle to get it into the right shape for me every night, and I found I tended to wake up when I changed position and moved my head onto a part of the pillow that hadn't yet softened around me.

Temperature regulation

Because this pillow is made of memory foam, I was initially concerned I was going to find it very hot to sleep on, as memory foam's lack of breathability tends to mean it reflects heat back towards the sleeper.

However, Tempur's SmartCool technology did its thing, and thanks to the outer cover of the pillow I didn't wake up overheating during my testing.

Ease of care

Because the core of this pillow is made from memory foam, it can't be washed. However, you can unzip the outer cover of the pillow and machine wash that at 40°c.

The cover is also substantial, so it should be thick enough to protect the inner core from any spills, dirt, grime, or allergens.

Sleep trial

As we'll find out below, this pillow is an investment. It's unlike any other pillow I've tested which tends to mean it could be a bit like Marmite – some may love it, others may hate it.

Thankfully, Tempur offers a 30-night sleep trial that allows you time to sleep on it in your own bed and assess whether it's the right pillow for you before you commit.

If you decide you don't like how it feels then, as of writing, Tempur offers a free returns process. The brand just asks that you sleep on the pillow for 14 nights before you make your decision in order to give your body time to adjust to its slightly unusual feel.

I'd say this is wise, as it definitely took me a while to adapt to this pillow and decide if I liked it.

Value for money

This pillow is expensive. Very expensive. At £149 it's going to be a considerable investment for most of us.

However, that 30-night sleep trial does at least make that investment less of a risk as it means there is the option to return the pillow if you find it doesn't suit your sleeping style.

This is also the only pillow of its kind I've come across. There are a lot of memory foam pillows on the market, but all tend to be of a much firmer feel.

A firmer pillow can often offer more support for side sleepers, but if you have a softer mattress, in particular a softer memory foam mattress, your body will sink into it further and other pillows can end up being too high. In that case, this pillow could end up being just what you need for a more comfortable night's sleep.

And if it does end up being the right fit for you, then if the pillow lives up to its three-year guarantee, on a cost-per-use basis it may be well worth every penny.