In-depth Comparison (2024): Casper Original Pillow vs. Beckham Hotel Collection Pillow

Polyester Fiber (Down Alternative)

The Casper Original Pillow uses a pillow-in-pillow design with two layers, both made of polyester fiber, at slightly different firmness levels. This creates a thick but soft pillow that is great for back-sleepers who want a polyester fiber pillow. However, I don't recommend this pillow for side-sleepers due to the lack of adjustability: the thickness combined with the softness results in an unpredictable loft.

The most noticeable aspect of the Casper pillow is the loft: I measure it at 10 inches thick, the highest loft of any pillow tested. This is because the pillow is actually made up of a regular sized pillow covered by another layer of pillow. The outer layer can be unzipped to reveal the inner pillow sandwiched inside. The outer layer is extremely soft and thin. It resembles a comforter or a thick blanket. In fact, the pillow does remind me of a regular pillow wrapped in a comforter. The outer layer sinks completely in when used.

Unzipping the outer pillow reveals an inner pillow also made with polyester filling. Keep in mind that though the pillow can be unzipped, the filling cannot be adjusted. Unzipping doesn't give access to the filling. It only gives access to the inner pillow. While you can technically have three different lofts by sleeping on the inside pillow by itself, the outside layer by itself, and both layers combined, I wouldn't consider the pillow to be adjustable. I suspect most people will be sleeping on the pillow with all the layers together because either layer by itself is too thin for my preferences. Like the outer layer, the inner pillow sinks all the way down when I lay my head on it by itself. Based on my experience, neither the inner pillow nor the outer pillow will provide enough support for side-sleepers or back-sleepers individually. Theoretically, the inner pillow could be used for stomach-sleeping, but there are other options on the market that don't involve discarding half the pillow.

When used together, the pillows start at the full 10-inch-high loft. Laying my head down makes the pillow significantly thinner since both parts of the pillow are so soft. The inner pillow and the outer pillow compress all the way down when slept on individually, but the combined pillow does leave some loft simply because there is so much material. Unfortunately, as a side-sleeper, the loft feels slightly off for me, leaving my head angled uncomfortably. It's possible that some side-sleepers will find the loft level perfect, but I recommend that side-sleepers stick with a fully adjustable pillow like the Saybrook or Coop.

The Casper pillow and Sleepgram pillow share a lot of similarities. From the outside, they even look almost the same except for the different logos. There are three main differences, though. First, the Sleepgram pillow comes with two inner pillows. Despite this, both the Casper and Sleepgram pillows have the same loft, so the Sleepgram inner pillows are individually thinner compared to the Casper inner pillow. Second, the zipper on the Casper pillow feels to me like it's easier to operate compared to the zipper on the Sleepgram pillow, which contributes to my perception that the Casper pillow has higher quality construction. Finally, I find the Sleepgram pillow to be even softer than the Casper pillow. My head sinks down even more with the Sleepgram pillow. This is because the Sleepgram polyester filling glides more easily, so some of the material moves out of the way when I lay my head on it. The Casper pillow polyester fill is also soft, but it stays underneath my head, so even though it compresses, the material stays there to provide some loft.

Unlike some of the other pillows reviewed, the Casper pillow doesn't come with a separate cover. Inserting this pillow into a pillow case can be difficult due to the thickness. Though the pillow compresses easily when sleeping on it, getting it to compress from 365 degrees to shove inside a pillow case is relatively frustrating. It is far from impossible, but it does take more energy than it should. I find that when pillows are difficult to insert into pillow cases, I subconsciously avoid wash cycles.

The lack of adjustability makes the Casper pillow a non-starter for side-sleepers since the angle of the head is so important and everyone has a different shoulder and head size. For back-sleepers looking for a polyester fiber pillow, the Casper pillow is a great choice. Because of the thickness, even though the pillow sinks significantly, it still provides some support.

Polyester Fiber (Down Alternative)

The Beckham Hotel Collection Pillow is very soft and very thin, providing a potential option for stomach-sleepers. However, back-sleepers and side-sleepers should be aware that they might not receive enough support. When I sleep on it, the pillow goes flat underneath me.

The Beckham pillow is similar in softness to the Sleepgram pillow, but I measure the Beckham pillow at 6 inches of starting loft instead of the 10 inches for the Sleepgram pillow, which means the Beckham pillow feels even thinner. The polyester fibers compress significantly when I lay my head on the pillow, and because the polyester fibers glide smoothly without much friction, I get the impression that all the stuffing moves out of the way when I lie down. The Beckham pillow doesn't provide enough support for me in most situations.

The thickness and softness of the pillow bring to my mind a duvet folded in half, but the tendency for the polyester fibers to glide magnifies the comparison for me. When I shift my weight, the top layer of fabric will shift with me while I feel the bottom layer glide away, almost as if I were indeed sleeping on a folded duvet with the two layers sliding away from each other.

The Beckham pillow has the moniker "Hotel Collection Pillow," suggesting that it is similar to pillows found in hotels. In my experience staying at hotels like the Ritz Carlton, St. Regis, and Intercontinental, I've found that higher end hotels tend to use puffier pillows that are soft but still substantial. There is no strong connection in my mind between the pillows I've experienced at luxury hotels and the Beckham pillows that I purchased. Of course, I haven't stayed at every hotel out there, so I can't rule anything out definitively.

I do like the sateen stripes on the fabric, and the seams of the pillow are double-stitched, which give me more confidence in the construction of the pillow. However, the amount of fill material seams lacking to me in the pillows I purchased. While the Beckham pillow has a great price point, I feel like I get what I pay for because the amount of fill material per pillow also appears to be proportionally lower. For stomach-sleepers who want a thin, soft pillow, the Beckham pillow can be a great option, but for back-sleepers and side-sleepers, I'd recommend investing in more support.