In-depth Comparison (2024): Chamberlain Down Dual-Chamber Pillow vs. Casper Original Pillow

Down and Feather

Have you ever been surprised by how nice the pillows were in a luxury hotel or resort? As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite member for a few years in a row, I've stayed at many hotels, and the Chamberlain Down Dual-Chamber Pillow reminds me of some of the best hotel pillows I've experienced. It's made with the same type of design as the hotel pillows, featuring a down chamber on the outside wrapped around a feather chamber on the inside. I enjoy the satisfying puff of air from the down layer that allows me to "sink" into the pillow, and the feather chamber on the inside gives the pillow more structure than a typical down pillow. I tested three down and feather pillows for this review, and the Chamberlain Down pillow is by far the highest quality in my opinion.

Down pillows in general have been prized as luxury items for centuries. Down pillows function by trapping air inside the pillow. The air provides loft for the pillow, and the escaping air provides the buoyant sensation as the sleeper lies down. This makes down pillows different from pillows made with other materials, which provide loft through the material itself rather than trapped air. Feathers don't trap air as well as down, but they do provide loft through their structure thanks to the hard quill. Most pillows use a combination of down and feather since down can be very expensive, and having some structure can be an advantage to prevent the pillow from going flat over time.

The Chamberlain construction quality shows in two ways. First, the seams of the pillow are double-stitched, which prevents feathers and down from escaping the pillow. In contrast, the Puredown pillow is single-stitched along the seams. The Pacific Coast Double DownAround pillow has double-stitching, but the one I purchased has feathers sticking out of the stitching, as shown in the picture below. This is important because escaping down clusters might allow the pillow to go flat over time, and clusters in the air may cause unwanted sneezing.

Second, the Chamberlain Down pillow uses the aforementioned dual-chamber construction that wraps a layer of down on the outside, keeping the sleeper insulated from the feathers. This is the same build used in luxury hotel pillows. In fact, while multiple pillows that I tested for this review claim to be "hotel-style" pillows, the Chamberlain Dual-Chamber Pillow is the only one that reminds me of the pillows I've used at high-end hotels. Many years ago, I traveled for work, staying at hotels such as the Ritz Carlton, St. Regis, and Intercontinental, so I've become all too familiar with hotel pillows. The down layer on the outside prevents the sleeper from feeling any of the quills from feathers in the inner chamber, which results in the feeling of sleeping on air. The Chamberlain Down pillow has a substantial layer of down to achieve this effect. While I have felt quills in other down pillows, I do not feel any quills in the Chamberlain Down Dual-Chamber Pillow.

By comparison, the Puredown pillow, which is only a single chamber, mixes down and feathers together, and I can feel the quills in the pillow when I lie down. The Pacific Coast Double DownAround pillow is also a dual-chamber pillow, but when I lie down, I can still feel the quills. Even though the stated proportion of down is the same as the Chamberlain Down pillow, the Pacific Coast Double DownAround pillow uses 550 fill power down according to the Pacific Coast website at my time of purchase, while the Chamberlain Down Dual-Chamber Pillow uses 600+ fill power. In down terminology, a higher fill power indicates larger down clusters, which are better at trapping air. As a result, when I lie down on the Chamberlain Down pillow, the layer of down holds my head buoyant, but I sink straight into the feathers with the Pacific Coast pillow.

Like all down and feather pillows, the Chamberlain Down pillow will require fluffing in the morning. Fluffing just pumps the air back into the down clusters. At nicer hotels, fluffing typically happens during evening turn-down service. I find that my Chamberlain Down pillow is comparatively better at maintaining its air compared to the other down and feather pillows I have, so I don't mind fluffing when I sleep on it.

I classify the firmness as soft, but it's important to note that while the pillow feels soft, there is a substantial amount of material inside. When I lay my head down, I sink slowly but considerably into the pillow. Because the pillow has so much material, I still get that buoyant support. It's still not enough support for me to side-sleep comfortably, but the pillow is very comfortable for sleeping on my back or stomach. If you want a pillow that disappears underneath, this pillow has too much material for that to happen, but if you want a soft pillow that gives a slow-motion sinking sensation without completely disappearing, then this is the pillow to get.

For anyone searching for a luxury pillow similar to the ones found in high-end hotels, I highly recommend this pillow. The Chamberlain Down Dual-Chamber Pillow provides that signature sensation of sleeping on air, and it's great for back-sleepers and stomach-sleepers. I put this pillow in my guest bedroom, and at least half my guests comment on the Chamberlain pillow or ask where they can get their own.

Finally, this pillow is only available on chamberlaindown.com, which can sometimes run out of stock. I reached out to see if they sell on other marketplaces, but they told me that they tightly control their distribution. Sites like Amazon tried taking me to different pillows that did not have the same quality. If you're looking for a hotel-style pillow, I would recommend being patient and buying when you see Chamberlain Down in stock.

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.