The pea pod is the most interesting shape of body pillow we’ve seen. It appears more ergonomic than the traditional long tube pillow. How does it really work? First, let’s look at it as a product. The first thing we noticed was how heavy it was. At 4.4 pounds, this is no feather pillow. Don’t take that to mean firm filling. It’s soft, squishy, and floppy, just dense, weighty foam. Second thing we noticed was how flat it was when it flopped out of the packaging. It wasn’t vacuum packed, per se, just tightly rolled in a sack. We knew it needed to grow a bit. There were no instructions, but we went ahead and fluffed it in the dryer while we washed the cover. That perked the peas up, but even a day later, at about 4” thick, it’s still kind of a flat looking pillow, not round and fluffy as the images appear. Size-wise, it’s about 10” wide and the straightest length is about 37” (upon arrival) to 40” (after fluffing). Rounding the tape measure around the bent end, it’s about 49” total. We’re trying to give you an idea, because the images make it look larger next to a person, but we’ll get to that in the comfort section. Material-wise, the construction looks good. The inner pillow is pre-formed foam covered in a light spandex. The gray cover is soft velour that does feel nice to lie on. It unzips to take off and on easily. The snaps are a fun touch to hold it together if you deem to use it rolled up. Which brings us to use and comfort. Yes, it’s squishy, yet supportive. Yes, the pods and bent shape are ergonomic. However, the images must be either a petite person or bad Photoshop, because at average height, we can’t lie on it in the same manner. If the bend is under the knees, the top is mid-chest at best, not to the pillow as shown. If we turn it around and use the bend as a pillow (pretty comfy here) then the bottom reaches just past the hips with nowhere to prop a knee. Either way, it’s very skinny to lie next to and the pods won’t be in the right spot for everyone. And the weight makes it feel like we’re dragging it from position to position rather than simply stuffing a bed pillow into a new spot. All in all, we’d judge its use in bed as user preference. Yes, there are many ways to attempt to get comfortable with it. Each person will have a different experience. The pillow’s versatility is in a chair or on the couch. It can be wraparound lumbar support in an office chair. It can be lumbar or vertical back support on the couch. Really, it can be a floppy cushion wherever you want to put it. While it’s not perfect, we’re giving the pea pod pillow a 5 because it does appear to be a quality product for now (you never can tell long term) and it is very comfortable in the right situation. Maybe sleeping with it is not ideal for us, but we can see how others may find it suitable. We’re going to lump the big pod over the shoulder and try it in chair to chair until we find the perfect spot. (Sorry if the formatting doesn’t recognize our paragraphs.)
