Choosing a pillow is a very personal and often confusing decision to make. I encourage you to shop around and look at other buckwheat pillow sites because compared to the cheap pillows from the giant discount department store (and I have quite a stack of those pillows!), buckwheat pillows are more expensive and yet our pillows are less expensive than the fancy foam ones at national sleep stores. Here's what to look for, and what makes Kuseno Buckwheat Hull Pillows such a great deal:
Fabric: Kuseno Buckwheat Hull Pillows are made with 100% cotton fabric, not a cotton/polyester blend. Cotton breathes better and keeps the pillow temperature regulated.
Buckwheat Hulls: In order to import buckwheat hulls from overseas (much cheaper to purchase wholesale), they must be heat treated (roasted) or chemically treated to kill off any bugs. There probably aren't any bugs, but it's a government requirement that covers a lot of products and no exception is made for buckwheat hulls. Kuseno uses buckwheat hulls that are grown in Canada by Canadian farmers and processed at a Canadian mill. They are dried naturally, not roasted, so they won't break down as quick and they are thoroughly sifted and vacuumed to remove any dust from the milling process.
Rolled Hulls: Mulch-grade hulls are lower quality because they are mostly broken during the dehulling process. You will see these advertised by some sellers as being "rolled" as if it's a good thing. Kuseno Buckwheat Hull Pillows are filled with fluffy pillow-grade hulls. Most of the hulls have two or three sides attached, giving more springiness to the pillow and they will hold their form better.
Weight: How much fill do they use? Use my chart on the page, Are they all the same size?, to compare pillow fill (by weight) to how thick it ends up being. All too often I see pillows offered with no choice of how much fill you want. Upon closer inspection, I see that their pillow has less fill than a Kuseno Buckwheat Hull Pillow, for a higher price! If you want more fill, they sell it in bulk but it's even more expensive. At Kuseno, you can choose how many pounds of buckwheat hulls to include with your pillow and you pillow is filled to order. Our buckwheat hulls are the same price per pound whether it's inside a pillow or not. You can buy a pillow with 6 pounds inside the pillow, then buy 1 pound on the side already in a bag so you don't have to empty it out of the pillow yourself, and the price is the same as buying a pillow with 7 pounds.
Adjustable: Some buckwheat hull pillows can't be adjusted. We did extensive research on pillow fill amounts and 90% of our customers love their pillow exactly as it comes. We sew a zipper into the end of all of our buckwheat hull pillows (even the neck roll) just so that other 10% can adjust the fill amount as needed. It also makes it easier to wash the pillow fabric - just empty the hulls out into some paper bags or your pillow case, wash and dry the cotton case, and fill it back up when you're done. Easy!
Sizes: Comparing sizes can be difficult, especially since some places carry really weird sizes. Kuseno Buckwheat Hull Pillows come in 4 sizes, from the Standard Japanese pillow size to the Standard North American pillow size. Each size is 2 inches wider and 2 inches longer than the previous size, so it's easy to picture what size you're ordering.
Return Policy: If you don't like the pillow, or if you ordered the wrong size, what is their return policy? Kuseno Buckwheat Hull Pillows come with a satisfaction guarantee. If you're not happy, contact us so we can make it right. That might be an exchange or a return. You have more than a month to sleep on it (6 weeks from the date of purchase). Shipping costs are not covered by the return policy unless we made a mistake and shipped the wrong size to you. See our Return Policy for more details.
Warranty: Kuseno Buckwheat Hull Pillows come with a 1 year limited warranty. If the fabric tears, zipper breaks or seam splits, through normal use, you're covered! What's not covered? Shipping and the hulls, so be sure to collect any loose hulls and put them somewhere safe. See our Warranty for more details.