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- Supportive
- Ideal for those who prefer a firmer pillow
- Bounce back is astonishingly good
- Less ideal for those who want more give
- Not as “cool” as Origin suggests
Latex, like memory foam, is a manmade viscous material that you can often find in mattresses and bedding. It’s not quite as popular as its NASA-derived counterpart, but it’s often hailed as a cooler alternative thanks to its “open-cell” structure to allow for airflow.
As Origin’s Coolmax pillow’s name suggests, the brand is capitalising on this reputation here. By testing it out during a rather hot and dry UK summer, I’ve been putting it through its paces. It’s a firm and supportive pillow, with a rather striking ability to bounce back into shape. But do its “cooling properties” meet expectations?
What do you get for the money?
The Origin Coolmax will set you back the rather specific price of £98: an investment but not far from the average price as far as bed-in-a-box foam pillows are concerned. The main body of the pillow is a lump of latex that has been infused with Origin’s “cooling gel formula” in order to prevent overheating and to keep your head cool (I digress on this point further down). This is covered in a Tencel cover, which can be removed and machine washed (but not tumble dried) on a cold, gentle cycle.
The pillow arrives vacuum sealed in a box and will require a little time to fully expand before it’s ready to be slept on. It comes with a two-year warranty and, crucially, a 30-night trial that gives you time to sleep on it in the comfort of your home before you commit to parting with that £98.
What do we like about it?
Origin’s Coolmax Latex pillow is very supportive and I would recommend it, first and foremost, to those who prefer a firmer pillow. I found it comfortable while sleeping in a number of positions, but particularly when I was laying on my back.
What I found most striking about the Coolmax was its ‘bounce-back’. I’m referring here to its ability to bounce back to its original shape once it’s been slept on. My first impressions were that the Coolmax achieves this to a rather astonishing degree; the aforementioned lump of latex that makes up the body of the pillow feels very bouncy and I could feel it pushing back against my head whenever I laid on it. So, if your current pillow isn’t offering you the support you need, this might be the perfect remedy. And if you find that it isn’t, you’ve got that 30-night trial to fall back on.
What could be improved?
The buoyant support offered by the Coolmax is a double-edged sword. I found it a little less forgiving while lying on my side and would argue that those that prefer a pillow with a bit more give are better off looking elsewhere. I test all the pillows I review alongside the Otty Deluxe Pure pillow: it looks rather boxy, but when it comes to support and comfort from a memory foam pillow, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Another big claim by Origin, and the titular USP of the Coolmax pillow itself, is its “cooling” properties. Now, if I had £1 every time I was presented with a patented “cooling” material by bed-in-a-box brand marketing, I’d be able to retire. The issue is that I’m not able to say for certain whether these materials genuinely work as they’re advertised, or whether it’s largely marketing jargon. And what I find most frustrating is that brands, in their attempts to out-market each other, inevitably start to peddle some quite nonsensical claims. For instance, one brand (that I won’t name) claimed its bedding would “wick body heat”.
Anyway, does Origin’s cooling gel work? Based on my little rant above, you may have guessed the answer: I don’t know. What I do know is that during a very hot London summer, my head didn’t necessarily feel notably cooler on the Coolmax, especially compared to my trusty Otty Deluxe Pure. However, giving credit where credit is due, I didn’t necessarily feel uncomfortably warm either – at least no more than I normally would when temperatures are in the low 30s and it hasn’t properly rained in weeks. So, while Origin’s (and by extension, most bed-in-a-box brand’s) cooling claims should perhaps be taken with a pinch of salt, the Coolmax is far from a stiflingly hot pillow and offers reasonably decent temperature regulation.
Should I buy the Origin Coolmax Latex pillow?
I have to admit that some of my complaints above are born from frustrations that have been simmering over the four years that I’ve been testing pillows. Discarding these for the time being, the Origin Coolmax is a very decent latex pillow that is best suited to those who prefer to rest their head on something with a firmer support. Don’t expect it to work miracles at cooling your head but, unless you’re among the hottest of sleepers, you’ll probably be comfortable.
At just under £100 it’s pretty expensive, but not unusually so for a pillow from a bed-in-a-box brand. It’s cheaper than all of Simba’s pillows, for instance, and isn’t a great deal more expensive than rivals from the likes of Emma or Otty. But if you are after a foam pillow at a much more palatable price point, consider the Panda Memory Foam Bamboo Pillow at just £45.
