  
**Preface**: I am 5’11 / 300 lbs. I have used the original purple pillow for over five years. I prefer a soft mattress and sleep on my stomach or side. I am currently staying where the mattress is firm and have had to adjust to sleeping on my back.  
  
I recently moved in with my mom to help her for a few months as she recovered from a major surgery. She was complaining about her pillow and I suggested that she try my purple pillow and we could get her one if she liked it. That’s when I saw that the purple pillow now cost $249 and not the $100-ish that I paid for it in 2019. That’s a wild price for a pillow, so I went looking for knockoffs and other options.  
  
I found a suggestion on a reddit thread that a brand named Berklan made pillows like those from purple. I bought a few off amazon and figured I’d provide some thoughts on them.  
  
  
**Purple Pillow VS Berklan Pillow for Sleeping with Adjustable Booster 100% Elastic Grid Ergonomic Supportive Neck Oversized Pillow for Hot Sleepers**  
  
*TL:DR: The two pillows feel very very different as far as firmness goes and I do not think the berklan is a good substitute for the purple. I did keep this Berklan one to use on occasion as it has a nice enough feel when sleeping on your back.*    
  
The purple pillow is made of the purple grid but has a fabric layer on the bottom that holds the pillow’s shape (see pic) and keeps it from collapsing in on itself. The purple pillow is very heavy and a bit firmer than you might expect. I have been using it for quite some time with one of the risers, and find it comfortable for stomach, side, and back sleeping. It is certainly a non-traditional pillow, but I like the feel of the grid.  
  
The Berklan elastic grid pillow is a much softer elastic grid with very little structural support. When you pick it up it collapses, jelly-like onto itself. You can press down on it much, much easier than the purple. You head sinks much farther into the grid on the Berklan and it does feel like it sort of cradles your head a bit, but only when sleeping on your back. I did not really find it as comfortable for side sleeping as the purple pillow because it has less support and a mushier texture. If you’re the sort of person who likes to kind of burrow into a poile of pillows when reading or watching TV in bed then I think this does have some value when placed atop other pillows.

   
**Purple Harmony Pillow (Medium) vs Berklan Harmony Pillow for Sleeping Supportive Elastic Grid Hex with 100% Soft Talalay Latex Pillow Core Relieves Shoulder and Neck Pain Oversized 27.55 inch**

*TL:DR: I think the Berklan might be a decent pillow for stomach sleepers or small folks. I do not think it is a good substitute for the purple and I returned the Berklan Harmony. I think that the Purple Harmony is pretty comfy, but overpriced.*  
  
I only bought the Purple Harmony for this comparison because I was able to get one at my local TJ Maxx for almost 50% off the list price. I think the purple harmony is a very comfy pillow overall and it works well for side and back sleeping. I can’t speak to whether the small amount of elastic grid on the outside actually makes you sleep any cooler, since it’s still winter, but I think it feels neat. The purple Harmony does have grid on both sides of the pillow and I think it might be a bit thicker than the Berklan. The latex core has a nice bit of spring and resistance and really cradles your head in a nice way.  
  
The Berklan Harmony was only like 60% (see pic) as full as the purple and only has the grid on one side. It felt limp and didn’t really provide much in the way of support. Overall right out of the box I was not a fan of using it for laying on my back or side. But because it wasn’t particularly full feeling, it was comfortable when lying on my stomach.  
  
  
**OTHER PILLOW THOUGHTS**  
  
•Berklan sells pillow cases with the elastic grid, so you could just buy a set of those and see how they feel on a pillow you already have instead of spending purple pillow money. 

•My mom didn’t care for any of these pillows and we ended up getting her the “Xtreme Comforts Standard Bed Pillow” that the wirecutter recommended. It’s a nice shredded memory foam pillow that you can remove foam from to adjust the thickness. If you’re not dead set on one of these newfangled grid pillows, it seems nice.  

Purple Pillows vs Berklan Pillows