If massaging pillows aren’t you’re thing, the new Martiangear Extra Comfort Pillows for your neck, lumbar, and foot may be what you need to take your comfort to the next level. These comfort pillows start from S$48 and it specially designed to offer more support for key areas of your body when sitting for extended periods of time.
Extra Comfort Pillows
There a total of four pillows – two designs for lumbar support, one for neck, and one for your foot. They are as follows:
- Extra Comfort Lumbar Support Pillow – C Curve (S$68)
- Extra Comfort Lumbar Support Pillow – S Curve (S$68)
- Extra Comfort Neck Support Pillow (S$48)
- Extra Comfort Foot Support Pillow (S$48)
Build quality and design
All the Martiangear Extra Comfort Pillows have a smooth to the touch black velvet fabric which feels really comfortable on bare skin. This is especially nice on the neck and foot pillows because most of the time your bare skin will make contact with the pillows. The density of the memory foam used in all the pillows are soft and plush, but still retain some density for support. If I were to compare these to the APOL premium pillows, the Martiangear one have softer cushioning and smoother fabric.
The stitching on the pillows are okay, some thin and loose threads observed but to be honest it doesn’t really bother me. Personally, I think having black thread stitchings will give off a more premium and stealth look.
Comfort and usage
I tested all the pillows with my Supernova chair. Do keep in mind the experience will likely differ on different Martiangear chairs due to their differing designs.
Lumbar Support Pillow – C Curve
The Lumbar Support Pillow – C Curve is designed to provide support to your lower back. The pillow is designed with the bulk on the contours in the middle, so when I sit flushed against the Lumbar Support Pillow – C Curve, my mid-lower back wraps nicely along the contours.
The Supernova chair already offers good support for my lower back, but that being said it is the lowest end of my lower back. When using the Lumbar Support Pillow – C Curve with my Supernova chair, the support point moves towards my mid-lower back. Because the Supernova chair has a slightly contoured backrest to begin with, adding the Lumbar Support Pillow – C Curve may provide too aggressive of a lower back support. But that isn’t a bad thing as different sitting postures need different types of support. When gaming, I usually sit forward so the aggressive lower back support is something I like. But when I’m relaxed and typing away, then I may not need that much lower back support as I’ll be leaning back against the backrest.
I believe the Lumbar Support Pillow – C Curve would likely work the best with the Interstellar chair as it has the most flat backrest amongst all the Martiangear chairs. It is also worth noting that the there is an adjustable strap at the back, which can come in useful if you want to lock in the pillow at specific position of your chair.
Lumbar Support Pillow – S Curve
The Lumbar Support Pillow – S Curve is larger than its C Curve counterpart, and is designed similarly the APOL premium lumbar pillow. The main difference between the C curve and the S curve pillow is that the Lumbar Support Pillow – S Curve is meant to offer support for both your lower and upper back.
The design of pillow contour of the Lumbar Support Pillow – S Curve is also different from the C curve pillow. Notice that the Lumbar Support Pillow – S Curve has two round bulb-looking protrusions at the side which hugs your lower back as you lean back. This offers a gentle lower back support and is less aggressive compared to the C curve pillow. Also as the Lumbar Support Pillow – S Curve is a long cushion, you get a nice tapered support all the way up to your upper back.
If you tend to lean back against the chair when working, then Lumbar Support Pillow – S Curve would be the pillow that most well suited for your sitting posture. Even with the slightly contoured backrest on my Supernova chair, I found that this pillow is still a good complement, and would generally fit all Martiangear chairs well.
Neck Support Pillow
The Neck Support Pillow has a really unique design which I have not seen in any neck pillows. From the side it kind of looks like a tooth – pointy ends with round contoured sides. This unique tooth-like design provides very good support for my neck.
With regular nugget-shaped neck pillows, the support your neck gets is usually right at the middle. But because of how the Martiangear Extra Comfort Neck Support Pillow is shaped, the neck support you receive is from the top of your neck all the way to the trapezius muscle area. The contours does a good job in supporting the main bulk of my neck, while the pointy ends offers a comfortable resting point for my trapezius. I also really like the density of the cushioning as well. The softness and firmness is a good mix – it allows me to rest my neck against it without feeling like my neck is being pushed out.
The Extra Comfort Neck Support Pillow is almost perfect except for the adjustable elastic straps. The adjustable straps will likely have no issues with the Astronaut chair as there are gaps to loop the straps through. For chairs like my Supernova or the Interstellar, even with the straps at its maximum length, I have to use some strength to force close the clips. My only worry is the longevity of those straps with the pillow.
Foot Support Pillow
The Foot Support Pillow has a premium and smooth velvet material which feels great to the touch. The base of the footrest has anti-slip surface to prevent it from moving about easily. Comparing this to the APOL premium footrest, the Martiangear Foot Support Pillow is smaller and shorter, and also has a much softer cushioning.
After a few weeks of using the Martiangear Foot Support Pillow, I have slowly developed a liking towards having a softer surface for my feet to rest on. The experience of resting your feet on the Martiangear Foot Support Pillow is something like putting your feet on cushions – your feet somehow feels more relaxed. I’m not too sure how to describe that relaxed feel, but I do know I like it.
It would have been great if the Martiangear Foot Support Pillow was just a little bigger in terms of its breadth, but I think it should fit all feet size well enough.
Conclusion
Having these Extra Comfort pillows is bound to upgrade your sitting experience on your Martiangear chairs. If you find support lacking in any area, I believe these pillows do come in to close that gap. Deciding on which lumbar pillow really boils down to what kind of lower back support you seek and your sitting posture. The Extra Comfort Neck Support Pillow offer great support for your whole neck. The Lumbar Support Pillow – C Curve offers more support for your lower back while the Lumbar Support Pillow – S Curve offers a more well rounded option. And if you’ve never tried using a footrest before, the Extra Comfort Foot Support Pillow at S$48 is a good place to start.