Backcountry Pillow

[Gray Bear]

I'm in the market for a backcountry pillow. Ive done the balled up clothing thing and that's fine when I'm in gram weenie mode but I'm looking for a comfortable pillow for those short weekend trips where a few more ounces aren't a big deal. I've tried the 2.5 gallon ziplock bag deal and its ok but it's like resting your head on a balloon. Has anyone found a pillow with good support for a active side sleeper? I'm not looking to invest $100+ into a pillow, I'd just like to avoid trying 5-6 to find the "right one". I know everyone has different tastes in a pillow. I myself prefer a firmer one with good support. any recommendations?

[pauly_j]

I'm a side sleeper but I also sleep with my arm under the pillow so that makes a big difference.

I use this Thermarest fleece-lined stuff sack:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po1ENENBu14

It's really good, affordable (I picked it up for 10 of our English pounds) and has dual purpose. Keeps your spare clothes pretty dry (one side is sil cordura) and is pretty comfy.

The only downside of it for me is that it's kind of audibly crinkly if you're moving. Especially as your ear is right on it.

[HDLV]

I'm an active side sleeper as well and these work great for me on the ground or when hanging. The trick is to only fill them about half way.

http://www.antigravitygear.com/shop/sleep-systems/flex-air-ultralight-pillow/

Best part is that not only is it cheap but it should still satisfy your inner gram weenie. :D

[billnchristy]

I bought these for the family, but they haven't shipped yet. The price was right and the weight was right. They are small, but that seemed like a better solution for hammocks.

http://www.arrowhead-equipment.com/store/p444/Cub_Pillow.html

I'll report back, but I'm sure you will have picked one by then.

[bigcranky]

My wife got one of the Coccoon pillows last year, and it made a big difference.

I always did the stuff sack thing, at it was fine but the plastic stuff sack against my face was never comfortable. So this year I got a Zpacks cuben roll top stuff sack with a microfleece panel on the inside - flip it inside out, put my jacket or other unused clothing inside, and it works.

[daddytwosticks]

I use modified children's water wings. Got the idea from a poster here on Whiteblaze. The wings go into my sleeping bag stuff sack along with a few clothing items. I'm a side and back sleeper and this system works for me. Just plain clothes in the stuff sack never gave me enough support or elevation. The water wings do the trick. Very lightweight and cheap. :)

[Venchka]

Exped Air Pillow in red. My large size weighs 3 ounces in it's stuff sack. I am now a very happy side sleeper. The two way inflation valve makes it very easy to adjust air pressure with my head on the pillow. It takes very little air to get my head at the right elevation. After many nights on the large, I think the medium would have been adequate. The pillow in the photo is wildly over inflated for marketing purposes. Also, the surface is a nice brushed fabric which is very comfortable against my face. Not at all plastic feeling or hot.

30905
Wayne

[Rocket Jones]

Exped Air Pillow in red. My large size weighs 3 ounces in it's stuff sack. I am now a very happy side sleeper. The two way inflation valve makes it very easy to adjust air pressure with my head on the pillow. It takes very little air to get my head at the right elevation. After many nights on the large, I think the medium would have been adequate. The pillow in the photo is wildly over inflated for marketing purposes. Also, the surface is a nice brushed fabric which is very comfortable against my face. Not at all plastic feeling or hot.

30905
Wayne

+1 on this pillow, with one more addition. I take a small piece of 2" foam and stack them (foam underneath) for a little extra height. Perfect for me, they don't slip and slide at night (I had thought I might need a pillowcase/stuff sack but don't). The foam is cut smaller than the pillow, weighs almost nothing extra and crushes down for packing. Another nice thing is that the pillow itself packs down extremely small.

[Odd Man Out]

I'm an active side sleeper as well and these work great for me on the ground or when hanging. The trick is to only fill them about half way. ?
http://www.antigravitygear.com/shop/sleep-systems/flex-air-ultralight-pillow/

Best part is that not only is it cheap but it should still satisfy your inner gram weenie. :D

I've used this one too. It's actually made as a disposable hospital pillow and I got some from a medical supply company for less than a dollar each. It still has some of that sleeping on a balloon feeling but you have to underinflate. Also I got a scrap of stretchy soft fleece from the fabric store and made a cover for it.

[Venchka]

+1 on this pillow, with one more addition. I take a small piece of 2" foam and stack them (foam underneath) for a little extra height. Perfect for me, they don't slip and slide at night (I had thought I might need a pillowcase/stuff sack but don't). The foam is cut smaller than the pillow, weighs almost nothing extra and crushes down for packing. Another nice thing is that the pillow itself packs down extremely small.

Good minds think alike. I put my sit pad under my Exped pillow. It puts the pillow at the right height with less air so the pillow molds to my head.

Wayne

[Just Tom]

I have the O-zone sleeping pad and I *love* the pillow that is integrated. Klymit sells them stand-alone:

http://www.klymit.com/index.php/products-1/pillows-and-chairs/pillow-x.html

The X in the center lets your head stay comfortably in the middle, which inflatables always give people grief with.

Just under 2 ounce too.

[ocasey3]

I bought this pillow for a trip to England later this year and decided to try it for camping. I put my rain jacket in the center and used my shirt as a pillow case. It worked surprisingly well, and I liked the way it cradled my head. I have not had much luck with other inflatables or stuff sacks. My head really needs a cushy place to rest. Not too bad for a few dollars and a couple of ounces.
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/frontier-inflatable-neck-rest-travel-pillow~p~4878k/?filterString=s~neck-pillow%2F&colorFamily=01

[Odd Man Out]

I've used this one too. It's actually made as a disposable hospital pillow and I got some from a medical supply company for less than a dollar each. It still has some of that sleeping on a balloon feeling but you have to underinflate. Also I got a scrap of stretchy soft fleece from the fabric store and made a cover for it.

Another thing about the fleece cover. I made it slightly narrower in the middle than the ends. So when you inflate the pillow inside of it, it forces some of the air to the edge, making the pillow a bit flatter. And because it stretches, you sink in a bit and it minimizes the balloon like effect. Still not perfect, but it was cheap and ultra light.

[Vegan Packer]

For sleeping comfort, I decided that I would worry less about weight than how I feel when I wake up in the morning. I like to move around and change positions, and I don't want to dangle off of the edge of my mattress, so I got a full sized mattress.

For the pillow, I decided to get something that resembles the real thing. I haven't used this on the trail yet, but I did try it at home, and it is super comfortable, and just the right thickness. Works well on my back or with my arm under it when I am on my side. It does pack larger than inflatables, but it feels like a real pillow, because it is a real pillow. It crushes down well inside the pack (and comes back to full thickness pretty quickly), though it will never pack completely flat like the inflatables. I got the small size, and it is plenty large enough not to feel like I am missing out on comfort. http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/pillows/compressible-pillow/product

[Venchka]

I tried that pillow and everything else that REI had on hand. They all squashed flat under the weight of my head. So I ordered the Exped pillow and Xtherm pad during a 30% off sale at REI. I couldn't be happier.

Wayne


Sent from somewhere around here.

[bshow]

I like the Cocoon, with a fleece material on one side. Don't over inflate..

[Just Bill]

I use a 3L platy- blown up about halfway.
Which works well as I already carry it.

If it's feeling a little low I put my shoes- toe end towards toes- under my pad for a little more height.
You don't smell them through a thermarest btw- making this trick much more useful these days than it used to be. :)

[MuddyWaters]

Shoe tips go under head at end of pad to incline and cradle head. Whatever clothing i have is the pillow in my my mesh clothing sack.

[Just Bill]

You like tips up with a Neo-Air?
With the thin foamy maybe...

Talking tennis shoes A course.

or you going with the Old tip to tip trick?

[Harrison Bergeron]

One my recent GA-NC section hike, I was desperate for a decent pillow by the time I got to Neels Gap. The only thing they had was a Big Agnes inflatable pillow for $40. It was worthless -- worse than my clothing bag. It was too thin for side sleeping and so slippery it wouldn't stay put anyway. When my son-in-law joined me at Franklin and complained about his clothing bag as a pillow I gave him the Big Agnes, since he's a back sleeper. He gave it back three days later, it didn't work for a back sleeper either.

In the meantime, I'd found something that worked at 3-Eagles in Franklin -- a Thermorest pillowcase to go over my clothing bag, for $15. It didn't fix the lumpiness but it solved the slimy feel of silnylon. I guess that must have been the main problem because after that I slept fine. Another thing I did was to add a plastic bag for dirty clothes, which allowed me to add my hiking pants and shirt as stuffing, which helped the lumpiness.

[oldwetherman]

I've tried many different pillows. Here's my favorite.http://bigskyproducts.com/Big-Sky-DreamSleeper-Deluxe-inflatable-pillow.aspx. I'd suggest getting it with the pillowcase too.

[ChrisJackson]

I like the sea to summit aeros pillow. So far so good. http://www.seatosummit.com/product/?item=Aeros+Pillow+Premium&o1=0&o2=0&o3=572-40

[Pewkles]

I'm with you on the Aeros. Three puffs and done. Good night's sleep for a side sleeper. No noise and compresses to a very minimal size.

[Del Q]

Honestly, I requisitioned an airplane blanket and had it sewn into a pillow case. Bought a rubberized twist-tie at Home Depot.

At night I fill a stuff sac with X amount of clothes, put the pillow case around it and secure with the twist-tie, done.

Super light, cheap, cozy, head does not slide off of the CF or nylon stuff sack. Has worked great for me!

[Emerson Bigills]

Cocoon works for me also. Did the clothes in the stuff sack for a few years, then tried the real thing. I will never go back.

[lynn523]

Don't discount the kids water wings idea that Daddytwosticks suggested. I'm a side sleeper that tosses and turns all night and found they work great in a stuff sack with some clothes. I've since switched over to a partially inflated kids swim ring folded over on itself and crammed into a stuff sack. (Part hangs out but that's ok.). Doubling it over means it doesn't need to be inflated much and the center forms a perfect cradle. You can pick the the swim ring or the water wings up for almost nothing at a dollar store or dollar general, so you're not out much if you don't like it. I've been sticking the "pillow" in a shirt, but I like the small fleece case idea.

[Namtrag]

Klymit kush works for me....one big puff and its inflated. You can fold it twice so as to make it thicker, or once for a little less thickness, or just leave it as one layer

[Walkintom]

I roll every 15 minutes. All night long. No matter where I'm sleeping. So I get pillow annoyance easily.

This is what I use: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=lewis+and+clark+inflatable+neck+pillow&tbm=shop&spd=3256670174438152572

The big valve makes for fast and easy inflation and deflation. The cover material is comfy on the skin at all temperatures. The shape allows me to position my head comfortably when lying on side, back or belly.

It ain't ultra light by any means but it's worth it to me to carry.