Cocoon Ultralight and the Exped Air Pillow

[STICK]

So, a while back I bought the Exped Air Pillow as a way to cut back on my weight and packed space from my large and heavy Kelty camp pillows. And I have been happy with it.

However, like any other piece of gear, there is another one that would be fun to try too.... so I picked up the Cocoon Ultralight Air-Core Pillow before my last trip since it seemed to offer the same as the Exped, but in the traditional rectangular pillow style.

They are both nice, and in the end, I cannot say that I like one better than the other. I am stoked to have them both. I did a little side to side comparison of the two and posted it on my blog, along with a way to hold my pillow in place (which can be the biggest problem with pillows for me).

If you are interested check it out here:

http://stick13.wordpress.com/2010/10/23/cocoon-ultralight-air-core-vs-exped-air-pillow/

[bigcheese]

If you're cold weather camping, I would leave out the pillow and use your jacket, pants and what ever else you're not sleeping in and put it in your sleeping bag stuff sack and put it under the shirt, "there's your pillow". I sleep the same way and I've been doing something similar for over 10yrs. and it works for me. Hope this this helps.

[STICK]

I have found that I want a pillow. I am much more comfortable with one, and I simply sleep better with one. And either of these pillows weigh very little, so weight is not really a concern with them. Of course with some the 3 oz is simply too much, but for me it is more than welcome in my pack.

[burntoutphilosopher]

hey thanks for posting the review, loved reading it.

i do hate sleeping on my dirt whatevers as a makeshift pillow. 3 ounces doesn't seem unreasonable either. but does it really work as well as a pillow?

[johnnybgood]

Well I took advantage of the 20% off sale at REI a few weeks ago and bought a Cocoon UL pillow thinking this might be pretty awesome to sleep on.
After trying several nights ,I came to the conclusion that an air core pillow isn't for me .
I'll exchange for future credit ,... :-? maybe a stove or cook set.

[burntoutphilosopher]

if you use a BUFF instead of a bandana, i have found a fleece inside a merino wool buff provides a wonderful pillow substitute. hardly lightweight though. but if you have a fleece anyway might be worth considering.

[STICK]

burntoutphilosopher, in my opinion, they both work just as well as a pillow. My problem with any pillow, whether made up of left over clothes or an actual pillow, is trying to keep them in place at night when I am trying to sleep. On my last trip I tried something new. I used my R1 and dressed the top of my NeoAir and then shoved the pillow inside the R1. The pillow could not squirt out the top of the R1 and I was laying on the bottom of the R1 so the pillow stayed in place all night. It worked great. Of course this could work with clothes as well.

For me however, I like the feel of a pillow under my head, and these pillows both do a great job for me. My older Kelty camp pillow did a fine job too but it was much heavier and packed much bigger than either of these options. The Kelty pillow was a real pillow too, just imagine cutting the end off of a pillow at home so that it would simply be smaller and you are imagining the Kelty Camp Pillow.

Of course, pillows aren't for everyone cause some would rather use what they already have. That's cool. And then obviously some don't like certain types of pillows, such as air-filled pillows. That's cool too. The point is find what works for you and go with it. Not everything works for everyone. For me both of these pillows fill a void at what I consider a great trade off in terms of weight and pack size.

Hey thanks for the tip on using the buff as a make shift pillow too. I have just started using buffs and I like mine. However, in colder weather I would be wearing it as a buff so that I didn't shove my head inside my bag and fill it full of condensation, so this may not always work. But great tip. Thanks.