Lightest Inflatable Pillow.
yup. you guessed it. what's the lightest inflatable pillow?
I think one of the cottage sellers has something about the size of the pillows they give you on airplanes.
But from a major manufacturer, the Yellow ExPed UL pillow seems to be the lightest. 1.6oz for the size medium.
But for side sleepers, I would suggest the size large at 1.9oz for the thickness.
The lightest wt and cheapest inflatable pillow is a grocery store produce bag and a few puffs of your breath. I recognize little need for a separate dedicated inflatable pillow spending $$ on something many can do without by employing a similar piece of gear not specifically labeled as a inflatable pillow but functioning much the same way. You could get an inflatable pillow with an inflated stuff sack such as what one might use for a sleeping bag stuff sack as well - double duty, cheap, functional, etc.
take a look at the Flex Air pillow.
About 1/2 oz
http://www.ultralightdesigns.com/pro...AirPillow.html
Yea, that's the one I was referencing (besides the Exped) but couldn't remember where I had seen them.Originally Posted by Franco
0.9 oz for the Flex Air
http://www.antigravitygear.com/shop/...alight-pillow/
I got mine from Colonial Medical. They are sold as disposable hospital pillows. You can buy several for the same shipping cost, which cuts your per-item cost a lot. They may also be the cheapest pillow, if you don't count putting all of your spare clothes in a plastic grocery bag.
http://www.colonialmedical.com/flexa...ow-P-2451.html
I made a fleece pillow case for mine, which makes it not so UL.
I think most inflatable pillows suffer from the problem that it feels like you are sleeping on a balloon.
I've been there as an ULer wearing all my clothing as part of my sleep system just as Ultralight Designs says in their ad. That's when I've used my 1.3 oz 2 L Cascade Designs Water Bottle with some H20 in it over my shoes. You've heard of the sound sleep and adjustability in firmness many achieve when sleeping on a water bed now try a water pillow. http://www.cascadedesigns.com/platyp...bottle/product A little care is in order, as it is with all UL gear, but NEVER had an issue in the many times I've gone that pillow route. Again, double duty and saving do re mi and STILL getting those zzzzs I desire. About $12 and folding up to the size of about two match books when empty. I've NEVER experienced a leakage or bursting issue with this when employing as a pillow but if concerned about that one could opt for the heavier duty heavier gauge polyethylene 2 L Hoser w/ a side spout instead(3.6 oz with the hose and hose cap). http://www.cascadedesigns.com/platyp.../hoser/product Remove the hose and specialized hose cap and replace with the cap that comes with 2 L Platy Bottle taking you down to a sub 3 oz system. Cascade Designs sells these caps separately if you already have only a Hoser system with the hose and hose cap.
2 L
I have tried a bunch of pillows
Generally, i think anything but a real pillow sucks
So its just not worthwhile to carry any of the poor replacements
So i dont.
There is a reason you dont use inflatable pillow at home. The flexair is horrible. There used to be a 2 section flexair that could cradle head, but they quit making it. These pillows are used to prop pateints limbs in position, not under head. I have experimented stuffing flexair pillows with other materials besides air, but its still just too much trouble, not to mention bulk.
Shoe tips under head of inflatable sleeping pad, spaced a few inches apart to cradle head, works and weighs nothing. Supplement with whatever unused clothing available works as good for me as anything.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 06-18-2015 at 02:32.
I made my fleece pillow case narrower in the middle than the ends to it tends to flatten out the Flex Air. It is also made from a stretchy fleece and slightly smaller in diameter than the pillow so it stretches out the pillow case before it's fully inflated. Under-inflating is key so your head doesn't roll off. I agree it isn't the best but it's cheap and light. I'm thinking of trying one of those travel pillows filled with polystyrene foam beads. Light, but not at all compressible. May fill half the pack. My first plan was to use the spare clothes in a bag trick, but as I am mostly doing summer hikes for the foreseeable future, I don't have enough spare clothes to make a decent pillow.
Medium Exped Air Pillow. The red one with two valves. A two way inflation valve. Perfect for fine tuning the amount of air for a perfect night's sleep. The second valve is the deflation valve. Open and it dumps the air quickly. slightly more durable fabric and 5 year guarantee. The yellow UL pillow does NOT have the two way valve, less durable fabric & only 2 year guarantee.
Less than 3 ounces in the stuff sack. I think that an ounce or two extra for a great pillow and good sleep is a small price to pay.
http://www.exped.com/usa/en/air-pillow-m
YMMV.
Wayne
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I've tried several of the inflatable pillows out there, but as noted they feel like you're sleeping on a balloon. The few times I've carried a 4L water carrier (when I've hiked with others on drier stretches), I've half-filled the bladder with air and wrapped in my fleece, which was pretty comfy. For solo hiking, I keep coming back to the kid's water wings tip that I learned here 10 years ago: Buy a pair of kid's water wings (mine have little seahorses on them), cut one of them in half and now you have a 2-chamber compartment that cradles your head for a 1.0 oz weight penalty (give the second arm to your hiking buddy). I still put the wing in a CF stuffsack along with extra clothes and wrap in my fleece.
GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014
I use this pillow and I like it because of the weight. It does lose some air overnight. use a straw to blow up and deflate
I have been through several pillows, and I'll agree with whoever said they all pretty much suck. Water wings are pretty light and have have a lot of bang for the buck. My red Exped is nice, but it is not 10 times nicer that a water wing stuffed into a jacket.
Having suggested the Flex Air ( I do have a couple of the two chamber type...) and after having tried a lot of pillows I eventually realised that w3hat I did not like was the plastic against face feel of most of them.
So I had a pillow case made out of a well used silk liner and I just stuff my spare clothes in it.
I have it inside the sleeping bag so it needs to be on the small side.
Some of my collection :
Pillows.jpg
Klymit makes an foldable inflatable pillow called the Cush, and it weighs 2.9 oz. I love it.
Ive stuffed flexair shells with styrofoam beads, and ironed back together for a pillow that weighs 0.75-1.2 oz depending on size.
It molds to head and is pretty comfy. It is extremely warm in winter, i can feel the heat from the insulative nature of the polystyrene beads.
Just too bulky for me.
+1 for the water wings. Took your advice a few years ago and love my water wings pillow. My green ones have dump trucks and fire trucks on them!
I use part of a pool float and its amazing. It's huge, packs down tiny, and weighs 2 oz. To combat the balloon feeling, I only inflate it about half way and wrap an item of clothing around it to avoid feeling sticky. If it is not too cold I stuff it inside my puff jacket for even more padding. Has not failed yet.
I, too, am a fan of the Medium Exped Pillow. I came over from Cocoon's lightest inflatable pillow. It is my luxury item, but a good night's sleep is so important.
I'm slowly, slowly, slowly converting to being a UL hiker - I started out as a camper who grudgingly walked in order to get to a camp site, so my evolution has been very, very slow - and am slowly hiking with only the clothes I need. I have less and less clothing to spare. Also, I sleep cold.
That said, back when I packed pajamas and more than enough spare insulation, I would stuff a fleece into its sleeve (thanks to a tip I got here) for a pillow. Worked surprisingly well.
How long do the Flex Aires last?
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