New pillows on the market, comfort, weight, soft? Marmot

i'm a fan of my Exped pillow slightly deflated from full. i put the shirt i'm not wearing to bed over it for a cover. added 1 stretch cord for around my pad.

like packs and shoes everyone is going to have preferences on this. depends how much you need/want and what feels the best.

For me, the insulation and fleece cover aren't necessary (I don't do winter camping). But the Strato looks interesting – 1.48 oz, and I like the attachment loops on the side (though I have nothing to attach it to directly on my pad anyway).

The Marmot strato was one i was considering too! I would need to make a DIY fleece / cuben cover for it though. I dont ever have any extra clothing to wrap around, and even if I did nothing works as good as a dedicated pillow cover.

I found that my puffy jacket, with or without the addition of my hiking shirt and pants, stuffed into the stuff sack for my sleeping bag worked just fine.

No need for an extra item.

If you are one who REALY likes their pillow this may not work for you, but here I subscribe to "dual-use"

When going UL, I still require something fairly comfy to sit on and take a TAR Lite Seat (3 oz). At night I slightly deflate it and slip it into a DIY pillowcase made from an old (and very thin) sheet (.2 oz). This also works with a Zseat (2oz), but not as well for a pillow.

>>I found that my puffy jacket, with or without the addition of my hiking shirt and pants, stuffed into the stuff sack for my sleeping bag worked just fine.

That works very well too, but when going UL I generally wear my puffy as an addition to my UL quilt.

It's all about tradeoffs, but I can't justify a single use pillow.

All about personal preferences and needs right John H. I don't sit down during the day or need anything at camp so having 2oz in my bag is no big deal when i pass out like a rock.

i do agree with not having extra clothes to stuff in a stuff sack. I will have to think about the fleece cover though.

At about $50 this pillow is expensive, but will be worth it if it's really comfy. My ground pad and sleep quilt is very minimal and not that warm / comfy. So this pillow I feel like may be the key to sleeping better.
It has synthetic insulation, holes for straps, and a fleece cover that I could put clothing inside if I wanted to make it larger.

I feel like I could get a lighter pillow, but it wouldnt have all these features!

I think the second best idea I have vs. buying this pillow is:

Buy a really light inflatable pillow such as the Exped UL pillow, Klymit x pillow, Marmot strato etc. and have Zpacks make a cuben / fleece pillow case for it. I would also have them sew 4 tie outs to the case so I can strap it down if needed. The pillow dry bag from zpacks weighs 2 ounces though! So I wont really be saving much weight, but it would be more money. Thoughts?

I'm of the same opinion of you went it comes to a pillow. Single use or not, it really helps me to sleep better, and that is no exagerration. My wife and I bought these:

2.8oz with a very plush exterior. It doesn't have straps or loops to tie it down, but I'll probably velcro it if needed for a lot less weight than straps or shock cord. I deflate mine to about 3/4 full and it's great.

My medium exped UL pillow comes in at 1.6oz and my Goosefeet down pillow case is 1.6 oz as well.

Pillow and a goods nights rest have gotten much more important as I've gotten older. If I had to do it over I'd go with my GF's Large Exped and the large Goosefeet pillowcase for an ounce more. Hers is luxurious..

Age + good night's sleep seem to be a common thread…I end up carrying *two* UL pillows (one Sea To Summit for my head, one Exped for my knees) because without the padding between my knees my back ends up screaming at me in the morning.

I justify the extra weight by leaving the hair shirt behind.

I just had an opportunity to use my Aeros pillow for the first time on Friday night. It was the best purchase I've made in a long time. The pillow is nice and soft, it doesn't get sticky or sweaty, it's super quiet, doesn't make any noise when you adjust. At 2.8 ounces it isn't the lightest pillow. Also as a side sleeper the height is perfect.

It doesn't have any way to secure it to your pad like the marmot so that is a drawback, I didn't experience this problem as I use a sleeping bag rather than a quilt and the pillow fits perfectly in the bag's hood.

It too is a bit spendy though with REI's 20% off it took some of the sting out of it. Still, super glad I have it.

For those suggesting using extra clothing, I've used that technique for years, but I always found myself at a crossroads when packing. I would look at extra clothes – fleeces, puffys, etc. and think it's not going to be cold enough to bring those things, but then I won't have a pillow. I think my pillow is actually saving weight as I'm not bringing clothing that wouldn't get used for anything except pillow stuffing.

Edited to remove a false comparison to Marmot's pillow, didn't notice there were two different models mentioned in the previous comments.

I love my Klymit X, I'm a side and stomach sleeper and the X shape really works great as an ear pocket.

New Marmot Strato sucks. I have it and will be returning it asap. Really pushed on the neck. Don't waste your money.

Lightest and by far the most comfortable pillow concoction I like so far is the following:

– Large Monkey pillow (from Etsy.com) – Pertex Quantum and fleece top with two bungies
– Exped UL Large quite deflated with silcoat strips on bottom to prevent sliding
– Ear plugs

Stuff the Monkey pillow with a down jacket (MB Exlight) or down/synthetic pants. Put it on top of Exped UL and wrap the bungies around the whole thing. I sewed in two velcro strips into the monkey pillow to keep the stuffed cloth inside. What happens is the Exped UL adapts nicely around your neck on the bottom and provides some elevation and the Monkey Pillow adds the real pillow feel, height and comfort. When the down collapses a bit overnight, you still have just as much height left because of the Exped UL below.

4.1oz total and best sleep so far.

I went a bit crazy for good sleep and literally tried all pillows available so far:

Goosefeet Gear – 4oz of down and chamois fleece on top stuffed with down jacket and pants (2nd favorite combo)
Sea to Summit – UL and UL Comfort pillows (nice but because air filled, they don't flex enough. Comfy, but not uber comfy)
Klymit – xpillow and cush seat (meh, good idea but doesn't work in practice)
Exped all new 2015 line and older – down, synthetic and pillow covers (The new Down Pillow is prob my 3rd favorite, REM pillow is just ok, gives a bit of a headache after)
Thermarest – All synthetic pillows and pillow covers (too big and bulky)
Nemo Fillo – heavy, big and bulky, not wide enough
BPL dual channel airflex pillows – gets punctures, not sold anymore
Montbell UL pillow – not comfy
Big Agnes pillows – plasticky feel, meh
Marmot Strata – meh, really pushes on the neck
Zpacks and Hyperlite dry sacks with fleece – could work if you're not fussy for pillows
Air filled plastic bags – lightest by far, but deflate overnight

+1 on the Klymit X, although pillow preferences are going to be a personal comfort issue, not all will like the same pillows.

I use a shaped memory foam pillow at home and have not woke with a stiff neck since. The Klymit X has the best shape for my type of sleep of any inflatable I've found. If I'm on my back, it supports my neck and stabilizes the head. If on my side, the X provides a much needed ear pocket. It's low profile, so you may need to put something under to raise it if it's not placed on your sleeping pad.. Mine weighs 2.1 oz.

Any other pillow testers out there?

I ordered the Marmot Cumulus and will arrive and test Wednesday. I got a price match and only paid 39.99. So its a pretty good deal for a pillow with synthetic insulation = warmer for me, holes for straps, and a nice fleece pillow cover.
I will be strapping it to my Klymit x Lite sleeping pad!

I love my new Exped Downpillow. I write off the +5.0 oz weight as my luxury item.

http://www.exped.com/usa/en/downpillow-m

I said I would do an update if I got it and I did! Overall good first Im pression weight was on. Be it and and it is very wide but wish the height was more.

The special feature is the pillowcase. It's got a nice fleece with synthetic padding so it's soft and quiet. The bottom is great because it's all a really stretch fabric perfect from stuffing more clothing raising the height. Or even adding a bigger or second pillow.

The fleece case that has padding. This helps even out clothing you might put inside. Putting something inside on top that is soft like a down jacket would reallyyy help because the air pillow itself is kinda hard even deflated slightly.