Monster sized “water wing” pillow

[David Lewis]

If anyone was reading the “Ultimate Pillow” thead in the gear forum… you know about the FlexAir pillows. They are ultra light disposable air pillows typically used by EMS folks. They are great… but like any single chamber air pillow… your head kinda sits on top and rolls around like a melon… kind of a water bed effect. Not comfy. So I had the idea to sew two of them together to make what is essentially a monster sized water wing pillow. There is plenty of excess material beyond the heat sealed seams to do this. The dual chambers create a place for your head to nestle into in the center. It’s not as good as a stuffed pillow of course… but it is MUCH MUCH better than a single chamber air pillow!!! It’s actually pretty impressive in the comfort department. And if you want you could add a 1 inch layer of foam on top like the Luxury Lite pillow to make it almost as nice as a real pillow… for around 2.5 oz (guesstimate).

This pillow is 1.23 oz (35 grams) with two inflation straws and it’s full sized. It’s probably 4-6 times bigger than a typical water wing pillow at the same or less weight and it compresses down to almost nothing. My water wing pillow (i.e. my real water wing pillow… made from a water wing) is 1.5 oz. and it’s TINY. Rubber is heavy :)

here’s another link

p.s. Tip… if you’re worried about getting the two chambers inflated exactly the same, notice that I sewed it so the valves are side by side (two clear plastic bits at the bottom)… so just use two straws… put both straws in your mouth and blow them up simultaneously. The straws only weigh 1.5 grams each.

[Jin Lee Ng]

Hi there,

I am not at all knowledgeable in this area. Can someone please enlighten me as to what different possible materials would be suitable to make similar air bags/pillow? I tried looking through some fabric websites but most just indicates whether they are waterproof or coated or breathable but none really states whether it is suitable to be used as an air inflation bag.

Please advice :) Thank you so much

[Jin Lee Ng]

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[David Lewis]

The pillow I made was made from two pre-made pillows call FlexAir pillows. They’re only 50 cents each or so… but you have to buy 50 at a time. They are insanely lightweight… and with two of them sewn together… you end up with a very comfortable full-sized pillow.

As for making your own pillow… look for heat sealable material. You’d also need a valve of some kind. There is another thread here where Ryan was experimenting with just such material.

[paul johnson]

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[paul dzierba]

DavidLewis, would you happen to have 2 of those pillows to sell? i just cant afford to buy a whole case of them. let me know when you can, if you can.

thanks
p@uL

[David Lewis]

Paul… sorry… no. I got in on a group purchase a while back and only paid for 5… I destroyed 2 experimenting… and used 2 to make my giant “water wing” shown above… so I don’t have any. Best thing would be to get a few people from here to go in on a box. I might be intersted… since I used all mine up and it would be nice to have some spares. They are not super durable… plus the paper like outer skin would probably just get really grungy after awhile… so you probably want more than 2.

[paul dzierba]

hahah ok dave no prob, after i posted that i realized that i would probably want more than 2 anyway. i’ll start now by asking “anyone want to go in on a boz with me”?

[paul johnson]

David,

Sorry to jump in here. Just trying to make sure that you didn’t miss a Post addressed to you two or three days ago. It was concerned with details of your experience with your Montbell sleeping bag. Can you reply to let me know if you saw the Post and whether or not you’re interested in sharing your experiences. Many thanks.

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