Lifespan of FlexAir pillows

These pillows are meant for single use in doctor’s office, etc. While they will actually last longer than that, you shouldn’t count on more than 5 or so nights’ usage before the seals give out. Sure, some individual ones may last longer, but it’s not something to rely on.

I agree with Benjamin. My small FlexAir pillow is still doing fine after at least a dozen nights, but my large version is slowly deflating after four nights of use. I haven’t figured out where it’s leaking, so it may be fixable. But you may want to put one in every resupply box, just in case. (There are places where you can buy these much cheaper in bulk.)

I have also found that the “valves” frequently give out… sometimes even on brand new, never used pillows. That’s why I’m not willing to pay 6 bucks (or whatever the price is) for 3 of them here. I bought a 50 pack online from Graham Medical for $26.

I also use my sewing maching to sew two of them together making what is essentially… a HUGE water wing pillow. Like any water wing pillow… this gives your head a supportive place to settle into into so it’s is not rolling around like a melon on top of the air cushion. I find it to be a dramatic comfort improvement.

I took 4 to Philmont, 10 nights, 1 worked fine for me, the others got passed out to others over the week. The only noticable problem was the pillow was pretty dirty by the end of the week.

Brett… the bottom line is… YMMV. I’ve seen more than one fail right out of the box. Test your pillow before you go (blow it up and leave it overnight to see if it’s still inflated in the morning) and arrange for a spare or two.

Think about trying the water wing idea too. One pillow is fine… but the dual pillow water wing thing is grrrrreat :)

A good airing of opinions by all. Many thanks.

I’m still unclear exactly how they fail from use, whether it’s a corruption of the poly seal (from moisture or etc.) or a pressure issue, and whether this can be prevented or fixed in the field.

Having tried a one-nighter, I can say that the thing did seem a bit less firm in the morning. But more significantly, air under pressure seems to make a lot of distracting, incidental noises in this application. And then there’s the “rolling melon head” effect, as someone described it.

I’ve got the dual-chamber model, which is nice on the neck. Maybe a dual water wing is in order? Let’s face it, tis not the end of the world if a 1oz item like this fails w/o a backup. The pain in the neck seems to be the potential complication of planning around it.

Hey Brett.

Well… I’ve had two failures out of 6 pillow. The two that failed failed right out of the box. The first one failed in the field (before I started testing them before taking them). The second one failed when I tested it before going. Now I ALWAYS test them before going out. I just inflate them the night before mt trip and if it’s still inflated in the morning… it’s good. The ones that failed lost 80%-100% of their air overnight. It is the seal that fails… not a small hole or anything… and I would say there is no way to repair it in the field. The seal is basically a long plastic cone. I don’t know why how how it fails… just that sometimes it can happen. I’m also guessing that my failure rate is not typical… but that I just had some bad luck. The point is… it can happen. Just test ’em before you go.

Do try my water wing idea… if you can spare the pillows. It’s pretty cool. As I say… I bought a case of 50 for about $26… so I don’t mind experimenting with them. If you only have 3… I can see being reticent to stay sewing them together and such. It does double the weight of course… but I think it’s worth it… personally.

I’ve had great results. I’ve used the same pillow for weeks, maybe 20 nights?

It’s a large size with the “seam” across the middle.

It’s been doing great.

The one thing I recomend is to NOT over inflate, just let it stay slightly MUSHY.

Alas – I broke my straw when stuffing my pack.

>Alas – I broke my straw when stuffing my pack.

I spread the valve lips open and blow into it to inflate, and stick a Ti stake into the valve to deflate. It works almost as well as the straw.

Next time I have a failed pillow, I’m going to try putting a bit of vaseline into the valve–that might fix the leaky valve problem.

Hate to say it guys… but I went backpacking this weekend with a dual chamber flexair from BPL… and one of the two chambers failed. I woke up at 2 am with a chilly head… and discovered that what was a “regular” pillow when I went to bed was now a neck pillow. I swear… I’m not making this up. My failure rate on these things is like… 50%. And I tested this one before going too. Maybe dirt is making the valves fail in the field? Or maybe inflating too hard is causing it? I don’t know.

Actually… at one point I couldn’t find my straw… and I used an carbon fiber pole that I ended up not using to open then valve and inflate it… it was going flat… I think this was before the total failure at 2am… and the aluminum tip on the end of the carbon shaft kinda got caught a bit on the valve when pulling it out. Maybe that’s what did it. It probably turned the tip of the valve slightly inside out. I would say… never use anything but the straw… or a tent stake (or other object with a SMOOTH tip) would work in a pinch.

use a jacket as a pillow. Or do what I do, use a stuff sack with some clothing stuffed in it

If you have a dy bag with a roll top type seal, then you can alway trap air in that and use it as a pillow. That has worked for me in the past where I have had the bag with me as a pack liner.

Thanks for the tips Ken and Scott… but the thread is about the lifespan of FlexAir pillows… not alternatives to FlexAir pillows. In fact… at 2 am… when my pillow failed (second time I’ve had one fail in the field) I did just what Ken suggests… I stuffed my pack and some clothes in a stuff sack… as I’ve done many times in the past… before FlexAir pillows… but it was pretty uncomfortable compared to the FlexAir.

i’ve an invertible stuff sack with fleece on one side. if i’m not carrying enough clothes, i place an inflatable arm band (the ones to help little kids swim) inside.

Just trying to throw some suggestions out there David. I too have had problems with my flexair pillows and have gone back to the stuff sack approach. There has to be something better out there!!!!

Hey Ken. I hear ya. One thought I had at 2 am was… well… it’s not super comfortable… but at least I don’t have to worry about it deflating! :)

I’d love a fiber filled pillow (they run 6-8 oz usually)… but that would be a luxury I’m not sure I could justify as an ultralighter :) Plus… they’re bulky.

Maybe I just need to be more careful with the flexair’s. It’s all kinda fuzzy… being half awake when the pillow first seemed to get low… but I think now that the failure was probably my fault. That carbon fiber pole tip probably messed up the valve.

i’m sure a 1l or 2l platy bag would work.

or cut one of these in half…

http://www.toysplash.com/Product/StarfishArmBands

they’re not heavy.

I have the regular and have only used the one (out of 3) I originally purchased and it has lasted me 8 nights. Like Benjamin, I would not count on these lasting even as long as mine has.
An alternative, since so many have had suggestions, is to buy a cheap inflatable neck pillow from CVS or Savon. These are the kind that one uses to cradle one’s neck when taking a flight. I have used one on and off over the years. Typically they weigh about 4 oz. The one really nice thing is that your ear goes in the neck opening and so you do not get that flattened eat syndrome we have all had using stuff sacks and “hard” clothes.