Ul pillows that don’t feel like a ballon

I must have terrible luck. Bought a box of Ziploc double-zip quart FREEZER bags last night to test for pillow and 8 of the first 10 I pulled form the box leaked. 6 of the 8 at the bottom corners and 2 actually had tiny holes you could see near the bottom edge away from the corners.

I'll be sure to test all future bags now after this since I FBC. I normally take a spare or two in case one does have a leak but 80% failure rate?!?!

I'm going to see if Walmart will let me exchange for a different box from hopefully a different lot.

Michael – I've had the same experience. I tried Mike C!'s idea with 7 Ziploc brand quart freezer double seal bags. By morning 3 or 4 were flat. I tried this on 3 different nights with the same result, even though I was careful to really zip them shut thoroughly. I only filled the bags about 3/4 full with air. It's a comfortable rig, if only the bags would hold the air! So I'm back to using raingear and tomorrow's socks as a pillow.

That's about what the other non-Ziploc bags I had tested were like. Most would be flat after a few hours. The Ziploc ones were flat within 5 minutes (5 of the 6) – I could hear the air escape. Mine were maybe half full to start (~1" thick if pressed flat).

I'm a stomach/side sleeper and also don't like inflated pillows. I use a piece of generic, large-cell foam, 8 x 11 x 2 inches. Weight: 48 grams / 1.7 ounces. I stuff it in the sack with clothes to compress for packing.

I literally had this same idea while in bed last night. Do fabric stores sell open cell foam by the yard or will I have to cut up an eggcrate mattress pad?

Don't know. My pillow was cut from the foam from an old, bigger REI pillow that had a cover. I know that there was a kind of army-navy surplus store where I live that used to, and probably still does, sell foam sheets. I know they sold them in mattress sizes, but I'm not sure if they sold them in other sizes. A fabric store sounds like a good idea to try, though.

Yes. Joanne's sells fairly small sections of that foam. I saw it there yesterday.

Ryan

awesome, Ryan, thanks for the info.

My most successful trail pillow has been one child size water wing, also called arm floats. I cut the ring open along a seam, and it has two chambers with valves to use for inflation. Wrapped in a shirt and tucked into a buff, its not bad at all. They cost $ .97 for a pair, and can be found in dollar type shops.
Marcia

The pillow is one area that I, as a stomach sleeper, refuse to compromise. The best pillows I have ever had are natural latex foam pillows. There are manufacturers of travel-size latex foam pillows, but one can easily sacrifice a standard size pillow and cut out a travel sized chunk, and use a travel-size pillowcase with it. Not UL, per se, but worth it for me. Of course, what do I know…I carry a standard size latex pillow in a 100% wool sham. It squishes down fairly small, and springs right back up when you pull it out of your pack. Currently, I'm investigating a pillow I heard of that's made of natural latex foam with bamboo charcoal mixed in, apparently made by Foshan Lecong Tumei Home Textile Co., Ltd., in Guangdong, China.

Another vote for Exped. Mine is 2.75 ounces in the stuff sack, 3 with patch kit. I like the shape and that I can adjust the firmness. I've also found that it is good about not sliding around.

Exped Ul pillow 1 something ounces.

Mother Nature. I have used dried leaves, grass, and rush inside of a stuff sack with good results. When on sand, I build a mound pillow under the head portion of my shelter. I have used a large rock under the head of my sleeping pad before as well (used my shoes in the same way lots of times). A sack of cattail leaves and tule would be a dream….but I've never camped near them.

I highly recommend the goosefeet pillow (we have two in medium now as my wife liked mine a little too much). The 10d fabric feels nice (though an occasional small down filament will work itself out) and the additional optional pocket makes it easy to stuff a shirt for some extra support. I've tried numerous others (big agnes, exped, even a heavy tempur pedic travel pillow) and so far this one bests them all.

+1 for the Cocoon UL Air Core. It is soft on one side, so partially inflating it leaves it pretty close to a traditional pillow in feel.

I have a Flexair pillow that I purchased from ebay. Inflates/deflates with a drinking straw and weighs a mere 25g. It can be loud when tossing/turning, so I made a little pillow case from scrap M50 and Climashield 2.5. Works great, very comfy and very light.

Fly Lufthansa. They have small, down pillows that must weigh 1.5 oz. tiny things. I have used two for the last ten years and now they are done. But, I'd anyone can check – they are yellow – google images looks like they're still in use. That said, the ultra light Cocoon at 2.5 oz. with a mix of air and synthetic, would prefer down – is promising. Fortunately, my bag is still heavy enough that my one non-cuben stuff sack will have enough clothes / gear inside for a pillow. But I really want a down + air solution. Bet of both worlds and lightest weight.

The pillow has been a major pain in the butt for me over the years, but I think I found a solution.

Recently, I recently stumbled onto the Ikea travel pillow which at least for me seems to be the best pillow I have used. It's an inflatable pillow that costs $5, but it doesn't have that waterbed balloon effect that I hate so much from inflatable pillows. The inner pillow bladder weighs 1.1 ounces. The pillowcase which comes with it is rather thick and weighs 2.9 ounces and is really comfortable. I had a long debate with myself whether or not to carry those extra 3 ounces because the stock pillow case is very nice, but chose not to. I had a few of those little blankets from flights (Delta) and cut one up to make a lightweight pillowcase, so the total weight is dropped down to 1.5 ounces.

I just got back from a segment on the AT and used it head to head against the Exped and there was no comparison. I got home and gave my Exped to my daughter.

Pillow blown up next to 2 liter bottle for reference:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mwndfzyi0buebom/2012-08-08_10-45-47_930.jpg

Two parts of the pillow:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/eipxacl1tlkoweb/2012-07-03_01-00-08_982.jpg?m

Oh, I also picked up a 3 ounce pair of flip flops from Ikea in the travel section which worked out well as my camp shoes.

HI Ryan,
Did you find the pillow in the travel section also (where the luggage is?)

Also, is it a neck pillow?

Thanks!

Daniel, yes it is the neck pillow in the travel section. I bought it originally for a car trip to NC, but after getting home and blowing it up and seeing the size of it, I decided to give it a try out on the trail. It's rather large for a traditional "neck pillow" IMO. I'm glad I did because it's great. As a side-stomach sleeper (legs down, shoulders side), finding a pillow has been quite the chore.

Here's some comparisons to the large sized Exped. Not as big, but thicker.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l0eyuldvosjspqt/2012-08-09_00-47-18_59.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/j5mnq92c6lga3vh/2012-08-09_00-47-33_142.jpg