Pillow alternative

[Raquel Rascal]

If you are one of those that is new to ultralight and slowly building up your gear, you may want to consider this pillow option.

I was cleaning out my bathroom and found a bath tub pillow in the back of the sink closet. Anyway, I removed the inner plastic/air/fluffy stuff pillow from the terry cloth outside and was left with a pillow about the size of a piece of paper that weighs 4 oz. It's also pretty tough and comfortable.

Just an idea of something you might already have laying around that you can try out.

[Ben Smith]

Great work!

When I get in from work I shall certainly be foraging around my house to find something I can save weight with. *motivated hat on*

[EndoftheTrail]

Cool. Always good to put things we already have in the house to good use!

Not that you asked, but… here's another option if you are interested. Costs money but will whittle down some more weight – to just 2.4oz. Even better than weight saving, the 'cradle' form is fantastic for both back and side sleepers.

[Raquel Rascal]

I actually finally broke down and bought a $45 Exped pillow myself (love it), but I have this baby as a back-up now that I can loan to a friend.

[Stephen M]

I put a puffy layer in to my Exped Snozzle pump dry bag and then put a buff over it, it's surprisingly comfy.

[Brett Peugh]

I have ordered a Klymit Static V and a Stehpenson's DAM on the way. I was thinking of getting an Exped Inflatible pillow but with the DAM coming and people saying its pump bag was not the best I was thinking of getting Exped's pump pillow. Nothing against Ben but I did try Montbell's pillow and did not find it that comfortable. So now it is between the Exped pump pillow and the regular inflatable one. I guess I should just wait for the DAM to get here.

[Loki Cuthbert]

Any of you try using a boxed wine bag for a pillow I don't know the weight on them, but it's extremely durable material.
nd you don't have to drink cheap wine now they have some pretty nice stuff in boxed wine

-loki

[Steven McAllister]

I am also a fan of the Montbell pillow and have hundreds of nights sleep on one.
I consider it a good compromise when it comes to weight and durablility.

I do have one model of an Exped pillow. but find it too shallow and small, but I have heard their newer one is bigger?

[Brian Lindahl]

It always surprises me that people still bring pillows. Grab your pair of shoes and slip them under your sleeping matt (adds cushion and keeps the surface uniform). For side sleeping, turn the shoes sideways to get more height. For back sleeping, sleep on the toes of the shoes. With all the curves, etc. It's relatively easy to move the shoes around until you get a perfect cradle. Way better than any backpacking pillow I've tried. Hike your own hike and all that, but most people I've run into have never tried shoes – try it!

[Gary Dunckel]

Here's my pillow setup. Left to right, the components are the following: a 1.35 oz. Quixote fleece pillow case, which has also been used as a pot grabber and a food cozy; a 1.5 oz. GG SitLite pad, which is also my Jam back padding (I ditched the heavier stock frame sheet), which is also what I use when sitting on a log or rock; my BPL Cocoon pants (7.3 oz., size L), which I always carry but seldom need to use (except on chilly Rocky Mountain mornings).

First, I slip the SitLite into the pillow case, with the bumps facing inward,

Then I stuff the Cocoon inside,

Finally, I secure the 4 Velcro dots I'd sewn onto the pillow case to keep everything together. I end up with a nice, firm, comfy pillow, at a weight penalty of 1.35 oz. (if you don't count the multi-use of the pillow case).

[Raquel Rascal]

But, if you are wearing to bed all of the clothes you are carrying, then you have nothing to stuff your pillow with.

I tried the shoes under your pad thing and it didn't work for me. Love the Exped pillow as a side sleeper.

[Brett Peugh]

The Exped pillow looks nice but it is a bit pricey at $45. I can't do it by putting my sandals under the pad. I am going to try the idea of wrapping them in a piece of a GG Nightlight I have laying around and putting that in a stuff sack to see how it works. Maybe with the rain gear also.

[Mike V]

I have been pretty happy stuffing my rain gear (since extra clothes are worn to bed) and one of my platypus bottles filled with air stuffed in a small stuff sack. It weighs nothing, because I am already carrying these items. If it is warmer than expected my puffy layer ends up in the sack instead of a platy bottle.

[John S.]

I use my O2 rain jacket in it's stuff sack on top of my shoes for a pillow. It works pretty good.

[Brett Peugh]

I tried this idea out by using my rain jacket and pants along with the extra shirt, pair of socks and pair of underwear I usually always take in the stuff sack along with a very thing foam sheet on top of my stacked sandals. It was a bit hard so I am going to try out a thicker foam sheet to redistribute pressure better next. I went back to using a Granite Gear Vapor Trail rather than a frameless pack so a thicker foam pad is not something I would normally take. Thanks for the idea. Is there anything else that could be put in the stuff sack? I was thinking water bladders and the such and to maybe stack them on the top.

I side sleep and am not a small guy and this has helped build a pillow that is tall enough for me.

[Gary Dunckel]

@ Raquel and Brett: The few times when I needed to wear all my clothes while sleeping, I just put small pine cones in a ZipLock freezer bag and stuffed that inside the SitLite pad. The pad buffers the bumps pretty well.

[Max Dilthey]

I just learned how to sleep without a pillow.

0 oz!

[Franco Darioli]

After having tried all sorts of pillows I am now happy with a silk pillow case stuffed with the available puffy/soft clothing I have.
Years ago I tried that with stuff sacks as a "pillowcase" but that did not work for me.
One day a mate had a friend make two pillow cases from an old silk liner and that works for me.
The reason is that I like the feel of silk against my skin but never really liked the plastic feel of the stuff sacks and other nylon type pillows.
A bit over 1 oz but could be less than half of that since it is in fact big enough for a normal size pillow so the fabric is rolled over twice.
That lets me drool in it and not in the "stuffing" or sleeping bag.
note that I put it inside the sleeping bag if using one (sometimes I use a quilt)
Here it is with a merino/possum down pullover inside:

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Brett

I have an Exped Pillow Pump. It is very effective on the Synmat UL-7 mat. I made a cotton cover for it and it works very nicely as pillow as well.

Cheers

[John Donewar]

@Gary,

I really like the way you found dual uses for each of the components of your "pillow".

I use a Kookalight Pillow. It is supportive, extremely pack-able and light in weight at 1.3 ounces.

I keep it in a MYOG pillow case while packed…

and in use.

The "face side" of my pillowcase is a piece of nylon or polyester, I don't remember which, that was re-purposed from an old hiking T shirt. The other side is two pieces of overlapping grey 1.3 oz silnylon.

;-)” height=”733″ src=”https://dpcr19kltm61a.cloudfront.net/backpackinglight/user_uploads/1354449124_72264.jpg” width=”550″ />

After the picture above was taken I added a few stripes of Permatex Flowable windshield sealer to control the slipping and sliding of the silnylon on my tent floor. Everything together weighs 2 ounces.

On a recent trip I tried using my clothes bag with my "unused" clothing stuffed inside as a pillow. I found it very supportive but extremely firm.

I carry a frame-less pack with my ProLite Plus pad folded for a virtual frame. I do not have a SitLite pad or the like in my pack. My pillowcase could be dual use as a stuff sack but it is "form fitted" and would be quite fiddly to take off and put back on.

Raquel made a good point.

" But, if you are wearing to bed all of the clothes you are carrying, then you have nothing to stuff your pillow with."

You answered.

"The few times when I needed to wear all my clothes while sleeping, I just put small pine cones in a ZipLock freezer bag and stuffed that inside the SitLite pad."

That's a great idea. What do you do if you are above the tree line? L O L

I wonder if either of us included the weight of the rubber bands that both of use to pack and stow our "pillows". ;-)

Party On,

Newton

[Brett Peugh]

I have Montbell stuff sack for the Alpine down jacket that I use for keeping extra clothes and other objects in. I took a piece of a Gossamer Gear Nightlite pad that I had cut down to and rolled this inside the stuff sack with the bumpy ends in. It didn't cover the entire circumference but was pretty close only leaving about a 1-2" gap. I then stuffed in my extra pair of underwear, socks and the extra T shirt along with my rain wear. I stacked my sandals on top of one another and then put the stuff sack on top of this with the missing pad section down so it fit over the sandals. I can also slip my sandals inside. I can also use some clothing wrapped filled water bladders, my R2 if I do not need it, etc for some more height. It is not the best but it is the best I have found so far. I can get about 4" that is firm but not too firm. Thanks for all the advice.

[Mark Andrews]

I use the Granite Gear pillow silnylon stuff sack. It has a fleece face on one side and weighs 2 oz. In goes my spare socks/clothes, down insulation, etc.

-Mark in St. Louis

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