Sea to Summit Aeros UL pillow

take them out of the package and blow them up. REI usually doesn't frown upon doing stuff like that.

I haven't used the Sea to Summit pillow in the field yet, but they look real good!

I agree

while I haven't used the exped, pictures make it appear sloped from front to back to allow it to be used for both side and back sleepers.

As a religious side sleeper the flat top and curved shoulder area seem like a great idea…

I have used the REI pillow and like it.

I'm all over the place – back, side and stomach sleeper – and it worked pretty well all around with it's kidney bean shape.

I recently bought the S to S Aeros pillow and while I haven't used it in the field yet, I have used it at home. I like it a lot! I'm a side sleeper, and it's perfect for me. The cover is a smooth fabric, rather than feeling like plastic or vinyl, and it isn't noisy, either. I will be getting the S to S ultralight sleeping pad and the pump thingy for inflating the pad and the pillow, but the pillow inflates with just a few breaths. The valve is great – it's one-way, so you don't lose air between breaths. The valve also has a little button you hold down to deflate it, and to adjust the firmness. Works nice. I'm really pleased with it. Prior to this, I had the Thermarest compressible pillow in small but could never get comfortable with it, plus, it was a bit heavy and bulky.

"I have used the REI pillow and like it."

+1

Certainly not a luxurious pillow but I would consider it quite comfortable for what it is. I would put it in the "just enough" category.

Just throwing it out there…but the big sky dreamsleeper pillow is the best pillow I have tried. Get the UL version (1.4 oz), and throw a buff over it and its fantastic. It helps that its the lightest, one of the cheapest, and still one of the largest pillows out there.

http://bigskyproducts.com/Big-Sky-DreamSleeper-UltraLight-inflatable-pillow.aspx

What makes it so great for me is that the middle is dipped so it really holds my head in place. Also…when inflated its still "squishy" for lack of a better word…it flexes. The other air pillows (I had several exped pillows before), even when its not fully inflated, when you put your head on it its still hard….the dreamsleeper flexes.

Sea to Summit Aeros UL
vs
Exped Air Pillow UL

I used the Exped until the StS came out. For a tiny weight penalty the StS is significantly thicker, i.e. it holds your head higher. For me, a 6'2" side sleeper, this makes it significantly more comfortable. Keeping my head high enough seems to be the most important thing to prevent neck soreness. The StS also has a plush material on top.

With either pillow, you can put a Buff around it as a pillow case, and add small items of clothing inside.

I have used both Exped (UL and regular) and Sea to Summit (UL only) in both the pillow and traveller pillow versions. Overall I prefer the Sea to Summit pillows for comfort but they are less robust than the Exped ones (I have had two broken seams so far whereas I have used Exped pillows much longer and had a valve go but that's it). Sea to Summit are easier to inflate and deflate but folding them to store is slightly trickier. I don't find the Sea to Summit traveller pillow as comfortable as the Exped one. Having said that it is hard to go wrong with either.

I bought the Aeros pillow a few weeks ago and took it on a 3-day weekend trip. I was very happy with it. The material was very comfortable on the skin (used it without a cover) and it was nice and quiet. The material felt considerably nicer than the Exped air pillow I've been using for the past couple of years.

I also liked the ability to easily dial in just the right amount of inflation for my sleeping style. I'm usually more of a stomach sleeper than side sleeper, but I do flip around a good bit when sleeping outdoors and really liked the pillow for sleeping on stomach, side and back.

Mark –
UL or Premium?

"Mark –
UL or Premium?"

Based on the description I'm assuming it's the Premium. I tried the UL and Premium at Cabela's last weekend and much preferred the Premium. IMO you don't need a cover for it and the fabric around the pillow has quite a nice hand. It doesn't slip and slide around a sleeping mat as much as the UL, which feels like the same material as Neo Air Xlite or Klymit sleeping pad.

Also, my S2S Aeros premium is the medium size and it weighs 2.9oz on my scale. I tried the large (probably the one in your pic), but it was too big for my tapered sleeping mat (downmat winterlite LW). Not sure about getting online from Cabela's, but they had 20% off in-store on S2S gear so mine was $32.

Thanks.
Didn't realize there were size options.
Prices are REI/MSPR.

The best sleep kit I've ever had is the one I use currently. It is the Exped UL 7 pad in L/W, the 3-season SD Backcountry Quilt and the StoS Aeros Premium pillow. A weight penalty, all in, of maybe 6 oz but what a great night of luxury in the backcountry, especially for a guy that's big and flails around all night!

Greg –

I actually have the UL and not the premium. I was looking to cut some weight and felt the UL was plenty comfortable enough, especially for 2.1 oz. in the regular size. Now I did try out the premium in the store, and it seemed like it would be quite nice, but I thought the UL felt just fine and much nicer than my Exped. I might have considered the premium more if they had the regular in stock. The large felt too big.

My Exped was heavier, and I needed to bring something to use as a pillow case with it because I didn't like the material directly against my skin. That added to the weight. I think the material on the Aeros UL feels quite nice, though admittedly not as nice as the premium.