Tall pillow suggestions?

[Jeff Cadorin]

I currently have a regular Sea to summit aeros pillow. It’s light, very comfortable but not tall enough. To gain 1 more inch in height you have to add a lot of weight relatively in any other of their pillows. The size is right everywhere else so I don’t need a wider or longer pillow. Anything else I should be looking at?

[David Thomas]

I was thinking of posting the same Q.  The Klymt inflatable pillow I used on my last trip was definitely better than my clothes in a stuff sack, but I wanted it to be an inch or two taller.  Its specs are 11″ x 15″ x 4″, 1.9 ounces, but there’s a big X-shaped depression in middle.

So while your head doesn’t roll off it easily, you lose probably one of those 4 inches in that depression.  Lists for $25-ish.  MassDrop has them for $15 sometimes.  Maybe if I Velcro two of them on top of each other?

[Richie S]

What about a goosefeetgear down case? You could also add clothing underneath. Probably going to add more than you want to though.

I think the large exped ul pillow may get you 4.7” for 2.1oz.

[John Klinepeter]

Another tall pillow fanatic here.  By coincidence I use both the Sea to Summit and the Pillow X to make a tall pillow!  I partially inflate one of the pillows then insert it into a Buff.  Partially inflate the second pillow and insert that into the Buff.  Finish inflating both pillows to the desired firmness.  Tight fit but works like a charm.

[Iago Vazquez]

On thickness alone, I love this one. https://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?p_id=1124671

We as a family have the Pillow X and a S2S Aeros, and a Exped Medium, and as far as thickness, this one is the winner. If I had to buy it all over again, I really like the shape of the Exped, very similar to the S2S. So a large Exped would be on the short list to try.But the ones we have, the Montbell feels much thicker.

I toss and turn, and sometimes I end up with a “hot” ear on the Montbell. The Pillow X is the lesser offender as far as this metric for some reason, followed by the S2S and the Exped (both tied).

[Greg F]

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-klymit-pillow

 

I use the large massdrop x klymit pillow.  It’s big enough to fold in half to prop up your head giving you up to 8in of thickness for 77g.

[Ken Thompson]

duplicate

[Ken Thompson]

I’ve stuck the toes of my shoes under my pad to get more height at times. Don’t really get on with sleeping on a balloon.

[DAN-Y/FANCEE FEEST]

I have a DIY stuffed with premium fill 11x17x5. Best pillow I’ve ever made. Weighs 10 oz. but nothing compares to it for comfort. I’m a side sleeper and have broad shoulders, big head and so the pillow has to retain it’s loft. It’s 10 oz. of pure sleeping delight.

[Paul S.]

I also do the shoes-under-the-pad to add height to my pillow.  Currently use a S2S Aeros but sometimes go to my bulky, heavy Thermarest for comfort.

[BlackHatGuy]

I’ve got a piece of 6×9″ firm foam, about 1-1.25″thick (I cut it with a kitchen knife, so not the prettiest, or cleanest, cut….). Weighs 1.1 oz on my cheapo kitchen scale. Happy to send you a piece for the cost of shipping if you want it. OF course that brings you near the weight of the large pillow, but cheaper. Happy to send you one too David.

[David Thomas]

There are tall pillows that are heated and self-propelled.

For free in front of many grocery stores.

[Richie S]

You just never want to be that close when it starts letting out air.

[Jeff Cadorin]

Appreciate the offer Doug, I may take you up on that. I did start thinking about a sit pad as dual purpose. Something like the zrest sit pad that can fold and give more height. Could use some Velcro to hold it all together.

I have tried the shoes but I am a pretty active sleeper and it just doesn’t stay where I want it, finicky.

That montbell pillow with the holes could be attached to a regular mattress to make it a long, wouldn’t move and give me an extra 1 or 2 inches height. All good food for thought.

[Iago Vazquez]

I just remembered. I have also spent a couple of nights with the Klymit Cush Seat folded in half an it worked great. Looking at the specs, I felt I was getting more than three inches, but didn’t really measure it.

https://www.klymit.com/cush-inflatable-lightweight-seat.html

[Michael K]

I’m not sure if this is so helpful, but this is what I do.  Those blow up pillows or any stiff pillow gives me neck issues.  Therefore, I use my down jacket and it makes an extremely comfortable pillow that molds to my head and neck. Velcro attachments (you can easily find sticky ones at a hardware store) make it stay together and not have to be constantly reassembled because I too am an active sleeper. I sometimes put my sit pad or some clothes under the head end of the  mat to add a bit of height depending on the angle of the place where I am sleeping.

[Richie S]

The REI Flash sit pad could also be doubled up, and has a snap to fold it in half. You could also suff something in the middle to boost the height further. Snap may be a little flimsy to rely on over the longer term.

 

[J R]

I use a combination of inflatable and my down puffy. The problem with down is one of its benefits for us in other considerations, its compressibility. Great for packing but lousy for a pillow IME because it compresses down to nothing under your head (I have this problem with down pillows at home as well).

I have a HikeBikeDale Monkey Pillow case (no longer made but an easy DIY project), a large 20×15, then I put a large FlexAir pillow in it on the bottom and my down puffy in on top. The FlexAir takes up some of the volume inside the pillowcase so that the down puffy is partially compressed when I stuff it in there, enough that it won’t compress down to nothing under my head. It’s about 8″ tall before I put my head on it. There’s zero “air ball bounce”, both because the FlexAir inflates to a pretty flat shape and the down puffy on top of it is a thick, cushy layer between me and the air pillow. Gives me a deep layer of soft but medium-firm down goodness for my head to sink into and stay supported, in a super-large pillow. Only 2.9 oz plus the down puffy I’m carrying anyway.

[Author]

Posts