Gear Guide: Ultralight Inflatable Pillows

I really like the Montbell U.L.COMFORT SYSTEM PILLOW for camping. Thick enough for side sleepers, large enough to be stable, and nicely contoured to cradle the neck and head. Also, for $24 retail it's in my opinion a really good value compared to the top performers here. On the negative side, I have the red and it seems more prone to staining than my red Exped or my black Big Agnes. It's also too wide for hammocking, when the Exped UL is my pillow of choice. The S2S Aeros Premium does look really nice though!

I found a buff works great as a pillowcase slipped around my Exped Air Pillow UL size Large. It helps to reduce the pillow sliding away under the weight of your head. In winter I use a buff with fleece for extra warmth.

Barry, Ken:

What is 'a buff'…

not familiar with that term.

thanks,

Billy

Cool tip on the buff. Thanks!

My wife and I have the Montbell (several years) and the Exped Air Pillow UL and have been happy with both.

While on a project with Klymit we tested many of these pillows and found all of them flawed in stability, compression return, orientation, and adaptability. We were, however, able to solve their problems in the creation of Pillow X. I might contend that the Klymit Pillow X is far and away more adaptable, contouring, centering, and comfortable for a larger majority of sleepers than any of the pillows tested…and it would have been among the lightest at 1.9 oz. Not sure how it missed this SOTM…but it can empirically be stated that Klymit's marketing messages from 3 years ago have been adopted by all of their competitors, which might suggest they are well ahead in design understanding and capability, but well behind in marketing budget. Check it out, although very different than what is out there, the design is nearly intuitive.

http://www.klymit.com/index.php/products-1/pillows-and-chairs/pillow-x.html

Great article Ryan, thanks.

"I’ve owned two Exped pillows over the past several years. Neither has ever sprung a leak. I cover the top of mine with a down pillowcase from Goosefeet Gear (which has as its shell fabric Pertex Quantum), for a luxuriously soft pillow that’s plenty warm enough for a Montana winter."

I've owned the Exped UL pillow for the past two seasons and have thought about doubling up with a Goosefeat pillow as well. I'm also a strict side sleeper, and find that I wake up sometimes with a sore ear due to the hard surface. I've tried deflating to make the pillow softer, but I find that it isn’t a permanent solution.

How many oz. of down would you recommend on a Goosefeat pillow for this particular set-up?

I purchaed a monkey butt pillow case a while back and its the absolute best ever. It works well with either clothing in it (just make sure to have zips on the bottom) or with an exped ul pillow. What I like the best are the straps which keep the pillow in place on my pad.

For an apparently unnecessary item there are a lot of comments.
I would suggest a MSRP column on the chart.

I really like the Klymit Pillow X. I think the given weight of 1.9 oz is accurate, although I can't verify right now. My husband bought one of the Sea to Summit pillows recently (not sure which one) and my head moves around too much on that. The Klymit X design keeps my head in one place and I find it tall enough for me to sleep on my side or back. The fabric is not particularly comfortable if you sleep directly on it, but that's easy to fix as already discussed in this thread.

As silly as it may appear to some, for me it comes down to comfort. My experience tells me that if people cannot get a good night sleep because of X, and it can easily be remedied by increasing your weight by 2 or 3 oz, I think it's a reasonable addition. As much as we need to consider both the weight and the number of items to bring, if a pack is uncomfortable, a sleeping bag doesn't fit us, or there's not enough room in your tent for you and your companion, I believe most of us would be happy to bring an extra half pound if necessary to increase comfort. No need to go through a sufferfest that will detriment from one's experience just to look at some numbers on a table. It's about enjoying oneself in my opinion. I am a side sleeper, the Montbell pillow when sleeping on the ground gives me a good night's rest. Before, even when using other pillows, I used to wake up with a sore neck, a headache and tired from a poor night sleep. Repeat by X number of nights… No longer fun. Silly as it may be to some, I'll continue to bring mine. If an inflated ziplock works for you, bring that… If a extra shirt is enough for you, great!

I mean no disrespect to those looking at numbers. I think we all here do. And I thank those of you who do push the limits of what's possible, as I have learned much from you.

Best to all!

I have an Antigravity Gear Flex Air Ultralight pillow size 19` x 12.5` / 48 x 32 cm and weighing 0.9 oz / 27 grams. It's a simple bag looking like the Graham Medical pillow second in your photo, but bigger. It inflates with a drinking straw inserted into a tube along the side and the inflation pressure keeps the valve shut unless you squeeze it just so.

It's the only lightweight pillow I've liked, much more than a couple of Expeds, because it's big enough for my tastes. You can tune the support/stability by not quite fully inflating it. It doesn't seem especially disposable — it has a big welded area and not much to go wrong.

It's cheap.