Therm-a-Rest Compressible Travel Pillow for Camping, Backpacking, Airplanes and Road Trips

My husband kept telling me we needed to get these for our camping trip and I kept telling him he was silly for wanting to pay $20 for this tiny weird pillow. Well he buys it anyway and we took them camping and while I wasn’t the biggest fan then, I became a believer when we took a flight with them and I opened mine up and leaned against my husband to take a nap. I have NEVER....I mean NEVERRR slept as good as I did during that trip with this pillow. The picture says it all. Dude. Buy it. So worth it! And if you don’t have a husband to lean it on, become really good friends with the person next to you. Or get a window seat. :P

These pillows are great! I wanted to specifically add some images to show some scale, because I couldn't decide between the small and medium.The weight difference is only 2oz, but the real difference in size is about 1.5 inches wider and longer. The thickness is just about the same, but like others have mentioned, the small denim color is denser, giving it a slightly firmer feel. I'm not sure if the other colors in small are firmer, or just the denim. I really like both, but will probably use the small more often. I'll keep both, since they're cheap enough to have a backup or loaner.Note, I did not wash these, as others have said! I just fluffed them for about 30 seconds.As a couple of other reviewers have mentioned, the stitching in a couple places looks a bit sketchy (last picture), so I'll probably refrain from machine washing them unless it's a last ditch type of situation. Still, I believe they'll hold up if you're gentle with them. Also, I had to untie and re-tie the compression cord, because it was too tight to allow for easy rolling, and was leading to some fabric stretching and stress on the stitching. It seems much easier to roll and compress now.

When these pillows arrive, they are so small from being vacuum-packed it's hard to believe they become standard sized, but follow the instructions to wash and dry and you will be amazed. Then it's hard to believe they will compress again, but roll them into the attached pocket and they are about 1/4 of their uncompressed size, less if you roll and pull the string hard. Not quite as small as their vacuum-packed size, but small enough to take a couple for traveling. Because of back issues I travel with extra pillows to support my legs at night and I hate arriving with over-sized luggage to accommodate my pillows, now I can pack like a regular person and still sleep at night. As other reviewers have reported, being made with foam chips instead of fiber fill, they are surprisingly firm.

My dad originally purchased one of these for a camping pillow and told me about it when I recently complained about not sleeping well on an airplane. I purchased one for my return flight and I was so happy I did!!!!!! I just put it up against the wall (window seat) and slept like a baby! I ordered the medium size and was surprised at how small it rolled up. It was nice to place behind my back when I wasn’t sleeping. I’ve included a picture of it rolled up. Salad dressing bottle for size reference.

These pillows are amazing! First thing you must do after you get it in the mail is wash and dry it (it fluffs the pillow up substantially). The outer material is so soft and comfortable and the inside has just the right amount of cushion. The fill inside the pillow is made up of bits of foam which seems weird but is actually really comfortable and honestly, after a long & hard day of hiking, there's nothing better than having a pillow to sleep on. We took these (size small) on several multi-day backpacking trips so far and they are reasonably light weight and fit well when packed up with the rest of our gear. It definitely beats using rolled up clothing or inflatable pillows. The pillow packs down into a small enough roll (it takes some practice to get it down) which is great when you're short on space. It does take a little while and/or fluffing to get the pillow back into shape after it's unrolled so it's typically one of the first things I take out of my bag and unroll after setting up the tent. We've been taking these on plane flights too and they've worked great (I'd say they're similar in size to the pillows you might get on a plane but much fluffier).

This is my favorite travel pillow.On the plane, I use it as a back support, and it is sublimely comfortable. It is by far more comfortable than any other back support I have tried on the airplane. There is plenty of bulk to support almost my entire lower back, not just one spot. It is soft and conforms to the shape of my back and the shape of the seat. I can even get a little sleep with this pillow behind my back on overnight coach flights. For me, it works better than blankets, bean bags, and my previous favorite self inflating bladder from OPTP. It is a little too thick to use for my head while seated on the plane. And even when compressed, it is still a little bulky, either inside my bag or dangling on the outside - but it is worth it for me.At my destination, this works as a bed pillow. I like thin pillows generally, and most hotel pillows are too thick or contain down which can cause allergies. So it's great to know I have a reasonably comfortable pillow with me no matter what I find at the hotel.At home, this is my favorite knee pillow. I have tried a few hourglass shaped knee pillows, but I like this one better. It has the right amount of thickness for my legs. And it is less bulky and easier to turn over with than the hourglass shaped knee pillows. I bought a second one to use at home!The self contained stuff bag is a great idea and works well! Even when stuffed it is still a little bulky and awkward to carry, but less than the other travel pillows sold in the airports.This review is based on the small size.Suggestions for improvement:-- Include a means to attach securely to the outside of my bag - perhaps a well fastened soft cloth loop with a detachable carabiner. Currently, I use the draw string, but the knot can come undone and I would never hear this pillow fall on the floor behind me in the airport.-- Consider a model thinner than the current small size. This would be useful as a head pillow on the plane.