My adventures in travel pillows: the good, the bad, and the bulky!
- Allora Andiamo
- Jan 2, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 19, 2020
I might have actually found the perfect thing to help me get some sleep on long-haul red-eyes. But I had to go through a lot of travel pillows to find the right combo.
When it comes to sleeping on planes, everyone's got a story to tell. Mine's very short: I don't. I also know how much my body loves being awake for 24 hours (flying direct from California to anywhere in Europe is at least 10 hours straight.) More riveting flash non-fiction: It doesn't.
But once I made my decision to spend Christmas 2018 in Florence, I challenged myself to find the right head and neck support that would let me get at least a nap. You see, I'm a head flopper. As soon as I feel myself drifting off, my head falls towards my chest, my neck screams at me, and I'm jolted awake. I thought that I was doing something wrong with all of the other horseshoe shaped pillows out there. That's what most of them look like. So I tried. OMG how I tried - a full-on, 4-Non-Blondes kind of try — which was actually a buying spree on Amazon. But I gained some significant intel and I'm ready to share. For your reading pleasure I've sorted my reviews into three categories: The Good, The Bad, and the Bulky.
Fast-forward one year and six long-haul flights later, I've stumbled upon two Amazon items that cracked the code on sleeping in coach. I should say that I found these puppies on my own and was not paid to provide these reviews (but if you decide to buy via the links below, I will get a teensie kickback from the Amazon Affiliate Program.)
The Good
The Zzz Band (Amazon)
This might look a little weird -- but certainly not as weird as all of those blow up contraptions -- I mean c'mon now peoples. TLDR: It worked. This kept my head from flopping over. I SLEPT. AND. I could use it with my noise-cancelling earbuds, too. To be fair, I don't know how well it would do with my over-ear NC phones, but honestly, I am so willing to deal with that so that I can get a tiny bit of nap time whilst over the cold, dark North Atlantic.
If you look at the reviews on Amazon, you'll see they're mixed. I honestly don't know what kind of hot head some were complaining about. Compared to other neck pillows this one was essentially air-conditioned. All of that bulk around my neck causes me to overheat. I did have one instance of the band slipping from the headrest (and you do indeed need the kind of headrest that bends in around both sides of your head). But I chalked that up to user error - I think being on the short side helps, too (I'm 5'3"). The best thing about this (in addition to it solving the head flop issue) is how small and light it is. You can carry it in your coat pocket. It takes up the same space as a pair of thin stretchy gloves you get at the dollar store. Compare that to any other neck pillow (even the inflatable ones) and this is a hands-down winner in the size category. But did I mention the whole head flop neck pain solution thing too? Yeah. Such a winner here, folks.
The Good
(+ A Bit Too Bulky for Those without Checked Luggage)
The Sky Siesta SNUG Travel Pillow (Amazon)
This is as adorable and as cozy as it sounds. It also helps to keep your chin from hitting your chest and addresses the head flop issue somewhat, but not perfectly. The thing I REALLY loved about this is that there is zero bulk at the back of your neck unlike all the other horseshoe-style pillows. I will never understand in which universe that shape of pillow would help reduce neck pain because the big wad of foam at the back of the neck serves to actually push your head down towards your chest once you try to lean back in your seat. That's nearly a full on head-flop situation before you're even a bit groggy.
But there was one thing I didn't love about this: It's ginormous compared to The Zzz Band. Even in its compression bag it felt just a bit too much in the bulk department and actually I ended up leaving it behind somewhere on my return trip. Now, for those of you who use their carry-on allowances for their carry-on items and not two-weeks-worth of Europe-friendly clothing and accoutrements, the bulk of this might not be an issue. One extra bonus: it physically drowns out a lot of noise because it rests SNUGly against your ears. Of note: I learned that I could sleep just fine with only my Zzz Band. YMMV.
The Bad
I'm not going to post pics of these bad boys; I'll just tell you why they were abject fails. It was mostly because they were so shoddily made that they fell apart before I got to the airport.
Knidos Travel Pillow - The entire thing is dependent upon the strap staying affixed to the pillow. After I tried it on the first time at home -- the stitching came undone and the thing became useless. Didn't help that they chose very slippery, stretchy material for the cover and the strap. A big fail.
Travelrest Memory Foam Pillow - Horseshoe with a little less bulk at the back, but still bulk. The Velcro strap at the front also became frayed and loose after three at home tries. Nope.
The Bulky
These weren't badly made, but they weren't of much use to me other than to take up space. Friends, I give you The Bulky.
BCOZZY Patented Travel Pillow - Becozzy I somehow thought that a bit of partially coiled foam would keep this head from flopping, I ended up with this on my doorstep. Back it went.
The Trtl - Now this one was interesting. I can see it working for some folks, but I tested this on a long haul flight and it didn't work for me. It was super hot because it's essentially a plastic frame contained within a fleece scarf, and the frame dug into my clavicle in a way that wouldn't let me sleep. Also, when it was in the bag, I had to fit all of my carry-on items around it because its shape is fixed. A lot of bulk for something of such little weight and volume. And no sleep to boot.
Huzi Infinity Pillow - This is essentially an infinity scarf. It's cozy, and will accommodate over-ear headphones easily. But it did not provide any support. All bulk.
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