8 Best Pillows for Camping and Backpacking | Round 3 |

hey friends justin here getting a good night's sleep when out on a camping or backpacking trip can be the difference between that trip being an okay trip and an amazing trip i've been searching for the perfect sleep system when camping and backpacking for years now and i think a camp pillow is the easiest quickest and least expensive way to get going on that journey i've already done a couple different videos reviewing camp pillows but today we're going to look at some new pillows on the market some that we haven't looked at before as well as some old favorites to figure out which cat pillow might be the best for you in order to get the best night's sleep and there's eight different pillows that we're gonna look at today there's the aeros premium deluxe i know that's a mouthful there's the nemo phelo the sea to summit aeros premium the therm-a-rest airhead the decathlon pillow the trekology deluxe this one's been something that you guys have been asking for me to review for a while now the hike enter and then the trachology 2.0 all eight of these pillows are inflatable pillows so that means there's an air bladder inside of all these pillows that you blow into it inflates the pillow and that's what gives it its structure and cushion next up i want to talk about usability and function and within that there's three different things i want to touch on with the first one being the valve system so this is how you inflate the pads and with all eight of these pads there's only three different valve systems that they use the first one being a button valve system so we have the trichology deluxe here and it uses the button and basically there's a button here that you press it allows the pillow to deflate and then you press it again and it creates a one-way valve so you can inflate it and you don't lose any air if you still have the little flap open here and for these pillows use the button system the trackology 2.0 the hike enter the decathlon pillow and then the trekology deluxe the second kind of valve is a twist valve and that's used by the nemo filo here as well as the thermarest airhead and how that works is there's basically a valve that you twist it opens it up and then you twist it again and it closes it up so in order to inflate it you have to open up the twist valve and then blow into it but the really annoying thing with these especially with the therm-rest airhead is that you need to continually blow until you have the pillow fully inflated and then close it as you're blowing the twist valve on the nemofilo isn't quite as annoying because as you're blowing you just push it down and then it closes and then you can twist it in order to fully lock it in the third kind of valve is only seen on the sea to summit pillow so that's the sea summit eros premium here and then the aeros premium deluxes big guy that we got going on and how that looks is there's two different flaps that align perpendicular to each other so you open up one flap here and you can inflate the pillow because there's a little flap here that only allows air to go one way and then if you want to deflate the pillow you open up the second flap here and it just dumps air really really quickly so this is my favorite valve system because it's easy to use and reliable and if you need to fix in the field if that little flap fails then they always give you a replacement flap here and you can just plug that in and you're all set to go this is definitely my favorite and easiest to use out of all the valve systems the twist valve is my least favorite and then the button one falls in the middle for washability of the pillows all the pillows except for the trekology 2.0 and c to summit aeros premium have removable pillow cases so what that means is that each of them have this fabric that's covering the air bladder so if you want to deflate the pillow you can take out the air bladder so you see here we have the air bladder and then you have a pillow case that you can throw into the washing machine which is a really nice feature if you're a drooler like me if you've ever woken up having to chase your pillow around the tent because it's slipping and sliding off your sleeping pad then this next topic for you and that's pad straps so there's only a few of the pillows here that have pad straps including both trichology pillows and the hike enter the nemo filo can be modified using two different tabs on either side here to add shock cord so i've tied shock cord onto those two little parts there and it creates a pad strap like this the pad straps my favorite pad attachment system because it's lightweight easy to use you can use it with pretty much any sleeping pad except for ones that taper really aggressively at the head the seam summit blows also have an attached pad attachment system but it's a proprietary system the pillow lock system so you can see it labeled right there basically it's a velcro system that you attach to your sleeping pad and then the seat of summit pillows can then stick to that velcro this isn't my favorite system because it's proprietary to see to summit and the velcro system only comes with the sleeping pad so you need to have the sleeping pad and then you can pick up the pillow and it'll stick to those velcro strips next we're going to talk about the most important thing with these pillows and that's comfort before we do go into the comments and let me know what pillow you use and why you enjoy using it and there's three different things we're going to be looking at with comfort for these pillows first being the shape of the pillow and the height of the pillow second being the supportiveness and baffling system and then the third thing being how comfortable the topper is and the material is the first bill we're going to talk about is the decathlon pillow so as far as shape goes you can tell it's a square and this isn't my favorite shape for a pillow as far as ergonomics go but it does lend to some pretty supportive baffling so you can push basically anywhere on this pillow and it's going to be supportive for height this pillow is 3.25 inches tall and that is a little bit short in my books i did a whole bunch of research on this and i found that the optimum pillow height for someone who's a side sleeper and back sleeper is four inches so that's the height that's going to allow you to sleep on your side comfortably and not get kinks in your neck and then sleep on your back comfortably as well if you're bigger with broad shoulders then you'll probably want a bit of a taller pillow especially if you're a side sleeper but if you're smaller with narrower shoulders then you can get away with a shorter pillow like i said the baffling on this pillow is really good the entire surface is super supportive even when deflated a little bit the pillow is still super supportive which in my books is a sign of a really good baffling system has a nice foam topper to it a good topper cushions you from the baffling system inside of the pillow which can sometimes be a little bit lumpy if a pillow has a topper to it and uses either foam or insulation to provide that cushion then it's also a little bit warmer in wintertime if you don't have broad shoulders and don't mind that doesn't have a pad attachment system then the decathlon pillow could be a good pick for you because of how comfortable it is and it's a really good price next up we have the thermarest airhead this pillow gets a lot of questions since it received such good reviews from me in my previous two videos but last year thermarest completely redesigned this pillow and completely changed it so we're going to look at all those changes saying see if this pillow still is a good buy it has a really nice shape to it i call this a kidney bean shape and it has a curved bottom to it that's nice to slide your shoulder into if you're sleeping on your side or if you're sleeping on your back it cradles your neck nicely as well for height it's three and a half inches tall which is pretty good for a pillow it's not that four inch sweet spot which is the perfect height for me i find 3.75 inches is when a pillow starts getting comfortable and 3.5 inches is kind of the minimum height for me in order for a pillow to be comfortable when sleeping on my side when fully inflated this pillow is fairly supportive but when it's a little bit deflated like it is right now then it becomes pretty balloony so what that means is when you're trying to sleep on it it feels like you're laying on a balloon you move your head to one side and it kind of completely uh balloons out on the other side and it's just a sign of pretty poor baffling and that's the big difference with this pillow versus the old version the old version had great baffling was super supportive i hate sleeping on a pillow that feels like a balloon and that's why for me this pillow is really not nearly as good as well when it's a little bit deflated the air bladder that's inside of this pillowcase starts being pretty crinkly and noisy and kept me awake at night when i was using it it does have a nice pillow case and topper to it instead of using foam like the decathlon pillow it uses a synthetic insulation to provide that cushion which is still effective is comfortable and does keep you warm but doesn't cushion your head quite as well as foam does i did a full review of this pillow where i talk about a whole bunch more but the gist of it is that since i did that review and all the testing for this pillow i haven't used it since i just don't like it and don't think it's a good buy the trekology 2.0 pillow also has that a nice kidney bean shape to it and i think it's the perfect size for a pillow too as far as width and depth goes for height it's three and a half inches tall but is a little bit taller on the edges at about one inch which creates some cradling for your head when you're sleeping on it the most amazing thing with with this pillow is the baffling system when you're laying on it it's super supportive anywhere you lay it's a supportive pillow and even if it's deflated quite a bit this pillow is still remarkably supportive and feels just like it does when it's fully inflated which is a great great feature and something that blew my mind when i initially tested this pillow it doesn't have a topper or pillowcase to it but the material it uses is pretty soft and a little bit stretchy as well so it isn't completely uncomfortable to sleep on i find it pretty good but for some people who like having a pillow case or a softer material the trachology might not work out for you as well a pillow that doesn't have any sort of foam topper or insulation on top can get a little bit cold in wintertime which i find with this pillow if i'm taking it out in the canadian winters overall this pillow has been one of my favorite pillows year after year you can't beat the comfort and price it just may be a little bit short for someone who's a side sleeper next we have the trekkology deluxe i receive more questions about this pillow than probably any other piece of gear out there on my channel and we're going to get into the details about this pill and what i think about it first of all it has that kidney shape which is really nice but the elephant in the room with this pillow is the height it's only three inches tall making it the shortest pillow out of the bunch and for me it's just unusable i can't use this pillow i've tried a whole bunch and it's just too short i get a huge kink in my neck when i'm sleeping on it because of the height so if you're similar size to me or you like having a bit of a taller pillow this pillow just won't work out for you but my girlfriend who has narrower shoulders she uses this pillow and finds it really really nice and that's because of the features that we're going to talk about next the first thing being that baffling system the trekkology deluxe has a really nice baffling system which is a characteristic of trachology pillows even when deflated it's still super super supportive it has a quilted topper to it with synthetic insulation like i said not nearly as supportive as foam and the synthetic insulation this one is a little bit thinner than some of the other pillows but it's still nice and comfortable overall this pillow may be the best pillow of the bunch if you have narrower shoulders it has a lot of great features is really comfortable super supportive but if you do have broader shoulders that just won't work with a three-inch tall pillow then just don't even bother trying this pillow out next we have this monstrosity of a pillow the cedar summit aeros premium deluxe this is just a big square pillow probably the same size as the pillow that you use at home and honestly while some people may be a little bit intrigued by the size of this pillow i find it unnecessary and just overall too big and it's also square shaped so it doesn't have that ergonomic shape to it like it does like the kidney bean shaped ones do it's three and a half inches tall so meets that minimum threshold for comfort i find with height and the baffling system is a little bit of an interesting one i thought this was going to be the same baffling system as the aeros ul deluxe which has a really nice baffling system to it with a topper on it but it's not they completely redesigned the baffling system for this pillow and as a result it's not super supportive so you lay on it and it is a little bit crinkly and then also not super supportive depending on where you're laying on it and if you deflate it even a little bit then it becomes even less supportive has a standard synthetic insulation topper to it which is comfortable but overall i think this pillow just isn't worth getting or looking at so we're just gonna throw it to the side next up we have the seat of summit aeros premium so this is the second best-selling pillow at rei and there's a couple different reasons i think first of all it's a nice ergonomic shape with that kidney bean shape to it and it's also the tallest pillow that we're talking about today at four inches tall so it hits that sweet spot for height which might be super comfortable for side sleepers the really kind of unfortunate thing with this pillow is that it's not very supportive it's very balloony to lay on even when it's fully inflated it kind of feels like you're laying on a balloon when it's a little bit deflated it becomes even less supportive and essentially unusable for me if you find that this one's a little bit too small for you the size regular then you can get a size large which will give you more surface area but it also makes it even more balloony feeling so something to think about if you're trying to decide between the regular and large versions has the same synthetic insulation topper that we've seen on a lot of other pillows that works really well but overall i don't think it's a top two pillow it's just not quite there with the baffling and supportiveness but if you need a pillow that's really tall and you like the sea to summit pillow lock system then this pillow may be for you next is the nemo philo and this is the best selling pillow at rei and there's some reasons for it i've talked about this pill in previous videos and how much i like it first of all the shape not the most ergonomic shape it is a square but the height is pretty nice at 3.75 inches so not four inches but still getting into that comfortable range for me the edges are a little bit less tall than the middle so you sometimes do feel like you're perched on top of it and you don't get that cradling effect like you do with a pillow like the trichology 2.0 it's a pretty supportive pillow especially when fully inflated and because of how cushy the topper is on this pillow you probably will never feel the need to actually deflate it even a little bit which brings us to the topper it's the comfiest topper of all the pillows it has a really thick cushiony foam topper to it and it's just all around a pleasure to lay on that being said while this pillow is really comfortable and does come with a system for adding a pad strap to it it's super super heavy and also really expensive so unless you are really having troubles finding a pillow that's comfortable for you then i'd probably hold off on getting this pillow and maybe making it a second or third purchase once you've tried some of the less expensive pillows then we have the hike enter pillow so a really nice shape to this pillow it's a very good size from a width and depth standpoint and then also has an ergonomic shape with a curved bottom here and a little bit of an hourglass shape with a curved top as well baffle wise this pillow is super supportive taking a lot of cues from the trachology pillow with a little bit higher sides to it which cradles your head and then even when deflated this pillow is still super supportive it's a little bit taller than sharkology 2.0 at 3.75 inches height so just getting into that comfort range and then it has a quilted topper to it with synthetic insulation which adds a nice little bit of comfort to it and gives you that ability to wash the pillowcase so which pillow do i like the most and recommend to you guys and i'm only going to allow myself one choice other times i've allowed myself a few different choices but the pillow that i find myself reaching for out of all the pillows that i have and it's a lot of them is the hike enter pillow it has that pad strap which i really really like has a decent valve system really good supportive baffling to it and then it has that quilted topper which is really nice and also a little bit warmer when it's the weather is cold or it's winter time if you're also looking for a sleeping pad on your journey to most comfortable sleep in the backcountry then go check out a video i'll post right up there where i talk about what i think are the three best sleeping pads on the market i compare the cedar summit etherlight xt the nemo tensor and the thermarest x-lite to see which one is the most comfortable and will get you the best nice sleep when out in the backcountry especially when paired with an amazing pillow

Channel: Justin Outdoors

Views: 11,924

Rating: 4.982379 out of 5

Keywords: Backpacking, Hiking, Camping, ultralight, backpacking gear, camping gear, hiking gear, ultralight gear, best backpacking gear, best hiking gear, Appalachian Trail, ultralight backpacking, hiking trails, gear review, decathlon pillow, thermarest air head, trekology pillow, trekology deluxe, sea to summit pillow, aeros pillow, nemo fillo, hikenture, best camp pillow, best camping pillow, best backpacking pillow, pillow for camping, pillow for backpacking, ultralight pillow

Id: sj4iGddyCcM

Length: 15min 37sec (937 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 30 2021