Pillows

[Boab]

One nice thing about the emergency BaM rules and being in the garden, was the ability to use my full size pillow. On the three actual bivvies I've managed, I've not taken enough extra clothing etc, to stuff into one of the dry bags to use as a pillow. I've been looking at the ones on ULOG, but they all look pretty uncomfortable blow up affairs.

Since we're supposed to, TLS, I'm wondering what people use as a pillow when they're out and about...? If I decided to buy an actual pillow, can anyone recommend one that is nice and squidgy*...?






* Being deaf in one ear has one advantage for sleeping, you just stuff your good ear into the pillow and block out most background noise. Does require a squidgy pillow though...

[Wotsits]

I've not really got on with inflatable pillows myself, but if you do consider bringing something to pack it with, these are spendy but ace-

https://zpacks.com/collections/pillow-dry-bags

They can also conform with TLS being dual use. I store my sleeping gear/spare clothes in mine.

I'm also partially deaf in one ear! These keep the noise out of the good ear just fine

[mattpage]

I have a Marmot Strato pillow. While it is pretty good, I rarely bother just as I find the Thermarest Neoair sufficient without any kind of pillow, inflatable or clothing.

It is very small, packable and light though. Fits in the hood of a bag nicely.

[Bearbonesnorm]

The trouble with stuffing a bag with spare clothes is (a) why have you got spare clothes and (b) do you want to rest your head on a drybag that's spent the day gradually building a nicer layer of sheep / cow / horse / dog sh1t?

For a long time, I used a Klymit Kush. I fold it into 3 and put my buff round it to hold it all together. Forms a nice high pillow, so good for side sleepers. Recently I've started to use a Sierra Designs DryDown pillow. Not as light or compact (not stupid either) but feels more like a proper pillow which is lovely.

All blow up pillows feel much better wrapped in a buff. If not sleeping in your jersey then you can also use that as a sleeve over the top of your mat which will hold your pillow in place.

[Bumpy Jonas]

I use a Exped inflatable with thin bungee to hold it on the Thermarest otherwise it dissapears. Had about 200 nights on this no problems. I use Thermarest foam pillow in the van and on long tours they are worth a look.

[Lazarus]

I use a sea to summit one and its nice and cofortable

TLS does not mean dont take what you need it means leave at home what you dont need/wont use and what you need is not the same for all of us
IME 40-60 g extra weight will not slow me down as much as a neck so sore i cannot turn it.
20 years ago no pillow was my default position

[Bearbonesnorm]

TLS does not mean dont take what you need it means leave at home what you dont need/wont use and what you need is not the same for all of us

Absolutely Jon. The intention is warm, dry and comfortable with the minimum, not cold, wet and miserable .... any nob can achieve that.

[whitestone]

Stu - turn the dry bag inside out Then slip a buff over it for a nicer fabric to lay your face against.

We've each got a Sea to Summit inflatable pillow, as Lazarus says you just save a bit of weight elsewhere.

in the past when not using inflatable mats I've used shoes, boots and climbing rope (obviously I was out climbing when using the latter - I don't take 50m of rope around with me just in case I need to tie up a dragon, etc._

[Bearbonesnorm]

Stu - turn the dry bag inside out Then slip a buff over it for a nicer fabric to lay your face against.

Yes but then whatever I've stuffed it with is now covered in sh1t

[Boab]

For a long time, I used a Klymit Kush. I fold it into 3 and put my buff round it to hold it all together. Forms a nice high pillow, so good for side sleepers. Recently I've started to use a Sierra Designs DryDown pillow. Not as light or compact (not stupid either) but feels more like a proper pillow which is lovely.

Funnily enough, I have a tab open in the browser for that pillow... Must be a sign or something.

As I have an Exped DownMat, I also carry the mini pump around with me too. I was wondering about the Exped Pillow Pump, as a kill two birds with one stone affair.



Maybe a proper(ish) pillow and a Schnozzel Pumpbag, would be a better, if more expensive, combo though...?

TLS does not mean dont take what you need it means leave at home what you dont need/wont use and what you need is not the same for all of us

Totally agree. What I meant, was that I don't have spare clothes, and what not, to put in a stuff sack.

[Gari]

I’ve got that very thing^, very comfy and makes inflating the mat much easier:)

[ScotRoutes]

I use the Exped pillow. Don't be tempted to over-inflate it else it becomes uncomfortable. If using a sleeping bag, I'll normally pop it in the hood to stop it moving. However, I lie on my side and don't moveuch when sleeping so I've never had to fix it in place.

[Wotsits]

TLS does not mean dont take what you need it means leave at home what you dont need/wont use and what you need is not the same for all of us
IME 40-60 g extra weight will not slow me down as much as a neck so sore i cannot turn it.
20 years ago no pillow was my default position

Couldn't agree more, have a bad neck myself & spent years trying different pillows to try & alleviate a stiff neck in the morning. Imo a good nights sleep is one of the important/best things in life.. Even went through a period taking a full size down pillow out with me is search of a pain-free sleep/next day..

Stu - turn the dry bag inside out Then slip a buff over it for a nicer fabric to lay your face against.

Yes but then whatever I've stuffed it with is now covered in sh1t

The z-packs one is designed to be reversable, with the fleece inside as a dry-bag. I don't sleep in my riding gear so store spare socks, undercrackers/long johns & (usually) a BB boo t-shirt in there & then pack the riding gear in for the pillow..

[Wotsits]

As I have an Exped DownMat, I also carry the mini pump around with me too. I was wondering about the Exped Pillow Pump, as a kill two birds with one stone affair.

I've got one of those, it was ok, it's full of foam so it can work as a pump. But this makes it a tad bulky when packed & they're not particularly light compared to the alternatives..

[macinblack]

I have the exped pillow pump but I move about too much for it to stay where I want it.
I now use a sea to summit pillow which I get on much better with, and it's easier to find the sweet spot with regard to hardness/softness. It means I use a schnozzle pump bag but as I never sleep well, at least this combination gives me a better chance of more ZZZZs

[ScotRoutes]

Stu - turn the dry bag inside out Then slip a buff over it for a nicer fabric to lay your face against.

Yes but then whatever I've stuffed it with is now covered in sh1t

I'd accuse you of having an unnatural obsession with sheep sh1t but I have actually done a BB200.

[composite]

This is a different colour to the one I have but its basically the same.
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/air-basic-p ... 55369.html

Can't go wrong for a fiver.

[sean_iow]

cold, wet and miserable .... any nob can achieve that.

Oi, I've put a lot of effort in to achieving that

I find the trick with inflatable pillows (and mats) is not to inflate them too much. They need a bit of give. A pillow blown up too hard just pops out from under your head. I also have a length of elastic on mine that goes under the mat and helps hold it in place.

[composite]

cold, wet and miserable .... any nob can achieve that.

Oi, I've put a lot of effort in to achieving that

I also have a length of elastic on mine that goes under the mat and helps hold it in place.

When I read "length of elastic" I immediately thought of it running around your face below your nose and above your top lip.

[RIP]

Think I've tried pretty much every one of the above alternatives in my own quest . Pillow is my most critical bit of gear and it's still not right. Maybe it's impossible.

When I bought my first Exped UL mat I got an Exped Pillow Pump with it. Then I obtained a UL pillow which meant I needed a Mini Pump (that was quite hard to source). Swapped the UL pillow for an HL one, but kept the Mini Pump. I used the technique Stu mentioned to keep it in place - stuff into fleece and pull fleece down over mat.

Next upgraded to an HL mat from the UL.

Then everyone Here seemed to have a Schnozzle. Again took a while but bought one of those. Tried using it blown/stuffed as a pillow but wasn't airtight. Didn't really get along with it as a pump either.

Next purchase was the Exped Winterlite mat.

But I never really got on with the UL/HL pillows so I'm back to the Pillow Pump and Winterlite as my all year round setup.

The only improvement, as mentioned by me elsewhere and Andy here, would be a fullsized down pillow weighing 40g and a tiny packed size.

Investigations continue forever more I suspect.

[Boab]

So it's basically a toss up between the Sierra Designs DriDown Pillow at £25, and the Exped Pillow Pump, also at £25. With the knowledge that either may, or may not, be comfortable, what I'm looking for... Which one to try first...

[Bearbonesnorm]

If you sleep on your side, I'd go SD but obviously, the Exped serves two purposes ... it's tricky.

[RIP]

Pillow Pump is 135g compared to HL which I think is a shade under 40g, but the latter needs Schnoz at 60g of course. As Stu points out the PP does both at a cost of 35g.

I reckon if I put all my mats on top of each other they'd have an R-value of about 500 . (I think max is actually 10 isn't it? Exped Megamat is 9.5)

[sean_iow]

When I read "length of elastic" I immediately thought of it running around your face below your nose and above your top lip.

That's not a bad idea, it would definitely stay in place as I move about. I could wear it on the ride there as an extra safety measure Something like this...

[RIP]

. Even better Sean (because that looks completely ridiculous obviously) would be to tuck the deflated pillow under your collar or whatever, and attach a CO2 canister to it. Then you could contrive some sort of accelerometer thingy which would detect a prang then set the CO2 canister off. Hey presto - airbag!