Pillow suggestions?

Posted by: james__12345

Pillow suggestions? - 04/13/11 06:11 PM

I got stuck at a friends house over the weekend by a downed tree and powerline. We had planned on going hiking saturday, so I had my bag with me. I am still working on figuring out how all my gear rides in my bag best, so I've been taking everything whenever I have the bag out. I had a cheap fleece sleeping bag and a thermarest neoair that a generous board member gave me (I wont say who because I dont know if they want to be named) in the bag. I ended up using the bag and pad because there wasn't really anywhere else for me to sleep (their couch is HORRIBLE).

The pad slept much better than I had expected, but I had one problem, my neck was killing me the next day. I tried stuffing some clothes in a stuff bag, like I've read about people doing, but that was not comfortable at all. I had a small hunting cushin that I was taking for something to sit that I ended up using that for a pillow the first night there, and it was kinda uncomfortable. By the next morning my neck was very stiff and sore. The next night I used a regular pillow my friend had and slept much better. I am now looking for a decent pillow to take that wont take up much room. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by: Glenn

Re: Pillow suggestions? - 04/13/11 07:08 PM

I don't know what lives in your pack, but I've found something that works for me. I carry an MSR Dromlite for when I need to carry extra water (2 or 4 quart, depending on trip.) I discovered that, when you just open the little flip-valve on the cap, you can inflate it by blowing into it. Voila! It puffs up into a nice pillow shape. I place my boots at the head of my pad, lay the Dromlite on the toes (the ankles help hold it in place), and it makes a great pillow. It works equally well whether it's filled with water, air, or some of each.
Posted by: BrianLe

Re: Pillow suggestions? - 04/14/11 12:03 AM

I like a dedicated lightweight inflatable pillow --- I like to be able to adjust the level of inflation. I've slept a lot of nights on a Montbell inflatable pillow (2.4 oz), originally purchased along with one of their inflatable pads (they connect together). I tend to use a neo air inflatable pad now, but still use the Montbell pillow.
Posted by: dla

Re: Pillow suggestions? - 04/14/11 02:16 AM

A lot of time I use my pack for a pillow. The head angle is critical to avoiding a crink in the neck, and pressure point on the shoulder for a side-sleep. It is not trivial.
Posted by: james__12345

Re: Pillow suggestions? - 04/14/11 09:26 AM

Glenn, I do carry a water bladder in my bag, but honestly I would be a little afraid of poking a hole in the bag one the eyelets on my boots or putting too much pressure on it and busting something. With an extra bladder, I wouldn't be as concerned, but since its my primary water container I just dont know. I guess since the price is alot cheaper than the pillows I seem to be finding, just getting an extra bladder like the one I carry now might be a workable idea. Especially considering the dual use. I'll give that a try later today to see if it suits me comfort wise.

BrianLe, that is the type of thing I've been looking at, just wanting to see what options people seem to like.

dla, I have a 48 inch neoair pad. My pack is under my feet. That does sound like a good option if you're using a full length pad though. I'm pretty picky about my pillows, but if nothing else, it could provide a good base for a thinner pillow to cut down on bulk, like Glenn's suggestion of putting boots under the water bladder.

Posted by: Rick_D

Re: Pillow suggestions? - 04/14/11 12:44 PM

I use the clothing-in-the-bag approach paired with a short sleeping pad, and it works okay so long as the clothes are arranged carefully, not just stuffed in. It's a light (1 oz) fleece bag not a slick nylon stuffsack, which I find uncomfortable.

This won't work for the SUL crowd because they wear all their clothes to bed. wink

Cheers,
Posted by: oldranger

Re: Pillow suggestions? - 04/14/11 01:09 PM

If the clothing in the bag includes a fleece item, the result is indistinguishable from a conventional pillow - for me, anyway.
Posted by: Slowfoot

Re: Pillow suggestions? - 04/14/11 02:25 PM

Clothing in a stuff sack is okay if you have extra clothes, except that the stuff sacks I use are slick and won't stay under my head. My down jacket would make a decent pillow if I had a different stuck sack, but I don't take it on the majority of trips, and it's too heavy just for a pillow.

I used to use a Thermarest pillow, which was 8.5 ounces in the small size with "overfill" (added from another pillow). It uses those bits of foam that have been cut from the mats. I decided to make my own in a similar style, using a Cocoon coolmax pillow case and pieces of foam cut from a cheap mattress topper. The case is 0.9 ounces with the drawstring and flaps cut off, and I used 2.6 ounces of foam. I may add a little more foam, but it's just as comfortable as the Thermarest for me.
Posted by: BrianLe

Re: Pillow suggestions? - 04/15/11 01:00 AM

Quote:
"This won't work for the SUL crowd because they wear all their clothes to bed."


That's exactly my problem with using clothing as a pillow, at least on colder nights --- I'm wearing virtually everything. I'm not an ultra-light backpacker (much less a super ultra-lighter), I don't think one has to go towards the extremes to not have much in the way of discretionary clothing on cold nights.
Posted by: Rick_D

Re: Pillow suggestions? - 04/15/11 01:33 AM

I won't claim that's never happened to me, because when the weather took an unexpected turn for the worse I've worn every stitch to bed. Then it's the pack or whatever I can scrounge for under my head.

I try to have an extra margin, either with my bag or my clothing, to avoid those nights when you never quite warm up and just lie there, waiting for dawn. Those are looong nights.

Ah, wilderness!

cheers,

Originally Posted By BrianLe
Quote:
"This won't work for the SUL crowd because they wear all their clothes to bed."


That's exactly my problem with using clothing as a pillow, at least on colder nights --- I'm wearing virtually everything. I'm not an ultra-light backpacker (much less a super ultra-lighter), I don't think one has to go towards the extremes to not have much in the way of discretionary clothing on cold nights.
Posted by: JPete

Re: Pillow suggestions? - 04/15/11 09:15 AM

I'm one of those who, once in awhile, end up wearing everything.

I have a Granite Gear stuff bag for my spare clothes. It's very light, but it's also very tight cloth (almost air tight). Yet the cloth is comfortable on my face. I usually use that for my pillow with the clothes.

When I'm wearing them all, I've used two different methods: I've simply blown up the bag and tied a knot in it (makes bag too small, and air did not last whole night--had to do it again when I got up to water the bushes), or, more successfully, just stuffed it with duff. Worked fine. Best, jcp
Posted by: lori

Re: Pillow suggestions? - 04/15/11 09:55 AM

Originally Posted By Rick_D
I use the clothing-in-the-bag approach paired with a short sleeping pad, and it works okay so long as the clothes are arranged carefully, not just stuffed in. It's a light (1 oz) fleece bag not a slick nylon stuffsack, which I find uncomfortable.

This won't work for the SUL crowd because they wear all their clothes to bed. wink

Cheers,


Platypus full of air or water in the fleece bag?

Someone's going to say it isn't durable enough... mine is still without leaks after being mashed in between the pack frame and the bear can repeatedly, so I doubt my head will do much damage.
Posted by: balzaccom

Re: Pillow suggestions? - 04/15/11 11:47 AM

I'm with Old Ranger. A folded fleece, sometimes augmented with a folded towel, works pretty well for me.