I know what you're thinking. "Sleep on you clothes". Not bad advice, but I already use my clothes (w/stuff sack) for something else. SO...I am making a pillow.

I bought some super cheap fabric from Walmart for a blanket, and I have just enough left over to make a nice little camp pillow(I honestly don't know what the stuff its -it almost feels like satin). I need to decide. DOWN or SYNTHETIC.

DESIRED PILLOW SIZE: 10"x15" with about 3/4" loft

BUDGET: $5 (I already have the shell material)

I know DOWN compresses better and is warmer. I don't care at all about warmth, but I do want it to be light and compress as small as possible. There are a couple things that turn me off about down, though. Down takes a long time to dry, and if it might wet from condensation (or drool). Also, I don't know if this material will hold down. Down leaks out of some materials. I have an expensive Nautica down ski coat and the down leaks right through the lining. Also, I don't know where to get that small a amount of down. I was going to buy a down jacket or comforter from a thrift store and just rip it open, but even the childrens jackets were $10+ at Goodwill. I need cheaper!

I am leaning towards the SYNTHETIC, unless anyone can give me a compelling reason to use down. Which synthetic idea do you think is best? Keep in mind I like a soft, fluffy pillow.

-buy a $2.50 pillow and use the stuffing out of it
-buy a $30 bag of poly-fill from Walmart
-use a triple up a few leftover scraps form the sheet of synthetic I used in my sleeping bag (the cheap Walmart stuff)

Or do you have any better ideas?

My pillow weighs about a pound. If I bought the $2.50 one and used half the filling, it should be about 8oz. I can live with that, but I really want something that would be a little more compact. I tried rolling my pillow up real small and it was way more than twice the size of something I'd want to carry.

Oh yeah, don't want an inflatable one. They don't fold, and I that's a quality I need. Plus they are uncomfortable.

Discuss...