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Searching for a Travel Pillow That Is Comfortable, Stylish
July 6, 2001
© 2001 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By RAFER GUZMAN, Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Several hours into a long flight to Hong Kong, as passengers
struggled to get a few blessed minutes of sleep, they
enviously watched one large gentleman dozing so soundly
that a string of drool seeped into his sweater. His apparent
secret: massive bodyweight providing ample chin support.
The rest of the passengers, however, were left to rely
on rolled-up coats, seatmates' shoulders or those mint-thin
airline pillows—none of which guaranteed freedom
from neck cramps.
There is another solution, of course: travel pillows.
These typically U-shaped cushions purport to keep the
head from flopping awkwardly to one side, letting you
sleep upright. But do they work? Although we've seen multitudes
of them in airport gift shops and catalogs, we don't know
anyone who owns one. One possible reason: They look pretty
ridiculous, and can be counted on to draw sidelong glances
from the rest of the vacationing masses packed shoulder
to shoulder in coach class this summer. But in the end,
who cares? If all goes according to plan, you'll be sleeping,
and they won't.
Economy-Class Workout
The travel pillows we ordered ranged from a simple $16
inflatable brace to a high-tech foam model that set us
back $75. We had three very-basic criteria: comfort, price
and portability. After all, why pamper your neck with
a pillow if you pull your shoulder lugging it around?
Though we weren't judging on looks, we did manage to avoid
being seen with them: We sent our esteemed colleague,
travel reporter Jesse Drucker, to give our pillows the
economy-class workout. The first thing he discovered is
that the headrests on airplane seats got in the way of
the pillow, forcing his head forward at an awkward angle.
Granted, it may be partially because six-foot-two Jesse
sits higher than many passengers. Still, it made him wonder
whether the pillow makers had ever boarded a plane before
designing their products.
Or, for that matter, whether they had tried hauling these
things around once the plane had landed. Forget packing
light: Two of them were filled with dense, polystyrene
foam -- not unlike the material you would find in one
of those stress-relief balls—and even a beanbag-like
pillowcontaining buckwheat hulls weighed more than a pound.
That's a lot of weight and bulk to add to your carry-on.
Pouring Out Buckwheat
Before we sent our tester on the road, we had high hopes
for the model from Brookstone. For $75, we figured this
pillow —made from so-called Tempur-Pedic foam, which
molds to the curves of your neck—had to be special.
Yet our tester, unaware of its reputation, flatly flunked
it: "Too snug and little too heavy. It feels like
it's filled with clay." The second foam model, the
TempUForm neck pillow from Comfort House, provided more
comfort at less than half the price, and at a mere nine
ounces, it's much easier to haul around. One problem:
It felt a bit loose and didn't provide quite the support
we were after.
Our tester had the same problem with the model we got
from TravelSmith: This inflatable pillow was so loose
it kept sliding off his neck—and he got fuzz on his
lips when he blew it up. In fact, TravelSmith just stopped
selling this pillow. But frequent travelers pointed out
that it was similar to the blow-up cushions available
in airport shops, which they liked for their stowability.
The Bucky pillow, which we ordered from REI but is available
from plenty of other vendors, scored points for comfort.
Our tester liked the way his head nestled into the buckwheat-hull
filling. He also said it felt lighter than the foam models
he tested. Still, the only way to adjust its fluffiness
is to unzip the cover and pour out some of the hulls --
not really an operation you want to perform in seat 27B.
The winner: the Komfort Kollar from Magellan's. Though
easily the most ludicrous in name and design, the company
says this donut-shaped pillow was designed by a spinal
surgeon. Unlike other models, this pillow keeps the head
snug and upright thanks to a Velcro strap that secures
it around the neck. Our tester claimed he could nap fairly
well without any added support. Plus, it deflates to save
space and costs an affordable $24.85.
One caveat: Airlines are increasingly adding adjustable
headrests with "wings" that fold outward to
provide head support. Our tester says such headrests
make travel pillows unnecessary—but individuals
will have to decide how to save their own necks.
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