studentsineurope

The Greatest Travel Pillow Ever

Therm-A-Rest pillow in midnight blue

This pillow is amazing, enough said.

I’d never actually owned a travel pillow before I came across the Cascade Designs’s Therm-a-Rest Compressible Pillow, but when I bought my Dad one as a Christmas present this year as an addition to his lightweight backpacking collection, I became a complete convert.

I’ve always been envious of travelers who could afford the space to pack those handy little neck pillows on planes, but alas, I’ve never been one of them.  They take up too much space, and as a strict carry-on only traveler (within Europe at least), I could never come up with the extra room.

But these pillows are different.  They’re extremely soft and comfortable, and let me tell you, it is so much nicer to travel without a constant kink in your neck from having slept on too many awkward uncomfortable surfaces.  At 12 x 30 inches for a small and 16 x 41 inches for a large, they’re actually big enough for your head to fit on (I have a large-sized one).  And get this: these pillows pack to one fifth their size, and weigh only 7-12 ounces (depending on your chosen size), so they won’t take up any extra room!

Therm-A-Rest is a company long known for its innovative, quality products, and this pillow lives up to its brand name.  At $17.95 for a small and $27.95 for a large, they’re are not cheap.  But just think about it as an investment – you’ll have it forever (as long as you don’t lose it on a wild night), and it will keep your neck in shape on planes, trains, hostels, and even on a park bench if you can’t find anywhere else to sleep.

Worried about how you’ll look with one?  These pillows come in lots of different cute colors like red, geometric blue, and denim, so you’ll always look stylish as you sleep.

And for environmental lovers, you’ll be happy to know that these pillows are earth-smart – their filling is made up of leftover bits and pieces of the foam from Therm-A-Rest sleeping pads.  Pretty cool, right?