When you use a pillow at dwelling, I like to recommend taking a tenting pillow with you in your backpacking journeys. You’ll virtually actually sleep higher you probably have one as a result of your physique is used to having the additional assist. I realized this the exhausting approach myself, making an attempt all types of how to cut back my backpacking gear weight by not carrying a pillow, solely to find that I sleep infinitely higher after I deliver one on my journeys.
An important factor to search for when shopping for a backpacking pillow is getting one which stays on high of your sleeping pad all night time and doesn’t fall off. You’d suppose that backpacking and tenting pillow producers would have discovered this can be a must-have attribute, however most don’t embody any sort of pad attachment system to maintain the pillow beneath your head all night time.
Personally, I swear by the pillow attachment system that comes with Sea-to-Summit sleeping pads and works with Sea-to-Summit Tenting Pillow. It contains particular non-abrasive hook-and-loop patches that adhere to your sleeping pad and stick with the underside of their pillows. I exploit this pillow attachment system with a 2.5 oz Sea-to-Summit Aeros Down Pillow and a Sea-to-Summit Insulated Etherlight XT Sleeping Pad and sleep like a child on all my journeys. Please be aware, this pad attachment system solely comes with Sea-to-Summit sleeping pads and solely works with their pillows.
Once I began backpacking, I didn’t deliver a devoted pillow with a view to scale back my gear weight. As a substitute, I stuffed an insulated jacket right into a stuff sack and used that as a pillow, regardless that it didn’t present the identical assist or head top that I most popular when sleeping at dwelling. In hindsight, it was barely sufficient and by no means stayed in place at night time.
I attempted quite a few different pillows after that together with the Flex Air Ultralight Pillow, the Hyperlight Mountain Gear Stuff Sack Pillow, the NEMO Fillo Pillow, and so forth., however none of them stayed in place both. Because of this, I concluded that the pillow isn’t as essential because the pillow attachment system.
Clearly what’s wanted is a pillow attachment system that’s sleeping pad and pillow impartial. Whereas I haven’t tried it but, the brand new Pillow Strap pillow attachment system seems prefer it ought to fulfill that want properly. In fact, you may most likely obtain the identical end result by utilizing a cutoff pair of pantyhose in a a lot inexpensive approach.
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