When you use a pillow at dwelling, I like to recommend taking a tenting pillow with you in your backpacking journeys. You’ll nearly actually sleep higher if in case you have one as a result of your physique is used to having the additional help. I discovered this the exhausting approach myself, attempting all types of how to scale back my backpacking gear weight by not carrying a pillow, solely to find that I sleep infinitely higher once I convey one on my journeys.
A very powerful factor to search for when shopping for a backpacking pillow is getting one which stays on high of your sleeping pad all evening and doesn’t fall off. You’d suppose that backpacking and tenting pillow producers would have found out it is a must-have attribute, however most don’t embrace any form of pad attachment system to maintain the pillow beneath your head all evening.
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 persist with the underside of their pillows. I take advantage of 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 convey a devoted pillow with the intention to cut back my gear weight. As a substitute, I stuffed an insulated jacket right into a stuff sack and used that as a pillow, although it didn’t present the identical help or head top that I most well-liked when sleeping at dwelling. In hindsight, it was barely satisfactory and by no means stayed in place at evening.
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. Consequently, I concluded that the pillow isn’t as necessary 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 possibly can in all probability obtain the identical outcome by utilizing a cutoff pair of pantyhose in a a lot cheaper approach.
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