If you’re lookin’ for the best travel pillow for those seemingly never-ending flights to Thailand let me tell you we’re here to help. After a long year of trial and error we’ve narrowed down our favorite travel pillows based on comfort, portability and price. There’s a unique art to sleeping on airlines and the travel pillow is the centerpiece. We also just released a new article on the Best Travel Pillow for Neck Pains and Long Naps if you don't find what you like here!
The CABEAU Memory Foam Evolution Pillow
Overall
The Good
- The Best Travel Pillow We Tried
- Outstanding Firmness and Support
- Extremely Collapsable
- Memory Foam is Comfortable and Durable
The Gross
- Slightly Strange Small at First
- Not Ideal For Extremely Tall People (yet again..)
The Vitals
- 39.00$
- BUY HERE
- 9.5x10x5"
Functionality:
This was our favorite! It was consistently the best at keeping us stable, comfortable and sleeping like a baby in all situations. What’s outstanding about the Cabeau is that it’s made with real memory foam not a cheap replica. You really feel your head sink in and mold around the contours of the material. It’s also delicate in that it doesn’t push your head in any direction allowing you to rest naturally.
The real seller here is that the Cabeau is extremely compact! It actually rolls up into a tiny included sack that you can fit in any backpack with ease. It’s amazing that you can fit this thing in such a small case and this really forced us to love it as travelers every square inch of our backpack is valuable real estate! This little guy saved us a lot of space and gave us outstanding sleep anywhere we happened to be!
Value for $$$:
If you're looking for something cheaper I can direct you to the similar Memory Soft Neck Pillow at $24.99. But I can’t overstate how great of a product this is for the price. You’ll never regret spending $39 now to have some quality sleep on those red eye’s across the ocean. We all know how horrible it is to arrive in a foreign country on minimal to none sleep. The Cabeau will make sure that never happens again!
Sex Appeal:
While the Cabeau is fairly bulky and unattractive, it’s really not possible to find a travel pillow that won’t look fairly ridiculous. We think, for how bulky it is they did manage to design it in as sexy a way as possible and for that we commend them!
Overall
The Good
- Half the size of traditional U-pillows
- EXTREMELY comfortable
- Best ergonomics
- Keeps neck straight & stable consistently
- Great durability
- Easily packable
The Vitals
- $29.99
- BUY HERE
- 4.5 stars on Amazon
- 3.5 oz
The Gross
- Sometimes needs adjusting
Functionality:
This is a fairly new pillow that I heard of from facebook of all things. People just can't seem to stop raving about it's perfect design so I knew I had to try myself. If you're searching for a better alternative to the traditional bulky U-shaped travel pillows I can comfortably say the Trtl is far far better than any other pillow I've tried.
First off it's incredibly easy to get used to. Although the unique design may seem strange you'll soon wonder why all pillows aren't designed this way. It just makes so much more sense than any U-pillow and manages to not only be more comfortable but also more portable and lightweight as well. However the biggest benefit is how damn stable and comfortable it is, it truly holds your neck in a perfect position allowing you to nod off in any situation. Coupled with it's stellar reviews on Amazon and you know you can't go wrong here. It may just be the perfect pillow for travel. We did knock off half a star as at times it took a little while to find the perfect position but once you do you'll be sleeping for hours even in the aisle seat!
Sex Appeal:
The least embarrassing travel pillow I've ever come across. You won't look like a clueless tourist with this baby, it's seamless design helps you blend right in. I also love the subtle color.
Value for $$$:
They could easily be charging much more for this. The usual price is $40 but as of this writing it's only $29.99 on Amazon. Compare that to similar products like the Infinity Pillow at $60 and you'll realize just how great of a deal this is. Due to it's high portability and durability this will be your new best friend for years to come at the price of a used video game.
Overall
Buy yours now on Amazon! On Sale for $20 [normally $30]
The Wrap-A-Nap has been on the market for years but just now finally became available on Amazon!
What we love about it is that it's the only travel pillow we've seen that acts as an all-in-one travel sleeping solution. It's highly portable and fits easily in our bags. When you take it with you it can either cover your eyes and ears forming a 'portable sleep chamber' blocking most sounds and sights even in the roughest areas. Or you could choose to wrap it around your neck for optimum neck and head support for long naps in uncomfortable seats.
My favorite use for this baby was for putting around my eyes and ears. It was invaluable for it's ability to simultaneously blocking out the busy world of an airplane while also giving me something to lean on at the same time. I've never found another travel pillow that can do the this and found myself taking the Wrap-A-Nap with me on my travels more than almost any other pillow.
The thing I love most about the Wrap-A-Nap is it's versatility. There really is no other travel pillow out there that can turn literally any environment into the perfect place for a nap the way this can. It's very rugged and well made, we even tested it out on a park bench and found that it almost completely blocked out the rough wooden surface with it's sturdy padding. Perfect for those emergency travel situations where you may need to spend a night in an airport terminal.
Finally it's really important to note just how comfortable this thing is. When you're wearing it you barely notice it after a while which to me makes it the perfect travel pillow as it has the capability to make you forget you're not sleeping at home in bed! I got a full 8 hours using just this baby and a pair of headphones during a layover at LHR airport. Honestly it's the best $20 you can spend for your travel and even if you're not planning any big trips I'd say get it for a little shut eye on the lunch break at work!
Overall
The Good
- It Works Great (if it fits)
- Strap to Attach to Your Bag
- One Of a Kind Design
- Sturdy
The Gross
- A Tab Bulky
- Doesn't Work Well For Very Large Heads
The Vitals
- 29.00$
- BUY HERE
- 4.5 stars on Amazon
- 11.8x7.9x13"
Functionality:
Here’s where things get interesting. If this pillow fits your head it will work marvels on your travel sleep game. However if you’re tall and large headed (like myself) you may find the J Pillow to be a tad too small for your purposes. Tamara had no issues at all getting it to support her neck through long flights while I felt it slipping continuously. If you’re under 6’ tall buy it right now and don’t hesitate there are thousands of others out there that swear by it just make sure it’s the right fit for you!
What we like most about this one is that it really does a great job supporting your next when you don’t have a wall or shoulder to lean on. It also provides a very comfortable padding that serves just as a real pillow would feel. We found it to work particularly well on flights where head rests are few and far between.
Value for $$$:
The price here is the real seller. At $29.95 it’s one of the cheaper options for quality portable travel pillows. What you’re getting here (quality sleep on an airplane) is basically priceless compared to those $4000 reclining seats we’d opt for this little guy.
Sex Appeal:
While the J Pillow kind of looks like a large blue dong we decided to see it as the price you pay for some quality sleep!
Overall
The Good
- Once You Learn It You'll Love It!
- Ultra Portable and Comfortable
- Good For Any Situation
The Gross
- There Is A Learning Curve Here
- Not As Comfortable As The Cabeau
The Vitals
- 39.00$
- BUY HERE
- 6x6"
Functionality:
The Kuhi Comfort is truly a one of a kind design that you won’t find from any other pillow. The way it’s meant to be used is as a leaner. You’re not supposed to sleep upright and I think that’s where many people tend to misuse this little wonder. The Kuhi is an exceedingly comfortable leaning pillow that surrounds your head in a pillowy cloud just begging you to fall asleep.
We found it to work best on airplanes actually as it’s comfortable durable design made it easy to find a comfortable position in virtually any situation. It’s also a rare find for a travel pillow to be so minimal yet so effective. The one issue we found was for larger heads it seems the band connecting the two pillows tends to be on the shorter side but never short enough that it was unusable! We also loved how damn portable these are! You can take these anywhere and you’ll always have a nice sleep.
Value for $$$:
While we absolutely loved the Kuhi Comfort, if we had to choose we’d still go with the Cabeau as it was overall a tad more comfortable for the price. However, if you’re looking for a more compact and travel friendly option this is the way to go!
Sex Appeal:
These are likely the cutest little travel pillows we’ve ever seen. The two sides of the Kuhi end up looking like two fluffy hamsters cuddling with your cheeks, what’s sexier than that!?
BONUS: Best Sleep mask we used
The Bedtime Bliss Contoured Sleep Mask
At only $12 we were sceptical of the quality of such a sleep mask however after only a couple uses we decided we had to let our readers know about this one.
What first attracted us were the 4.5 stars on Amazon so we took the plunge a tried them out. The biggest issue we had finding a good mask was finding one that was both comfortable and efficient with blocking out light. So many masks out there let light peak through the sides or feel like a dead animal on your face. Not this one. This honestly feels like it was specifically made for my face.
The material they use has to be angel feathers or something. I can barely feel it but it feels like a contoured pillow. It feels like a luxury item and honestly I almost wish they were charging more as they truly deserve more for how great this is.
You can buy your own here. We've only had our pair for a few months but other users are saying their's lasted for years sometimes even getting even more comfortable over time as the edges wore softer.
