Best Travel Pillow?

Nancy not sure if you mean the type of pillow you would actually use at night in hotel, or just what I call a travel pillow, the ones you use to try and sleep sitting up in a plane! I use two cheap blow up U shaped pillows for travel, they have that fake suede covering. I use one around neck,, and this is the key,, an underinflated one in the small of my back since for some reason plane seats seem to be designed with concave backs that push your neck out and don't have any support for the middle of your back.

I have tried four different travel pillows and did not like any of them. I just hang my head down and drool all over my chin and shirt.

ha ha now theres a vision of a seat mate we all want!

Monte, you and Sharon are too classy to be drooling! Oh, maybe that was just first impressions?
Nancy, we have used Magellans' neck pillows for a couple of years now that we really like. Rick's Travel Store now carries one that looks and is described the same. Best of all, it's on sale right now!

Well with any luck Monte, next flight I will be seated next to you! =)

I can do a good snort too.

I too have used the suede blow up neck pillows. Even though people have suggested they can be used backwards (so your head doesn't tip forward), it still has not worked for me. I just bought a Neck Rest pillow from Caldera - shown in the Sky Mall catalogue. This is supposed to prevent the neck falling forward, so we will see. I never sleep on flights and those times I've started to drift off as soon as the head falls forward I wake up. So, I'm hopeful for my May trip.

I generally can not really sleep in anything that moves, vibrates or has any noise - so longhaul flights are a challenge. I also think there's no great pillow solution. That said, after having tried several of the blow-up pillows (including Rick's) and finding them all pretty useless, I'm reasonably happy with the "inflatable komfort kollar". Sold by Magellan's and other places, it's another blow-up, faux-suede pillow like so many others, but it wraps around your neck, forming a (mostly) supportive "tube" that cradles your neck/head. If you can find the "sweet spot" of inflation level and position, it does do a pretty good job of keeping your head upright and prevents it from flopping over (which is what always jolts me awake). Not great, but if I'm tired enough, it helps even me enter a semi-sleeping kind of twilight state, and even doze off briefly - all of which is much closer to actual sleep than anything else I've experienced on a plane. If you're someone who's less resistant to sleeping in a moving object than I am (and just about everyone is), I bet this would help a lot. Hope that's useful.

Thanks for all of your replies! David..I have seen the "Komfort Kollar" on line as well and wondered how others liked them. Not that it should matter, but I can only imagine how this could enhance my double chin :) Sharon..thanks for your feedback as well, I will look up your suggestion on line.
I have never slept more than 10 or 15 minutes in a stretch on an airplane and we are taking an overnight flight to London from LA (what was I thinking!) I will check them all out, make a decision and hope for the best!

Hi, Nancy. The travel pillow that I use is different from the ones you are considering, but I thought I'd make you aware of it in case it's of interest. I have the Geoduck Pillow from Feathered Friends here in Seattle. It's down and when stuffed is pretty small. I use a down pillow at home so I like having my own for travelling. Unfortunately, it seems to have become pretty expensive. I think I paid $20 for mine.

I also use an inflatable faux-suede covered one that I bought cheap on a train in France 4 years ago. I turn it sideways instead of backward, so it feels like I am leaning on my neighbor's shoulder to sleep, without violating anyone's personal space (fortunately). Seems to work pretty well for me.

I have found success with the soft velour kind of fabric ones that snap around your neck. They have little beads inside. They stay put on the plane and prevent neck aches and when I get wherever..even relative's homes with hard pillows..I can sort of lay it out and get a good night's rest with no headache.
I had a little rectangular one which was good too, but the snap on feature really supports your neck with that odd angle its put into on the plane

The best pillow I've found is the Nap brand, which you can get at Brookstone. I've seen them at a lot of airports too. They weigh nothing, so I just hang it from the handle of my carryon.

Ditto on the Brookstone pillow. I also don't sleep on planes. However, with the brookstone pillow and bose headsets, I can cat nap a bit. The pillow keeps my head/neck aligned, and I arrive in much better shape since I started traveling with the pillow. Again just clips onto the handle of the carryone.

Thank you ladies! I'm checking out the brookstone website right now!

hello again! The Brookstone website shows two Nap pillows. One is the more traditional shape and the other is a U shape...any preference? They look cozy!

Bought a cheap-oh, u-shaped neck pillow at an airport gadget store...looked ok, velour etc. but...it didn't do much for me. My best results sleeping on a long haul flight is to get a seat next to the window, stretch out as much as possible, slightly kitty/corner if possible, and use an airline pillow to rest your head between the seat and the window/window wall. Have managed to get as much as 5-6 hours of sleep on a couple of trans atlantic flights. Of course I avoid alcohol and caffeine for 24 hours before, and take 1 or 2 tylenol pm's with my evening airline food. It seems to work for me. Dan

I appreciated hearing that you take a tylenol pm on your long flights. I have only used those when I would travel to the East Coast on business to help me get to sleep earlier. I have been wondering if it might help to try them on the flight over as we will be leaving LA at 8:00 pm and traveling all night. Sounds like it works for you! Thanks for sharing!

Nancy, I have the U-shaped Nap pillow.

I have a wonderful little down pillow from The Company Store. It is the smallest size they offer...called the boudoir pillow, I think. Easily stuffs into my carry on bag. I have one of those U shaped blow up kind but find that very uncomfortable. My daughter has a travel pillow from Brookstone which she doesn't like. I sent her one of the little down pillows and she is pleased with that.

Pillows are a big deal to me. For the back of neck, I used the fake inflatable suede U-shaped, but then have to keep letting air out to get it "just right." Now, here comes the part that will make you roll your eyes: I take my own regular-sized pillow case and stuff three of the airline standard-issue pillows into it, and then hold it on my front, which then gives my head a place to pleasantly rest. The very soft, high-quality pillow case that I take makes a big difference, and it folds up easily and is then placed in a zip-lock bag for the return flight. Off topic, but related: On our recent trip to Europe we got comp upgrades to Business Class on the flight over.........but oh did we earn them because of terrible, on-going problems with an airline that just merged with another.....really long story......but, boy did that spoil us. I actually slept and was shocked when cabin noise woke me up for breakfast!!! I'd never slept that well on a plane before. (Still did the same thing as mentioned above with the pillows, though.) Usually the first day after landing is almost a throw-away day of doing some light touring then crashing early. This time, we were completely refreshed and enjoyed the entire day.....no jet lag whatsoever. Oddly, even though we flew just Comfort Class home, we had much less jet lag than on all other trips. I think the compounding effect was lessened. Seriously thinking about stretching out the time between vacations so as to allocate business-class airfare....but some tour companies offer the $995 upgrades to business, which would be tempting.

Hi Everyone...thanks for all the tips! Margaret...I love your story...I have actually purchased a "side sleepers pillow" at Bed Bath and Beyond for my trip. It looks HUGE..but it is light weight (relatively speaking) and flattens out nicely in a compression bag. This may be my best shot at getting some sleep on the flight.
thanks for sharing =)