Looking for rec's for a sleep mask, travel pillow and sound canceling headphones! Share your favorites! Thanks.
You might try a search for individual items. Here's an assortment of travel pillow posts. You can filter for recent posts in the column on the left.
https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Travel+pillow&utf8=%E2%9C%93
For eyemasks, I actually like the ones sold on this website. They have the raised eye area so the material doesn't touch your eyes.
For noise canceling headphones--you don't want sound canceling because then you won't hear anything--do you want over the ear headphones or ear buds that stick in your ear?
Bose are the best. I have a pair of Soundcore over the ear headphones and they are very good. But I'm going back to my wired Bose Ear Buds because they work just as well and take up less room.
When purchasing, be aware of battery life. Many of the ear buds won't last an entire "over the pond" flight. Headphones will.
I can't help with travel pillows as I don't use one.
I love my Bose noise cancelling headphones for long flights - they are a game changer and don't take up too much room in their case. You can still hear flight announcements, but they are great at quieting all the rest of the noise on a flight. I use corded ones and carry a spare AAA battery with me for the flight home.
Sleep mask: I use the one I got in Delta Premium Select
Pillow: have tried many but still haven’t found one that really works for me.
Noise cancelling: I use 8-year old Bose Quiet Comfort wired ear buds.
White Noise app: you didn’t ask about this, but for me it’s a must for successful sleep on an overnight flight, because I go to sleep as soon as we take off. The white noise app masks the sounds of cabin dinner service, conversation, babies crying, etc. I use the free White Noise app. It has various frequencies you can choose from in order to best match and mask the noise around you.
After many international trips, my favorite sleep pillow and method is a little different. I put the tray down, place my rectangular tote on it, lay the airline pillow on top of it (sometimes the airline blanket under the pillow to level it out), and I place my head sideways on the pillow. I either face towards the aisle, or towards my husband. This takes any pressure off my back, and I sleep well.
For the sleep mask, I just use the one from the airline, or I have one of their older cotton ones. I don’t wear makeup the day of my flight, so I don’t have to worry about mascara smudges.
So unfortunately, the corded Bose earbuds that I think a lot of people are talking about are no longer sold
I love mine but unfortunately, the cord has kind of shorted out on me. They were replaced by a wireless earbud that is a piece of junk. I bought mine they wouldn’t charge all kinds of problems. I went out and read the reviews. I was not alone so many problems with those things that I just sent my back.
I am now back to using over the Bose headphones which are rechargeable. I don’t have to carry batteries and they work better than anything else I’ve tried.
I have a silk mask that I bought at TJ Maxx that I love and works great.
I’m with others I’ve never had a pillow that actually did anything for me and I’ve tried all kinds. the best I’ve had is actually a small blowup pillow because you can adjust inflation to make it as comfortable as possible
So unfortunately, the corded Bose earbuds that I think a lot of people are talking about are no longer sold
If you want to take your chances on eBay, I just bought a back up pair there. I have an iPhone so mine are: BOSE QC20 QuietComfort 20 Acoustic Noise Cancelling In Ear Headphones For iOS
I bought a bluetooth headband that I really like - comfy and lays flat on your ears if you are a side sleeper. Downloaded a bunch of ocean and stream tracks to my phone, helps drown (ha, sorry) out noise, but doesn't eliminate it. Just enough - for me - to disengage my brain. There are lots of these out there, I opted for a cheap one since super high fidelity wasn't what I was going for.
I also use the sleep mask from Delta. And I do not use a travel pillow, have yet to find one that works for me. Can't sleep on a plane much anyway, so I don't bother.
I agree with Frank II that the scalloped eye masks are the way to go - no pressure on the eye make them especially comfortable when worn for long periods ... like sleeping on a redeye flight.
A travel pillow that either wraps around the neck, or otherwise stabilizes the head to keep it from wobbling, is the only thing that has ever worked for us.
If all you're looking for is something to deaden the noise while trying to sleep then noise cancelling headsets are frankly a waste of money - soft ear plugs work just as well in our experience.
These are all great replies, everyone!
Another question: for those of you using noise canceling headphones, are they comfortable if you are a side sleeper? I'm looking at the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700.
I would use ear plugs if I could but I just can't stand that feeling. Also, I tend to sleep on my side, so they always press into my ear.
Wendy, this is why I went with the headband. I am a side sleeper, so headphones just are not going to work. There may be some noise-cancelling versions, not sure.
I have an inflatable neck pillow that gifted to me in 1987. For my ears I have never ending supply of safety orange ear plugs especially donated by my brother the industrial engineer. Something about placing those ugly orange things deters even the most chatty seat mate 🙃
I rarely use an eye mask and when I do it is just a cheapie that my husband got in one of the toiletry kits on a flight years ago. My husband has Bose headphones but actually swapped them out for a pair that are about $60 on Amazon. I bought some but they did not arrive before we left for the trip we are on right now. As for the pillow, I got tired of all the really bad ones and started my own company for this a few years ago. REI wanted them, but I’m too small lol. I’m not advertising here, just acknowledging that one exists that is a game changer.
Accidental Southerner - thanks for the lead. I honestly never thought about going to eBay for these. Not sure why but I did just order a set of the quiet comfort earbuds. Hopefully they’ll be what I’m used to. They were not incredibly expensive so it’s not a huge risk.
Carol, eBay has become my go-to for finding things I love that have been discontinued by the manufacturer. Fingers crossed that these Bose earbuds we have both ordered are legit.
So I wanted to report that I did get my noise canceling Bose earbuds finally. Apparently the only place you can get them is China so shipment takes a while. But they work great they appear to be original equipment. There was nothing leading me to believe they were counterfeit or anything. I’m now looking for white electrical tape to reinforce the place that broke on my last pair to see if I can make these last longer
If you can find these, I still think they’re great option. But it’s hard to find the wired Bose noise canceling earbuds they’ve moved to their wireless ones , which I do not think are a good option.