Throughout my life, I’ve tried a bunch of U-shaped journey pillows—those that go round your neck—and admittedly, they’ve all sucked. But lately I slept seven hours (seven!) within the center seat of a long-haul flight with Travelrest’s Nest. Normally I’d really feel like a defeated Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robot if I blinked too slowly, however I awoke feeling refreshed. It wasn’t the primary time, both.
More than something, it was the form I seen first. Most journey pillows appear like puffy donuts with a chew taken out within the entrance. The sides are sometimes too low and the froth too squishy to maintain the neck firmly upright in any path. The bulging pillow pushes the again of the neck away from the seat, so the pillow finally ends up forcing you right into a slouch, and the dearth of cushion below the chin lets your head droop ahead once you nod off. All your trip footage have you ever stooped over like Quasimodo due to your sore neck.
The Travelrest solves the primary downside by making the rear of the pillow flat so it helps you to relaxation upright in opposition to the seat again with out slouching you ahead. Rubber strips on the flat floor maintain the pillow from slipping. It additionally covers the whole 360 levels of the wearer’s neck. You simply slip your head in via the hole on the entrance after which use the hook-and-loop fastener to shut the hole. No extra ahead neck droop.
Neck Support
Photograph: Travelrest
The Travelrest is rather more sculpted to carry the neck upright than a typical neck pillow. The excessive sides attain up and cup the chin all the best way round. Without feeling claustrophobic, the Nest holds the top with out leaving a lot wiggle room, so at the same time as you fall asleep, your head is held pretty upright. Being in a position to loosen up my neck muscle tissue solely is a large boon.
These excessive sides can get in the best way in case you put on over-the-ear headphones on the similar time to drown out the engines. It’s not a dealbreaker, simply awkward, and one thing to remember. If you want silence to sleep then I recommend using earplugs as a substitute of noise-canceling headphones.
The form alone would not be sufficient to maintain the neck properly supported. The microfiber cowl is velvety smooth and nice in opposition to the pores and skin, and the reminiscence foam is agency with simply sufficient give for consolation. For such a dense foam, it compresses all the way down to an impressively small bundle. The Nest comes with a stuff sack, and it squishes all the way down to a couple of quarter of its dimension when you wrestle it into the sack and tighten up the drawcord. Then you fold it in half and use one other hook-and-loop fastener to compress the pillow additional.
The solely factor I’d wish to see on the stuff sack is an attachment level to clip it to the surface of a backpack or baggage—a hook, a buckle, even only a material loop the place I may hook a carabiner. I’ve been getting across the limitation by threading a strap of my backpack below the hook-and-loop fastener and buckling it closed, but it surely’s not best, because it flops round whereas on my again. Travelrest features a free pair of purposeful however unremarkable earplugs, however I’d slightly have a hook.
Catch Some Z’s
Photograph: Travelrest
The Travelrest Nest prices $40, which is not obscenely costly. It is available in blue and grey, and you may take away the duvet and wash it after a visit—one other good contact that numerous pillows do not supply.
The solely actual argument in opposition to Travelrest’s Nest is that it goes out and in of inventory with regularity. This has been a difficulty for a while. If you are prepared to fork over the 4 Alexander Hamiltons, do it as quickly as you already know you are happening a visit, as a result of in case you do not and the Nest is offered out, you may be tossing and turning on a type of foam donuts, and who needs that?
