The 8 Best Backpacking Pillow Reviews for 2021

Getting a best backpacking pillow is necessary for your camping trip. Let’s look at the different backpacking pillows for different needs.

 

Table of Contents

Top 8 Best Backpacking Pillows On the Market

 

Why Do You Need A Backpacking Pillow?

How to choose best backpacking pillow

1) You Might Not Sleep:

If you’re used to sleeping with at least one pillow at home, then it’s possible you just won’t sleep at all in your tent without one to prop up your head.

Many people can’t doze off all the way into REM cycles if they are even slightly aware of how their head isn’t level and aligned with their spine. Just suppressing noise within one ear is sometimes necessary too in order to calm and quiet the mind.

2) Your Neck And Shoulders Need A Break:

Without a pillow, you might fall asleep, but you could easily wake up with a neck and shoulders that are sore or in serious pain. That’s not a fun way to start the day anywhere, much less in the woods.

3) You’re Back Will Also Thank You:

If your head doesn’t stay aligned with your spine all night, you might sleep in a twisted position that gives you back pain the next day. That might make backpacking hard to do, or worse yet, impossible.

The point of backpacking might be to just get far from home. Having said that, you can’t leave everything you love about home back there. Without a good backpacking pillow, your next day might suffer, if your night doesn’t. Remember, your pain creams and the urgent care center are a long way away.

Best Colors and Sizes – Therm-a-Rest Washable Foam Backpacking Pillow

Best Packable Camping Compressible Foam Pillow Reviews
Therm-a-Rest Compressible Backpacking Pillow for Camping, Backpacking, Airplanes and Road Trips

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Why recommend the Therm-a-Rest compressible travel pillow?

Whatever you want to go out for camping or backpacking, traveling by air or train, a nice looking travel pillow in the right size will make trips more interesting and comfortable.

Even there are lots of backpacking pillows selling online, we still want to take the Therm-a-Rest pillow as our First recommendation. No mention too much about its soft foam fillings, 4-inch perfect thickness, machine washable brushed polyester covers,  the more above 2000 customer reviews is clearly to show How Popular this pillow is on Amazon!

A travel pillow is a very personal thing, the size, and the color should match your taste. This backpacking pillow is made in the USA, has lots of colors in various sizes, matches most of the American people’s tastes.  There must be one pillow that fits your needs.

Click the button below to choose the one you like best!

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Benefits Of Packable Pillows: Why Every Backpacker Needs One

One of the major things that every camper and backpack traveler should consider when going out would be the amount of baggage that they can bring.

What does this mean?

Since you don’t want to be carrying tons of stuff with you, especially if you’ll be going hiking, or simply visiting one city after another. With that in mind, travelers often carry all essential stuff like water, hygiene products, only bring a couple of pieces of clothing, leaving their sleeping comfort.

Of course, you can’t have a huge comforter with you everywhere, let alone a huge pillow. However, with technological advancements, there are products made these days that can also help backpackers, and this includes packable pillows.

If you haven’t been carrying these around with you during your travels, here are some benefits and reasons why every backpacker must have one:

1) Easy To Carry Around – These packable pillows are light that they can easily fit most bags without taking too much space! You don’t have to worry about these pillows eating up every single of your precious bag space.

2) Convenient – While some people just stack a couple of clothes and sleep on them at night, you may not get proper neck support. Don’t worry, we’ve all done these before, but you know that it isn’t the most convenient position to sleep. With this in mind, you don’t have to worry about waking up with a stiff neck anymore because these packable pillows are super comfortable, making sleeping a lot easier for you.

3) There’s A Lot Of Variations – The old camping pillows cannot match up to these new packable pillows. And because there are a lot of backpack travelers these days, companies have seen the importance and the demand of being able to bring in a good comfy pillow to rest on. You can choose from different types, which suits your needs most.

Whether you’re hiking, camping, or traveling around the world with only a backpack with you, be sure to include packable pillows to your things to bring. It’s worth the investment. Here are some high-end pillow for backpackers:

1. Most Comfortable – Aeros Pillow Premium Backpacking Pillow with Inflation Valves

Best Brand Sea to Summit Aeros Pillow Premium
Most Comfortable Aeros Premium Inflatable Backpacking Pillow

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Why recommend?

This high-end pillow has contoured internal baffles to supply perfect supporting for your head and neck, gives you a comfortable sleeping and relaxes your whole body.

50D polyester brushed cover materials are so soft to touch, also durable for long time use. A middle synthetic layer filled between the cover and the TPU bladder, adds comfort when you sleeping on.

Coming with the Sea To Summit’s inflation valves, saves your time of inflating and deflating the pillow, makes the using of the pillow quicker and easier.

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2. Best Portable – Memory Foam Camping Pillow for Car Seat

Best Ergonomic Sleeping Backpacking Pillow for Good Night Sleep
Best Ergonomic Backable Pillow for Travel, Camping, Hiking  & Car Seat

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Why this backpacking pillow?

No going flat, no tossing, the Premium Memory Foam can keep the ergonomic shape and give great support.

The breathable material can give you comfortable sleeping. Machine washable cover makes this pillow easy to clean, fits different outdooring needs well.

16.5L*7.8W*5.1H expanded size can supply enough support when sleeping, great for back, side, or stomach sleepers.

Furthermore, you can use it as a lumbar support pillow on the car or plane seat.

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Tips for Choosing A Backpacking Pillow for Different Needs

Best Backpacker Pillow Reviews

Lightweight Backpacking Pillow

If you’ve gone backpacking before, you probably figured out pretty quickly that you needed a backpacking pillow to take along. Your back and shoulders will get worn down carrying the backpack all day.

Even if it’s well-designed and puts most of its weight onto your hips and legs thanks to a waist strap, you still have the balance and support of it relying on your upper body, possibly hunching you over. That means that you need a good night of sleep with your head relatively aligned with your spine as you slumber in your tent. That means you need a pillow.

You might have made do for a while by bunching up a coat or jacket, or even some clothes you have stuffed into a bag. However, depending on your trip and what you were doing, you might not have anything dry or clean. If it was raining or just your own sweat, the last thing you want is the moisture and humidity from all that making your tent a moist and smelly place. It also means you might not get to at least rinse something in a creek and hang it out to air dry overnight.

There are many backpacking pillows you can use instead of this, but some of them aren’t that light in weight. They might be more designed for being compact, as you have to press the air out of them and then blow into them to expand them. They might be durable, but they’re more weight on your back.

Instead, it’s better to have something that’s a lightweight backpacking pillow, because that means less weight you’re carrying on the trail all day, and that will help you sleep better at night and be ready for the next day. Even a few ounces off can mean a world of difference over a long trail.

Here are the Top 3 Best Ergonomic Backable Pillows for your conference:

Best Shaped – Multi-purpose Packable Cushion for Lumbar/Neck Support

Best Packable Neck Support Cushion Reviews
Best Selling Multi-purpose Packable Pillow for Lumbar Neck Support

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Why recommend?

The ergonomically designed shape makes this packable pillow outstanding their series.  Sleeping on when camping, back supporting when sitting, napping on for daily use,  this multi-purpose pillow can hold all your needs well.

Polyester knit cover is soft to touch, and comfortable when facing on, more important is, it’s durable for long term use.

High-quality memory foam, providing enough support to head and neck, gives you a nice sleeping and comfortable rest to have an ache-free next day.

Only 1 lb weight, with 11.8×5.5 inch size when total expanding, perfect for camping and traveling use. It also supply neck support on airplane, lumbar support on the car seat, knee support for side sleeping, all these make it more competitive.

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Ultralight Backpacking Pillow

When you are trying to pack as lightly and efficiently as possible for camping, your pillow is an essential item. It is almost a second thought considering you want to have a good night’s sleep.

Sleeping on a pile of rolled clothes can get uncomfortable doing the night and may even lead to neck pain. Camping requires you to carry many items, and that means you can only afford to bring the most essential items.

The good news is that there are a ton of ultralight pillows out there for you. They are small, and compact hence occupies very little space in your backpack. Let us discuss some of the ultralight backpacking pillows available.

  • Inflatable Pillow

Inflatables are the lightest backpack pillows available. Most find them very convenient as well. You only have to blow it up with your breath to make it expand.

Once it expands, seal the pillow to prevent the air from escaping, and you are good to go. You can also adjust the size of the pillow for more comfort by altering the amount of air inside. Besides, you also have the option of deflating the pillow once you are done using it.

The good thing about it is that you can operate it yourself without needing an extra hand. However, they can be stiff and quite noisy when you move your head in the night.

There is also a very affordable backpacking pillow for people with a tight budget,  only cost about $10, don’t hesitate to pick up!

Best Budget – Rugged Camp Camping Pillow with 11-in-1 Multi-tool Bonus

Best Price Camping Pillow for Backpacking
Best Backpacking Pillow for Money

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Why recommend this best budget backable pillow?

This pillow is very compact and lightweight, only 2.75 ounces weight, coming with a water-resistant carrying bag, makes it quite convenient to carry along for camping, fishing, or traveling.

No matter what the weather is, rain or snow; No matter where you go, mountain top or deep forest, this inflated pillow can hold any kind of outdoor condition well.

With a 100% satisfaction guarantee, you can buy it freely, and you don’t need to worry about any issues that may happen.

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Best X Shaped – Klymit Pillow X Inflatable Camp & Backpacking Pillow

Incredibly Lightweight X Inflatable Pillow Reviews
Best Looking X Flower-Shaped Inflatable Backpacking Pillow

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Why recommend this inflatable pillow?

The most lightweight and durable inflatable pillow is best for backcountry sleeping.

Self Centering X Design makes it soft to touch and give the right support for your head.

30D polyester material on the cover makes a soft touching when sleeping on.

With a 4.5” x 2.5” x 1” storage bag, almost taking no space in your league, makes it easy to take on trips.

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  • Compressible Pillow

Compressible is filled with various foams and synthetic fiber inside, making it more comfortable. The texture makes it super comfy and ideal for you, especially if you had a busy day. The downside is they can be bulky, but that can be overlooked if our main priority is comfortable. Also, you may consider a compressible pillow with down feathers if you want to maximize your comfort. Compressible is soft and also suitable for camping.

We have chosen one amazing ultralight backpacking product on the Amazon, with a top rating, almost EVERY people who have used it will recommend to their friends. Click below to check up!

Best Ultralight – Trekology Inflating Travel Camping Backpacking Pillow

Best compact and light backpacking pillow reviewspillow
Dreamer Comfort Air Pillow is ideal for back, side and stomach sleepers

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Why do we recommend this most compact and lightweight backpacking pillow?

No matter you are back, side and stomach sleepers, the Dreamer Comfort inflatable pillow will fit you perfectly.
When choosing the best backpacking pillow for traveling, the size is something you must pay attention to. Folded down to 5×2 inches, much smaller than a soda can, so easy to carry. While after Inflating up, a generous 16 x 12 x 4 inches size and adjustable fitness can give superior support for your neck and back.

By to say, with less than $20 price and more than 2000 customer reviews, It’s pretty obvious this Trekology inflating pillow is the best ultralight pillow you can not miss.

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Nowadays, finding an ideal pillow for traveling is quite easy since there are tons of options available for you. Secure yourself one ultralight backpacking pillow for your next trip, and you will be surprised at how comfy and convenient they can be.

 

Backpacking Pillow for Side Sleepers

They make them for side sleepers who love to cozy up on their sides in bed. But what about pillows for those of us who love snuggling up on our sides to sleep while outdoors in a tent under the stars camping? What about backpacking? Can you take a nap and enjoy lying on your side with a customized pillow made just for resting on your side? Is there a special pillow made for side sleeping that you can easily carry with you when you backpack?

Of course, there is. The best pillows are designed just for side sleepers with special curves and designs that make the pillows fit your need to sleep on your side and easily carry them no matter how far you have to backpack. Here we will take the top-recommended Coop Home Goods backpacking side sleeper pillow to show “What is the best backpacking pillows for side sleepers“.

Best for Side Sleepers – Coop Home Goods Backpacking Pillow 

Best reviewed side sleeping backpacking pillows
Most light and soft backpacking pillow for side sleepers

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They do not require inflating which makes them even more desirable because they can never pop on you. They are made of durable, washable fabric and they are super easy to carry. They fold easily into your backpack. Just fill them with clothes or a down jacket and you have all the puffiness and softness you want. If you prefer a firmer pillow to side sleep on, just fill it with jeans or some other thicker clothing.

The best part about these pillows is that they are completely customizable. You choose the thickness or firmness. Simply adjust the shape of the pillow so that you get the cradling you need while sleeping on your side. If you choose to sleep in a different position, you can adjust the shape so that you can be comfortable lying on your back.

For those who love inflatable pillows for camping, you do not have to despair. You can opt for an inflatable that will inflate in seconds and will provide the comfort you need when side sleeping.

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Backpacking Sleeping Pads

Being able to sleep while backpacking around is an essential requirement. It’s important to rest your head on a soft surface and feel in control of your sleep while outdoors.

For those looking to make the most of their nights spent backpacking, it’s time to look at a well-designed sleeping pad and all that it offers. The right sleeping pad is easy to carry, cozy, and offers a wonderful option at all times of the day. A quality sleeping pad is going to make life easier for those who want to rest without a worry and want to keep things as simple as possible.

It’s not easy to stay outdoors and rest without feeling uncomfortable or uneasy. There are millions of people that enjoy backpacking and still don’t know how to sleep without feeling awkward.

In a situation such as this, a high-quality sleeping bag is a way to go. It is designed to remain portable, efficient, and will offer the type of protection necessary in situations such as these.

Best Overall – Sleepingo Double Sleeping Bag and 2 Pillows for Backpacking

Best Sleeping Bag Set with Pillows Reviews

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Use the camping grade polyester fabric, this sleeping bag is waterproof, warm-keeping for cold and rainy weather. 87″ X 59″ size can freely hold 2 adults sleeping in. 210-thread inner layer material can give you a soft and cozy sleeping experience.

More than 4800 5-star ratings naturally proved how amazing this sleeping bag was. Want to have a sweet night with your lover, or comfortable camping with your kids, this one should be the best choice for family use!

The beauty of being able to use a high-grade sleeping bag has to do with its durable build quality, comfortable surface, and versatility. There’s always a way to make the most of this sleeping bag!

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What is the Best Backpacking Pillow?

After searching on Amazon and checking thousands of reviews, the one you CAN NOT miss, the No.1 that people highly recommend, must be:

Best Overall – Sea to Summit Aeros Backpacking Pillow Premium

What is the best backpacking pillow to buy

  1. The cover material is Brushed 50D Polyester, which makes it soft to touch and durable to use.
  2. Nice curved internal baffles and the ergonomic contoured shape can support your neck and head perfectly.
  3. Come with a multi-functional valve, the pillow can be easily inflated and quickly deflated.
  4. Lightweight and small folding size,  you can even pack it into a sunglass bag.

This backpacking pillow has more than a 4-star rating on Amazon, almost all people who had bought it will recommend it to their friends. You can click below to see what people say:

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