Lightweight Backpacking - Pillows - gold pillows reviews and guide
There are two sides to the use of pillows while lightweight backpacking. One group (mostly ultralighters) want nothing to do with the pillow and the other is more then willing to bring them along if it means a little extra comfort on the trail. Personally I like having a pillow or at least a pillow substitute so that I can ensure that I get a good comfortable nights sleep.
There are basically two types of pillows available on the market today. The air filled and the down/synthetic filled pillows. There is also the stuff sack pillow which can be filled with pretty much anything you can get your hands on. I have heard of people resting there head on anything from a fleece coat to their cooking pot, with varied levels of comfort I am sure.
I currently use the same type and size of pillow that I use on my bed at home every night, which works for me because size and weight are not big issues at the moment because I am more of a car camper then anything else. Recently though, I purchased my first stuff sack pillow made of fleece. I have tried it out at home to see how comfortable it is and from what I can see it is good enough for me. I can stuff in a fleece jacket or some of my extra clothes before I head to bed for the night and have lots of support for my neck throughout the night. Since I have a bad back and I am a side sleeper this is important to me and is of a fair amount of concern when I get out backpacking. If I have a sore neck or back when I wake up in the morning with a long ways to hike during the day, it is going to make it a very uncomfortable experience for me.
The down/synthetic pillows that are on the market are a little bit strange to me because they are designed to compact down to a small size so that they fit in your backpack and take up as little space as possible, which is great. But I would have to ask then, how does it maintain it's shape throughout the night to give you enough support to ensure a comfortable sleep. Well, from the research that I have done I have found that there are some who find it gives them all the support they need and others still who have nothing but problems with their pillows losing their loft and they end up sleeping with their head on the ground.
The problem that exists in the market and at the same time the markets greatest strength is that everything is designed to suit a certain subsection of the market. Nothing is really designed with everyone in mind. Which is good because it means that people can get what suits them best. But it is a problem for people like me who try and give advice to other people who are in the market for this type of product. I can't really tell you how comfortable a pillow is, you just have to try them out for yourself. All I can offer is an opinion as to what I like and why I like it.
This leads us into the last type of pillow which is the air filled pillow. In my opinion there is nothing worse then a pillow filled with air. It offers no support and in most cases they have sharp edges or are made of materials that make them noisy to sleep on. The lack of support is because there is simply nothing in them (except air). But as with anything there are some in the world that swear by air filled pillows because they take up much less room then a down or synthetic filled pillow because you are not taking the filling with you. This also results in them being lighter which as many ultralighters know is gold.
Now you would think that there would be some sort of happy medium between all of these types of pillows, and there is. There are pillows that have a down layer that are air filled so that you get a little more comfort and support to ensure a good nights sleep. In many ways this is good but to me it still does not make the grade for the simple fact that it compounds the problems. I am still sleeping on a balloon of air that disperses under my head making me sleep in a valley on my pillow and the down/synthetic filling will get less effective the lighter and more compact they make the product. This is why I think I will be sticking with my stuff sack for backpacking. I can put whatever I want into it making it versatile with the seasons and the weight that you want to carry.
For me it is a fairly simple choice because of my needs but for others it will be a tricky decision. Just make sure you try out your pillow concepts before you hit the trail to ensure you will have a good night sleep and wake up refreshed in the morning. Do your own research to see what the benefits of specific pillows are and I am sure there will be one that will work for you.
David has recently been discovering the wonders of lightweight backpacking. He is drawing from several resources and bringing them together to create articles that will inform the reader on lightweight backpacking gear and what they should think about before the head out.
[http://www.awesomer.ca/lightweight-backpacking/lightweight-backpacking-pillows]
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