This summer the ScoutTech crew tested out and compared a couple of the inflatable pillows that have been flooding the market lately. The Pillows tested include Chinook Dreamer Pillow, Chinook ChinookRest Pillow, Exped AirPillow.
Up until last Summer we’d all been trying to go as minimalist as possible on our Temagami canoe trips and brought along the ragged, discarded old pillow case (or some used The Chinook Outdoor Pillow case which was a bit smaller in size) and stuffed it to what we all guessed was our individual comfort levels with gear ranging from a down vest to fleece sweater, or whatever extra clothing we had. This method always started out very comfortably, but during the night the articles of clothing would separate or form hard clumps which resulted in a restless night from mashing the items back together or a rather stiff neck the following morning. When on an extended interior canoe trip through infrequently travelled territory with hours of navigating large lakes, twisted rivers full of beaver damns or deadfall, and mucky portages, not having a comfortable nights rest can really start to take its toll after you have a few days under your belt.
One reason we’d avoided camp pillows in the past was because they were quite bulky, and oddly enough, it usually felt like you were lying on a balled up sweater (or even less support), which you couldn’t wear. You could fold these in half for more support, but then they were a bit too firm. As an experiment we brought along the Chinook Dreamer Pillow and the ChinookRest Pillow on our next canoe trip. We hated the idea that we were adding all this extra bulk to our packs after many years without these luxury items, but figured they were probably popular for a reason and hoped they’d allow us to have a better sleep and more energetic days; We were right.
Each night we swapped the Dreamer Pillow for the ChinookRest and here are our thoughts. The Dreamer boasts an impressive 6 inch thickness when fully inflated. We found that if inflated to the maximum, it was actually a little too firm so we squeezed out a bit of air and closed the valve and found that made a world of difference comfort-wise. The cushioning allowed your head to rest comfortably and since you didn’t sink too far into it like traditional synthetic pillows, it didn’t absorb loads of moisture during humid nights. Both Chinook pillows featured ripstop nylon, bonded foam and non-slip bottoms to help keep them in place on a slant. The ChinookRest pillow is just 3 inches thick and costs about the same as the Dreamer, the obvious pro being that it is more packable. It also doubles as a comfortable camp seat or canoe cushion. The testers found this pillow wasn’t thick enough for their comfort preference on its own, however when it was placed on top of an extra sweater or vest to add a bid more depth we were still glad to have brought it along over that pillow case. When on top of the clothing, it spread the weight of your head evenly so the sweater didn’t clump. We also let a bit of air out of this one as well to allow our heads to sink in a bit. The end result was much less, to occasionally no waking up in the middle of the night to re-adjust makeshift pillows and best of all no cramped necks! Both of the Chinook pillows are priced under $20.
This year Exped introduced some neat pillows, one of which specifically addressed our weight and bulk concerns about bringing along the luxury item. Enter the Exped AirPillow to our pack. This is one of the tiniest and lightest pillows available weighing in at 3 oz and inflating to a generous 15 x 10.6 x 4.3” size. As with all camping gear from Jackets to Tents, the lighter and more packable it is the steeper the price tag with the suggest retail of $50. Our initial response was whoa, is it really worth it to spend as much on a pillow as on our Outdoor Research Seattle Sombrero Goretex rain hats? Knowing very well that Exped is an amazing company, we suspected we’d get what we paid for and probably even more. First of all, it’s so compact it barely took up more space that that old pillow case we used to bring along. Next and equally as important is the ergonomic design that allows you to sleep comfortably with good neck support in any position with your entire head on the pillow. Best of all, it can be inflated in 2 large breathes! The material felt pleasant and heads didn’t feel sticky on a very humid night. It also has grommets to ensure it doesn’t slide if on a steep angle, but we didn’t need to use these on this trip and found it stayed in place.
The Exped Air Pillow will be our pillow of choice for summer paddling and backpacking trips until something even lighter comes one day. We’ll continue bringing along the dreamer on car camping trips or for base camp when we don’t mind the extra bulk as there is just no topping that 6 inches of luxury comfort.
Kaj of Exped LLC has an excellent Youtube video describing the Air Pillow in even greater detail at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXZQ8V1HwbM
The pillows mentioned in this review and more can be viewed or purchased from ScoutTech at the link below:
http://www.scouttech.com/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=72
