Throughout my life, I’ve tried a bunch of U-shaped journey pillows—those that go round your neck—and albeit, 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 course. 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 shortage of cushion below the chin lets your head droop ahead while you nod off. All your trip photos have you ever stooped over like Quasimodo due to your sore neck.

The Travelrest solves the primary drawback by making the rear of the pillow flat so it allows you to relaxation upright towards the seat again with out slouching you ahead. Rubber strips on the flat floor hold the pillow from slipping. It additionally covers all the 360 levels of the wearer’s neck. You simply slip your head in by the hole on the entrance after which use the hook-and-loop fastener to shut the hole. No extra ahead neck droop.

Neck Support

The Travelrest is way more sculpted to carry the neck upright than a typical neck pillow. The excessive sides attain up and cup the chin all the way in which round. Without feeling claustrophobic, the Nest holds the top with out leaving a lot wiggle room, so whilst you go to sleep, your head is held pretty upright. Being capable of loosen up my neck muscular tissues totally is a big boon.

These excessive sides can get in the way in which in case you put on over-the-ear headphones on the identical time to drown out the engines. It’s not a dealbreaker, simply awkward, and one thing to bear in mind. 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 effectively supported. The microfiber cowl is velvety delicate and nice towards 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 package deal. The Nest comes with a stuff sack, and it squishes all the way down to a couple of quarter of its measurement 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 prefer to see on the stuff sack is an attachment level to clip it to the skin of a backpack or baggage—a hook, a buckle, even only a material loop the place I might 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 ideally suited, because it flops round whereas on my again. Travelrest features a free pair of purposeful however unremarkable earplugs, however I’d relatively have a hook.

Catch Some Z’s

The Travelrest Nest prices $40, which is not obscenely costly. It is available in blue and grey, and you’ll take away the duvet and wash it after a visit—one other good contact that a number of pillows do not provide. 

The solely actual argument towards 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 keen to fork over the 4 Alexander Hamiltons, do it as quickly as you already know you are occurring a visit, as a result of in case you do not and the Nest is offered out, you will be tossing and turning on a type of foam donuts, and who desires that?