High Sierra Topix

A down jacket in a stuff sack works really well, though silnylon stuff sacks feel clammy to my face/neck. You can get a stuck sack lined with fleece to mitigate this. Or as others said bring a fleece and call it a day.

The Thermarest compressible (size medium) pillow is really cheap and really comfortable (side sleeper here) the only downside is that it takes up a large amount of space in your pack like half of my down quilt. Easy to wash but takes a few cycles to to dry. Prefer to take when camping. Switched from exped air pillow which packed really small and has benefit of being really light but not too comfortable.

This summer I made switch to Exped Downpillow (size large) and it hit the sweet spot of comfort, weight (6.5 oz w/o stuff sack), and reasonable packed size. Gets stuffed in with my sleeping bag. Cons: will set you back fifty bucks. A necessity ... no, but worth it to me.

Gabe
edit: 9/20 photos cropped

gabe&mel wrote: This summer I made switch to Exped Downpillow (size large) and it hit the sweet spot of comfort, weight (6.5 oz w/o stuff sack), and reasonable packed size. Gets stuffed in with my sleeping bag. Cons: will set you back fifty bucks. A necessity ... no, but worth it to me.

Interesting, Gabe. I'll have to see if I can find this at the store and check it out. It seems to have a nice balance of weight, compressibility, and comfort.

Alan

Oh man, I want that exped downpillow.

I usually don't carry extra clothes or even a stuff sack to make a pillow. I use two or three pillows at home and need the extra support due to breathing issues (mild apnea), so I really need something large.

After trying the Montbell, Kookabay, Klymit, Exped and FlexAir inflatables I finally settled on the Exped UL size large. It has enough height in "flat mode" and the shape is comfortable. For reading I tilt it up and it cradles my head and neck. 2 ozs.

I made a simple silk pillow case out of an old l/s shirt which feels much better than the plastic:) The material is flexible so I can stuff a down vest or wind pants when not wearing them as part of my sleep "system".

There was a good article on BPL last year that compared many of the models in 2014:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin ... ordan.html


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Brien wrote:I really like the Cocoon. Lightweight, compacts well and has two sides, one soft microfiber and the other nylon. My only beef is after I hand washed it I could never quite seem to get the inner bladder in position again.

If you wash it while partially inflated, you won't have that issue.

John

I just use a stuff sack with clothing in it. I never go backpacking without some type of puffy jacket, but I'm a cold sleeper; so sometimes I wear that to bed and it's not always available for stuffing into the sack. That means I will stuff the sack with clothing that aren't always so soft including things like a hardshell jacket. Last year, I picked up a thermarest stuff sack pillow http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-r ... ow/product and found that it's still comfortable even when not stuffed with the softest clothing. This summer, someone broke into my house and the only things they took were coins I was saving - I had them in jars of pennies, nickles, dimes, and quarters and. Later when I was looking for my stuff sack pillow, I realized that was also missing. I guess they filled the missing stuff sack with the coins because they had left the empty jars behind (they didn't take the pennies). I knew I really liked my stuff sack pillow because I bought a new one right away as I didn't want to head out without one.

I also sometimes build up a platform under the pillow with my pack and other items - especially when I have a short sleeping pad with me because then I'm not able to put that under my head.

All of this talk about pillows prompted me to pull out my old blow-up pillow and use it half inflated in my day pack.

gabe&mel wrote: Cons: will set you back fifty bucks. A necessity ... no, but worth it to me.

A bit cheaper than that book you have there

Jimr wrote:

gabe&mel wrote: Cons: will set you back fifty bucks. A necessity ... no, but worth it to me.

A bit cheaper than that book you have there

Thankfully there are libraries, and ways to crop these things out.

I have used the Cocoon for the last couple of years and it is a good pillow. But... I picked up a Klymit pillow X recently and it's better. It weighs 2.25 ounces folds up to a tiny size and is super comfortable. It inflates with 2 breaths and is 15"x11"x3.5". It fits into the pillow pocket of my sleeping bag. What I like most about it is that it stays in place and the design centers your head in the middle of the pillow. I doesn't squirt around when you move which my cocoon did. Wrapping it in a fleece, a down jacket or the Thermarest pillow sleeve (which I have and it fits) would be luxurious.