Choosing the Perfect Travel Neck Pillow
Embarking on a journey to new destinations, whether for business or pleasure, often involves long hours spent in transit. As globetrotters, we’re well aware of the discomfort that can accompany these lengthy trips, especially when it comes to getting quality rest on planes, trains, or buses. That’s where the often underrated hero of travel accessories comes into play: the travel neck pillow. However, not all pillows are created equal, and choosing the right travel neck pillow can make a world of difference between a rejuvenating snooze and a restless journey. In this blog post, we’ll review four different styles of neck pillows and share our top pick. Say goodbye to uncomfortable sleep, and say hello to restful journeys!
⭐️ Top Pick: Memory Foam Neck Pillow
Unlike the standard bead filled pillows, this style of neck pillow offers comfort and support for both your head and chin. The memory foam interior helps the pillow hold its shape for long travel days and provides a comfortable cushion. A nice feature is the small clip in front to help keep the pillow around your neck as you are sleeping or dozing on and off. This specific pillow also comes with a case you can roll the pillow back into plus a clip on the back to easily attach to your luggage when not in use.
With the comfort that this pillow provides and the convenient features that it comes with, it is our top travel neck pillow pick!
Unique Design: Neck Pillow Wrap
Somewhat newer on the scene is a neck pillow that you position on the side of your next then securely wrap the felt piece around to velcro into place. The purpose of these pillows is to keep your neck and head in a mostly upright position and stop you from nodding forward.
In our experience, this pillow left us with incredible neck pain and made us feel claustrophobic with wrapping the fleece band around our neck. In order for the pillow to truly keep your head in place, you do have to wrap the strap somewhat tight around your next. This can be a deal breaker for those that avoid tight clothing or scarfs around their necks. Because all of your weight leans just slightly to the side (as much as this pillow tries, your head does not remain straight upright) that light bend for whatever reason worsened our neck pain.
That being said, there are plenty of people that swear by these pillows. Never hurts to give it a try to see if it works for you as these pillows are much less bulky to travel with.
Space Saving: Inflatable Neck Pillow
While not as comfortable as its memory foam or cushioned competitors, an inflatable neck pillow serves its purpose and compacts to nearly nothing to toss in your luggage. These types of pillows contain a soft fabric exterior with an interior inflatable pillow. A nice feature with these is that you can control how firm of a pillow you want based on how far you inflate it. One caveat, once in the air the pressure generally “inflates” these to full size which can be a little uncomfortable if you do not want a really firm neck pillow.
For the convenience of not carrying a bulky pillow during your travels, we do like to include these when space is limited.
Alternative Approach: Inflatable Forward Lean Pillow
If you’re looking for an alternative to a traditional neck pillow this type of travel pillow may be for you. These larger pillows are meant for you to put your arms through and accommodate leaning your head in various positions. They work great on top of your tray table in a forward position or on your side if you have a window seat.
Once inflated it is bulky so it can take a little maneuvering if you have a meal on the plane and need to move the pillow to the ground or out of the way. For as large as these pillows are, they do compact down to be quite small and you can quickly deflate them as needed. We’ve only utilize this type of pillow on very long flights where the time change requires us to try to get as much sleep as possible on the plane.
We hope these reviews help you in choosing your next travel neck pillow! By making an informed decision and investing in a high-quality travel neck pillow tailored to your specific needs, you can transform tedious travel into a restful and rejuvenating experience. Make sure to check out more of our travel tips blog posts.