Product Review: Therm-A-Rest Compressible Pillow

December 16th, 2010 Posted by Jessica. Published under Bike Tour Preparations, Gear + Product Review. 2 Comments.

I bought this pillow several  months ago from REI.  It was right before Rachel and I were supposed to leave for our camping trip on Assateague Island and I was picking up some last-minute items.  I saw the Therm-A-Rest Compressible Pillow hanging from the rack and it just looked so COMFY.  And it was compressible!  It looked like it’d be perfect for a bike tour.  I waffled between getting a large or a medium for an embarrassing amount of time, and in the end I decided to go with a large.  After sleeping on it for a week camping and a weekend on the floor of Rachel’s aunt’s basement, here are my notes:

Pros:

• It’s made of the leftover pieces from Therm-A-Rest’s sleeping pads– I always appreciate minimizing waste, when possible.
• Since it’s not inflatable, it’s basically puncture-proof– which is definitely a good thing when it’s going to be getting used every day.
• The outside fabric is very soft and doesn’t move around on my sleeping pad too much.

Cons:

• It doesn’t pack as small as I would like.  I know that’s the burden of getting a large pillow, but it seems like it would take up a lot of space in a pannier– even when it’s compressed.
• This pillow is as hard as a rock.  No joke.  No matter if I slept on my back or my side, this pillow wasn’t comfortable to me at all.  It puts my neck at a really uncomfortable angle.  I’d say this is the most important point.

The verdict:  Thank god for REI’s excellent return policy.  I thought a big pillow would be more comfortable, but I was very wrong.  I’ve bought an Exped Air Pillow based on Russ from The Path Less Pedaled and The Epicurian Cyclist‘s glowing review of it.  I haven’t tried it out yet, but I’ll be camping for two weeks in Australia next month and I will definitely have an opinion of it when I come back– stay tuned!