I am a side sleeper. At home I sleep with a king sized pillow. I have a small camping pillow, but it does not work very well. I need a big, firm pillow. Any suggestions? (I usually don't bring enough cloths for a stuff sack pillow. Besides, sleeping on dirty underwear does not appeal to me.)

I use a 9"x12"x4" piece of high density foam in a t-shirt pillow case.

pillow
i use something similar to this at home, and wish i could take it on a trip. i guess you could cut it in half to save on bulk.
on a trip i use a stuffable slumberjack pillow and i never sleep well.

im very happy with this one. therm-a-rest

Nemo FILO is a great one, comes in two sizes, I use the larger one. Has a layer of memory foam, then a baffled inflatable part, then lastly some elastic cord on the bottom to add more firmness and height if need be, all stuffs into an attached sack and is about the size of an orange or grapefruit, the word SMART comes to mind when I think of the design. The outer shell is microfiber and feels great on your face. Got mine at Midwest Mountineering, I have two of the larger ones. By no means the lightest or cheapest but I have yet to find one nearly as good, have Expeds and Cacoons collecting dust in the gear pile.

quote kanoes: "im very happy with this one. therm-a-rest "

I use this Therm-a-rest on top of this Exped. Either alone isn't thick enough because I'm a side sleeper.

quote JackpineJim: "

quote kanoes: "im very happy with this one. therm-a-rest "

I use this Therm-a-rest on top of this Exped. Either alone isn't thick enough because I'm a side sleeper.
"

i just fold it in half.

I have a Therm-A-Rest also, the large size, it works well. And it's Realtree camo, which makes a huge difference...;-)

Mine. I'm a side sleeper too. Fits great in my sleeping bag. I don't use it to fill my exped pad since the stuff sack does just fine.

exped pillow pump={keyword}&gclid=COPhr7b5rLUCFe9aMgodFVAAVA

My full size Therma-Rest pad packs into a long large nylon bag; never could get it into the bag that came with it. Once I've made camp I roll up my life vest and put it in that same bag. Then I tie the bag in place on top of the pad which is on my neat new Therma-Rest cot; I lay my sleeping bag on top of all that. Makes a great pillow and nothing extra to bring.
Rob

I trip almost exclusively in the shoulder seasons- May and Sept, so have this gear with anyway. I have a Columbia Bugaboo hat that I turn inside out (fleece-side out) that I stuff with a down vest or Primaloft sweater that works great as a pillow. Not real big, but firm and just the right height for side sleeping.

Thank you all: Based upon your suggestions, I ordered 2. I figured if they are too flat individually, I will stack them. I got the large thermarest on sale at REI. And I got the exped air pillow (not on sale).

I used the Thermarest one for a while, and it was good at first, but gradually lost loft and now isn't firm enough for me. So I switched to the Exped one, which seems to do the trick. If I'm using the cover for my pad I'll stick it in there; otherwise if it's going to be against my face I put it inside the Thermarest Trekker pillow case for a softer fabric.

quote kanoes: "im very happy with this one. therm-a-rest "

After years of trying different camp pillows, I purchased the Therm-a-Rest pillow described by "kanoes". I find if I increase the height of the Therm-a-Rest pillow with a fleece jacket, or some other article of clothing, it's been the best camp pillow solution to date.

That said, I've also considered the purchase of the NEMO Fillo Luxury Camp Pillow, described by "Ragged". The problem is, I've spent too much money over the years trying to find the perfect camp pillow and didn't want to invest almost $60.00 on another camp pillow "experiment".

NEMO Fillo Luxury Camp Pillow @ Piragis

After reading "Ragged" comments though, I'll most likely give the NEMO pillow a try before the start of the 2013 canoe-camping season.

Hans Solo

quote kanoes: "im very happy with this one. therm-a-rest "

I use the large therma rest pillow and it usally works for me. I also need a big pillow at home I have 2 pillows in one pillow case. But in the bdub of backpacking I bring my therma rest pillow and when I want it alittle bigger sometimes I just roll up a sweatshirt or something

Thermarest plus sometimes some clothes in a pillowcase.

quote HansSolo: "

quote kanoes: "im very happy with this one. therm-a-rest "

After years of trying different camp pillows, I purchased the Therm-a-Rest pillow described by "kanoes". I find if I increase the height of the Therm-a-Rest pillow with a fleece jacket, or some other article of clothing, it's been the best camp pillow solution to date.

That said, I've also considered the purchase of the NEMO Fillo Luxury Camp Pillow, described by "Ragged". The problem is, I've spent too much money over the years trying to find the perfect camp pillow and didn't want to invest almost $60.00 on another camp pillow "experiment".

NEMO Fillo Luxury Camp Pillow @ Piragis

After reading "Ragged" comments though, I'll most likely give the NEMO pillow a try before the start of the 2013 canoe-camping season.

Hans Solo
"

Yeah like just about every Nemo item it's hard to justify the price, but it's pretty easy to get a good price if you play the game, I think I used my Midwest birthday bucks in combo with a "groupon now" and got mine for just over $30, also keep an eye on Amazon, they will blow stuff out from time to time.

The thing I like is the multitude of density’s, I don't like a thick inflatable pillow, because it feels exactly like what it is! Same with rolled up cloths, it feels like rolled up cloths! So I stuff a little and run the inflated portion at a softer pressure, can't feel the cloths, can't feel the inflated part because the memory foam does a good job acting as a buffer. Probably not right for everyone but it works great for me, also makes a killer pillow for the plane.

The last time I was in Hoigards up on Excelsior they had a bunch of Nemo pillows for 29.99. I think it was the smaller one. Not sure if it was a good price or not?

T

quote timatkn: "The last time I was in Hoigards up on Excelsior they had a bunch of Nemo pillows for 29.99. I think it was the smaller one. Not sure if it was a good price or not?


T"

That's a good deal, if your bag has a hood the small one fits in much better, the longer one works better with a rectangular or semi-rec bag

I use the medium sized Thermarest like what Kanoes showed. It doesn't get much better than that. If you like lots of support and comfort is of utmost importance, consider going for the large. It packs down to just a bit larger than the medium but lofts up quite a bit larger.

Clothes inside a Shirt or a blow up bath pillow. All your home stores sell a variety. All under $5.

Another Nemo Pillow fan! Had a Therma Rest, before, but the Nemo Pillow is the Cat's Meow.
SunCatcher

I take the pillow off my bed and bag it up for trips. Is worth the weight and bulk. If you double portage anyway, why not? I use it about 25% of my time in BW so it is cheap weight and volume per hour used. The same logic allows me to take a cot to put my Therm-a rest on. I bunge it down to keep it from sliding.

I spent some time at REI looking at the wide variety of these available. Prices ran the gamut, too. None made me think they were any better than my microfleece hoodie folded into a nice, flat shape. (Sure, it smells a bit after a few campfires, but such is life.)

as i've gotten older i do like a descent pillow in the BW, but a good 2nd is stuffing your sweatshirt with your other cloths and knotting it off i've tried the little rei stuff sack pillows didnt care for it much too slick on the one side.

anyone else just use a pillow case with clothes in it?

quote bjager: "anyone else just use a pillow case with clothes in it?
"

+1 on the NEMO pillow. I have two of the smaller ones and they are worth their weight in gold.

quote bjager: "anyone else just use a pillow case with clothes in it?
"

+1 on the NEMO pillow. I have two of the smaller ones and they are worth their weight in gold.

quote bwcadan: "I take the pillow off my bed and bag it up for trips. Is worth the weight and bulk. If you double portage anyway, why not? I use it about 25% of my time in BW so it is cheap weight and volume per hour used. The same logic allows me to take a cot to put my Therm-a rest on. I bunge it down to keep it from sliding. "

+1

I use a feather pillow and a stuff sack. you can get lots of compression with a good down pillow and nothing beats it for comfort. There are lots of things I will compromise on but not on a good nights sleep.

quote shock: "as i've gotten older i do like a descent pillow in the BW, but a good 2nd is stuffing your sweatshirt with your other cloths and knotting it off i've tried the little rei stuff sack pillows didnt care for it much too slick on the one side."

+1

quote timatkn: "The last time I was in Hoigards up on Excelsior they had a bunch of Nemo pillows for 29.99. I think it was the smaller one. Not sure if it was a good price or not?


T"

Thanks for the tip. I stopped at Hoigards on my way to wook this afternoon and picked up two of them. I hope they are as good as you guys say they are. They still had about four or five left.

tony

Glad ya got a deal. Let us know what ya think.

T

quote Tony: "

Thanks for the tip. I stopped at Hoigards on my way to wook this afternoon and picked up two of them. I hope they are as good as you guys say they are. They still had about four or five left.


tony"

Hopefully they work for ya, if not a may buy one! (I need a small one)

quote bjager: "anyone else just use a pillow case with clothes in it?
"

Likewise, I always take a polartec 200 fleece jacket and it doubles as my pillow case stuffed with clothes. I am a guy that loves a good pillow but, I have to draw the line on extra gear some where and this is it. Not perfect but I sleep fine and I'm not dragging extra gear with me. IMHO

Exped Air Pillow
OR
Cocoon Hyperlite

Or sometimes just my extra clothes in my stuff sack if I'm in my hammock because I don't need much then. Typically need the air pillow when I'm tenting. Not much weight or bulk either way.

quote bjager: "anyone else just use a pillow case with clothes in it?
"

Yup.

Sea to Summit brand for me

a pillow? stuff some crap into your sleeping bag stuff sack. you are not at a five star hotel. i sleep on my boot.

I use a Thermarest pillow and really need something more. Last year I brought a pillow case and stuffed the pillow and my rolled up PFD into it. Worked great.

I've tried every version of stuffing clothes together into a pillow without much success. Until last year when I started packing my clothes in packing cubes. I found one of these packed with clothing was a perfect height and size for me. The mesh on the outside felt great on my face and I slept like a baby.

Packing cubes

What a great response jwartman59! As my boys would say - "Sack Up and use your stuff sack!!"

Still jolts me a bit to come across Kanoes's comments. Miss his unpredictability and candid humor.
The subject at hand: Nope. Can't sleep on a boot as a pillow.