Reader Reviews

Rating: 2 / 5

I had grown tired of the hard "thump" of my head on my smashed clothes as my pillow, but wanted to still try to go as lite as possible. Bought these pillows in hopes of finding a light alternative to the clothes in the stuff sack. Unfortunately, overall did not like them. Adjustment/ inflation/deflation is easy with the straw, but really unless you sleep completely still, and on your back only, these are not confortable. Your head rolls around off the side (despite multiple adjustments of air pressure), they are fairly noisy/ crinkly when moving around on them. I ultimately ditched it in the night and grabbed some clothes again to sleep on. It may work for you, and only a few bucks for a 3 pack, not much to lose in trying-- but for me, guess I'll be investing in a nice pillow, and will have to eat the weight penalty.

Rating: 4 / 5

I bought one of these pillows with a bit scepticism. However, I have to say, it performed better than I expected.

You get all the usual problems associated with air pillows in terms of getting the right firmness for comfort level although for the Flexair, even that is a relatively quick process. Using the straw supplied is incredibly easy and sure enough, when you pull the straw out, it stays inflated!

I didn't have a problem with my head rolling off. I put the pillow in the hood of my sleeping bagand that kept it in place. The pillow fabric has a soft cotton feel to it and is not uncomfortable against the face although as a previous reviewer mentioned it can be a little noisy when you move around. I stuffed my Flexair pillow inside a TShirt to make an impromptu cover to protect the pillow from dirt, sweat etc.

For a lightweight air pillow, well this is a tough act to follow.. Four out of 5.

Rating: 3 / 5

I purchased one of these also, but frankly I think I'll stick with my Wal-Mart water wing pillow, which is about a third the price, a little lighter, and just as comfy if wrapped in my fleece jacket.

Rating: 2 / 5

I have tested both the single and dual compartment version. The only advantage is its weight. No matter how I inflated them, my head would roll around. Probably a matter of taste, but certainly not for me. I experimented with putting (a) a piece of
foam inside (from GG Nightlite) and (b) some cotton balls but neither was a killer. I might settle for something that is heavier but more satisfying!

Rating: 4 / 5

I love this piece of luxury! I use 2 of the dual compartment types stacked on top of each other.
No more finding stuff to squish together when your WB's are soaked... then having to constantly rearrange during the night!

Has a nice texture too... though I do wonder about the straw! Put blue duct tape around mine so I don't loose it.

Rating: 4 / 5

I took a couple of these on several hikes ranging from 2 days to 2 weeks. The bottom line for me is they are very comfortable, weigh "virtually nothing", and fit in my Big Agnes Horse Thief pillow pocket very well. The dual chamber makes it more comfortable, as you're less likely to to roll off the pillow.

The only real problem I noticed was sometimes they don't inflate well, or they leak. Not often, but sometimes. Since these are pretty inexpensive and uber light weight, I'll continue to take 2.

Rating: 4 / 5

I like (love) a big pillow!

I have had very good results with the larger sized DUAL chamber pillow.

My strongest advice:
DON'T OVERINFLATE THE PILLOW!!!

It feels much less "wabbly" if it's just barely inflated, and sorta mushy. Then put it in a stuff sack or it'll be noisy and crinkly.

Rating: 3 / 5

I like a pillow but have had inconsistent results with the Dual air pillow, I found that one of the compartments leaks whilst the other does not.

Otherwise I prefer this pillow and will carry one in the hope that both compartments or at least one, as a last resort, does not leak.

Rating: 4 / 5

I've used one on six trips so far. It is definately a discussion piece and it's incredibly light weight. It took a little trial and error with it to find my comfort range, which is about half inflated instead of fully inflated. At first I had difficulty forcing all of the air out of the pillow until one day I tried sucking the last bit out. It worked great so it would always be 100% empty to make packing easier. I do find it a touch crinkly but if I toss a t-shirt around it it seems to behave a bit better and be less noisy.

Rating: 2 / 5

I used one of these pillows on a 100 mile section of the PCT a year and a half ago and ended up throwing it away part way through at a campground garbage can. It was great for a while (comfortable enough for me, anyway), but at some point it would just no longer hold air; I wasn't particularly hard on it and don't recall any incident that could have damaged it.

They come in a three-pack, so I'll try another one when I'm on a trip where I'm comfortable that I can come up with an alternative pillow should it fail.
Storing the straw in the backpack is a little perilous too --- pretty easy to lose or get crunched, and it's essential to using the pillow. I tried rolling the pillow around it as a cylinder and putting that on the outside of my backpack or inside a rolled-up sleeping pad, but it's too easy for the straw to fall out --- almost lost it a couple of times.

Apart from the straw part, I love the concept, and in colder weather I don't have any spare clothing to use as a pillow, but ... at this point I'm not confident that this will last more than a few days. What I might try instead (for colder nights) is to just inflate a waterproof stuffsack and sleep on it, using the stuff sack to hold clothes during the day.

Note that I've not done any extensive testing on these pillows or anything; for all I know mine was the exception, but ...

Rating: 2 / 5

I gave this pillow a try last night and found it much too flat for side sleeping. If I could sleep on my back it might be alright, although I did feel the tension of holding my head still rather than just relaxing and having my head roll off the side. It does inflate and deflate as described, although I didn’t use it long enough to test its durability. Along with testing this product I also tested my homemade pillow, which consists of two layers of 1 1/2” thick open celled foam (6” x 7” rectangle), with 1” of Polarguard insulation on top of that and wrapped with a sewn-on pillow case made out of a Duofold polyester t-shirt. My homemade pillow was high enough, firm enough and stable enough to allow for side sleeping and I used it for the remainder of the night.

Rating: 4 / 5

I use the double chamber pillow and love it. The key for comfort is to only inflate the chambers about halfway. I insert the pillow in a stuff sack and throw in a couple of bits of soft clothing such as gloves, socks, underwear (unused) or an extra shirt. This set up is very comfortable for back or side.
Durability is the only downside. It's probably a good idea to bring two along on extended trips. I haven't had a problem yet - but it's still early days. I'll keep you posted.

Rating: 1 / 5

Inflated it halfway. Flat within an hour on the first night. Oh, well. (Review refers to single chamber unit.)

Edited by njbnjb on 08/23/2007 17:58:23 MDT.

Rating: 4 / 5

>I think I'll stick with my Wal-Mart water wing pillow, which is about a third the price, a little lighter, and just as comfy if wrapped in my fleece jacket.

Yo, Michael. Always looking for the perfect pillow. Can you provide details so that I'll know what I'm doing when i wander around the Wal-Mart?

Stargazer

P.S. Love the FlexAirs, but they do tend to deflate on one side after a use or three.