The Hiking Pillow, Is it worth it?

Depending on how long you have been hiking, you may have once had a hiking pillow or currently do, they come as more of an accessory to make your hiking more comfortable and easy than as a necessity but they can significantly improve your hike and how well you sleep which is an important factor take into account because if you’re tired the next morning then your less likely to make it to the end of your hike. Most people who don't use a hiking air pillow often use their own pack or a bag filled with clothes as their pillow but this can make it hard to sleep and can also keep you up all night which is something you don't want, especially while hiking.

So what does the hiking pillow offer to avoid this? Well because it need to be blown up, it can be adjusted to different stiffnesses, meaning it can be softer and harder based off how much air you blow into it. This allows the pillow to adjust to peoples sleeping needs and allows for a better night sleep, getting this good night of sleep can be vital as you may need to wake up and hike 10-15 Kilometres and that becomes harder when you are sleep deprived.

The portable Hiking pillow is not only great when it comes to sleep but also is very space efficient and light making it perfect for any hike as weight almost doesn't come into the equation at all. Because of how small it is you may be mistaken for thinking that it is hard to fit inside of its bag but it's quite the opposite, it can be deflated by pressing the button in the middle of the blow up area and is then folded up very easily to fit snugly inside it's bag. Because of the air intake/outtake valves design it doesn't allow air to escape when it's protective cap is off unlike some sleeping mats, this allows you to take breaths in between blows and after three or four it should be completely inflated and ready for a good night’s sleep.

For this review I used the Kathmandu Air Travel Pillow which costs $39.99 AUD, if you’re going to buy this product first make sure that you will use it often so you’re not wasting your money. Also make sure to look at other websites to find the cheapest one so you are not left out of pocket, most major outdoors retailers will have their own range so it's important to see what they have got.

So are you going to buy one? Or are you going to carry on using the garbage bag full of clothes as your pillow?

Written by Josh Welch