The Bottom Line
Pros
- Rolls up small
- More stable than other neck pillows
- Can be anchored to seat back and lap belt
Cons
- Hard to "change sides" for your neck
- Can't beat a first class seat for sleeping!
Description
- The TravelRest travel pillow provides support for sleeping upright in an airplane or car.
- Unlike other travel pillows, the TravelRest is a tethered sleep system, and thus more stable
- TravelRest is compact, and can be strapped to your luggage handles for easy access
- Just 4 (big) breaths are required to fill the TravelRest pillow with air.
Guide Review - TravelRest Travel Pillow - Review
I'm probably one of the last people you should ask to test a product that is supposed to allow you to sleep on an airplane. I seldom even doze off. There are probably many reasons for this, one of them at least being somewhat normal. Greg Belenky, director of the Sleep and Performance Research Center at the University of Washington, recently told the New York Times, "When sleeping upright in a tight seat, the body has to push out adrenaline-like compounds to keep the blood flow to the brain adequate."Yep, my brain seems to need a lotta blood flow. But when I do get tired, I'm one of those whose head just flops around like a fish out of water, waking me every five minutes or so.
Enter the TravelRest travel pillow. When inflated, it looks sorta like the club Barney Rubble wielded on The Flintstones, with a smooth, slightly curved body that hooks on the end just slightly. This "hook" gently wraps around your neck, giving you a base to set your head upon.
The difference between the TravelRest and other neck pillows is in the anchoring. One anchor point is provided by a strap that loops around the back of the seat. Barely bigger around than a shoelace, it's something that the person in the seat behind you might object to if you just turn around and strap in without making some apologetic cry for permission. The TravelRest can be anchored by strapping it around your body as well.
The other end of the TravelRest can be anchored to the lap belt. Now you have a pillow that's noticeably stable; it's anchoring your whole body, not just your head.
Your neck is still bent, but the angle is such that it's really resting and unlikely to want to flop around. Even slight body movements don't matter.
The TravelRest travel pillow provides a stable rest for your head when you try to sleep on an airplane. Did I sleep? Well, you know how that is.
