Pillow talk

[andrewbish]

Do you have a suggestion for a decent pillow?

I like the look of Roger Caffins [url="http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/DIY_RNCDesigns.htm#Pillows"]diy project[/url] ... although I like a drill press.

One I hot from Anaconda was too soft.

And I tried a suggestion from another diy-Er to use a wine cask bag, but it's noisy!

[johnw]

Whew, I thought this was going to be an R rated topic! I have a Thermarest compressible one. Nice thing but not cheap, nor particularly lightweight. But it is quite comfortable compared with other things I've tried. Comments and links in a previous post:
http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1218&hilit=+pillow#p9365

If you're keen and have the time you could give Roger's idea a try. I know he tests all of his inventions properly. And yes, I'd stay away from anything that makes a noise!

[ULWalkingPhil]

I also own the Thermarest compressible pillow, Purchased mine recently on sale, I can vouch for these pillows, they are very comfy. I found mine is very light. I own the large size and it's only 340grams. Very little weight for some comfort.

[photohiker]

I have a Cocoon travel pillow. Packs small, not heavy. Once you work out the correct inflation, works quite well. Doesn't zip around like a winecask bladder, but does sometimes still escape...

[juju]

When I want to carry one or car camp I take a Black Wolf spongy inflatable, stuffing my sleeping bag cover never really works - better not to have any at all. Although this might sound a bit rugged, the most comfortable 'pillow' I've used on the track is the end of my closed cell foam type camping mat rolled up and over at the end (the way those mats want to do), really comfy!

[Lizzy]

My husband recently cut a light pillow in half & sewed it up to make the boys a pillow for some car/canoe camping. I liked it so much I got him to cut its matching one in half too so now we have 4 half pillows. He also made them pillow slips & they weigh about 300g each... could go lighter with differnet pillowcase material. They are obviously not as compact as some but if you have a bit of room in the pack they are a wonderful luxury
cheers
Lizzy

[iGBH]

There's an Exped one which i think is quite new. Around $50 and light, can't vouch for comfort because i dont have one (yet) but given quality of their downmats (and this looks similar) i would say it would be very good.

[andrewa]

I often use a 10l wine cask, as it makes up part of my home made packrafting pfd, and it works very well, particularly with some clothing over it. If the noise of a foil one irritates you, you can sometimes convince the staff at Dairy Bell to give you their empty milk bladders, which are 10l, but plastic, and therefore lighter and quieter, but there's occasionally an crappy OHS reason for them not wishing to. If you are lucky enough to get a bladder, change the valve to the one that comes with the wine bladder.

I've also used a 50l dry bag (the one with a valve on the side). That was great, as it approximated the size of a normal pillow, but needed something over it to stop it being sweaty.

Also tried a Mont Bell pillow, which was OK, but "not quite right", but I think I'd most prefer to use a partly inflated 10l cask with a little clothing over it, all held together in a home made "pillow slip" about 40x25x8cm.

"The Sacred Pillow " ritual is hugely important in one's outdoor enjoyment.

A

[vagrom]

The cheapest option: a poly/cotton pillow cover from Spotlight, used as a stuff sack. Yes, the sleeping bag sack is terrible because it's cold and simply slides away. Ana ll cotton one's no good in Tassie where it'll quickly feel damp. Poly/cotton's light, cheap, feel's good under your face and is large enough to keep your face from coming into contact with that part of your bag. It won't slip away and if it doesn't work for you, then get a pillow.
For a longer trip, any (useful) compressible pillow really soaks up precious pack space and even a little weight.

[Edit: Important-
-Spotlight because it needs to be low cotton, not "cotton rich" and
-in use, turn the mouth of the case towards you. Any case space thats "unstuffed" after desired lofting can just be folded under the main body and should stay there fairly well.
-Pillowcase: 45x70cm =65gms; Compressible "LifeVenture"=455gms ]

Last edited by vagrom on Sat 26 Mar, 2011 7:40 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[Tony]

Do you have a suggestion for a decent pillow?

I like the look of Roger Caffins [url]"http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/DIY_RNCDesigns.htm#Pillows"]diy project[/url] ... although I like a drill press.

One I hot from Anaconda was too soft.

And I tried a suggestion from another diy-Er to use a wine cask bag, but it's noisy!

Hi Andrew,

I made and use a Caffin pillow, and I have been using my Caffin pilow for several years, mine weighs 112g, it is especially good in very cold weather.

Making the pillow was not easy, it took me two goes, drilling the holes was quite difficult, I made a thin stainless steel coring drill to fit into a drill press, but when drilling the foam the coring drill, the drill kept grabbing on the foam, I had to be very careful, but it has been worth it. My pillow compresses into a very small stuff sack.

I tried a wine cask bag for a while in summer but they do not last long and have gone back to my pillow.

Tony

[photohiker]

Making the pillow was not easy, it took me two goes, drilling the holes was quite difficult, I made a thin stainless steel coring drill to fit into a drill press, but when drilling the foam the coring drill, the drill kept grabbing on the foam, I had to be very careful, but it has been worth it.

I was thinking about this, and wondered if it would be easier if the foam was compressed flat between two sheets of sacrificial ply or chipboard then cored through the whole sandwich... This has an advantage in that the board can be secured with a clamp where the foam on its own cannot.

[juju]

I made and use a Caffin pillow, and I have been using my Caffin pilow for several years, mine weighs 112g, it is especially good in very cold weather.

Making the pillow was not easy, it took me two goes, drilling the holes was quite difficult, I made a thin stainless steel coring drill to fit into a drill press, but when drilling the foam the coring drill, the drill kept grabbing on the foam, I had to be very careful, but it has been worth it. My pillow compresses into a very small stuff sack.

Tony

love to see a pic...

[andrewbish]

Thanks all.

Photohiker-I think you're onto something with the ply/foam sandwich idea
Btw - tried wrapping my (small) towel around the wine cask bag last night- kept it quiet and in place. .. And only 15gms

[Son of a Beach]

I was surprised to see that so many people carry pillows at all. I've always just used my polar fleece clothing (trousers, jacket, vest) folded together so that they stay together (all inside the jacket which is then folded around them), or all folded into a cotton bag in which I pack them into the back pack anyway. These days I now have a down vest, so when going to bed, I put that in the cotton bag first, then the polar fleece trousers and jacket, then turn the bag upside down so I have the smooth side (without the draw string) against my face, and the soft down layer immediately under that. Very comfortable indeed.

(I use my rain jacket under my feet if it is dry and the weather is warm enough, otherwise one of the polar fleece layers goes under my feet).

[Nuts]

I do the same though often find when its cold the only clothing not being used is a raincoat. Heading down this morning to pick up a bunch of these sacks:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... K:MEWNX:IT

[Tony]

Hi photohiker,

I was thinking about this, and wondered if it would be easier if the foam was compressed flat between two sheets of sacrificial ply or chipboard then cored through the whole sandwich... This has an advantage in that the board can be secured with a clamp where the foam on its own cannot.

I am not tsure how clamping the foam between two sheets of ply would work, intersting idea, but Rogers and my pillows do not have the holes all the way through, this gives a smooth surface to put the head on, finding the right foam also was not easy.

Tony

[Tony]

Hi juju,

love to see a pic...

I do not have any photos from making my pillow but below are photos of my pillow.

Tony

IMG_3727.JPG (33.94 KiB) Viewed 31754 times

IMG_3724.JPG (39.82 KiB) Viewed 31754 times

IMG_3725.JPG (35.57 KiB) Viewed 31754 times

IMG_3726.JPG (37.51 KiB) Viewed 31754 times

[juju]

Thanks Tony, light, but it doesn't look comfy to me, I'd have to round it off so it was more like a semi squashed football. A chiropractor I saw once said no pillow was the best pillow, sometimes I find he's right, sometimes not.

[silkwood]

I use the clothing in a jumper or top technique. A twist is to use a top with a drawcord base. Fold your clothes (and a soft piece of foam if you like) onto the chest area of the top. Now fold the bottom of the top (?) inside out, covering the clothing "plillow" and capturing it into the base of the top. Now draw the waist drawcord in (which is now at the top of the pillow) and you are left with a pillow with two arms poking out the top. These arms get placed under your sleeping mat, where the weight of your body serves to keep the pillow in place. If this makes no sense it is because I am trying to write this after a particularly nice pinot. I have been using this system for years with various fillings. I now take a smalll piece of open cell foam to create the top of the pillow inside the jumper or top (if you know what I mean!).

Cheers,
Mark

[north-north-west]

Down jacket stuffed in spare thermals/jacket. Most comfortable pillow I've ever had.

[vagrom]

If this makes no sense it is because I am trying to write this after a particularly nice pinot.

...Pinot talk, then? Something a bit less fortified,from Tassie? Some of the mainland stuff can blow your head off. Graeme Philips does great wine reviews in the Sunday Tas, well I think, because he's the only one who notes alcohol content and whether it favours or kills the product.

[Dale]

I've been on a mission for some time to find the pillow holy grail. The closest I had come was the thermarest compressible pillow. It at least had the size to provide some comfort but it's pretty darn bulky. I may have the answer after getting this one with Moontrail points:

http://www.moontrail.com/wester-mountai ... pillow.php

The Western Mountaineering Cloudrest pillow has 90g down compresses well and most importantly 'feels' like a pillow... Will be sure to post my thoughts after I give it a whirl this weekend.

[stu]

I'm with Nuts on this one, I also use the Thermarest stuff sack pillow (stuff whatever I can in it, down jacket etc.):

http://cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/ ... ow/product

[Lady McGuyver]

Down jacket stuffed in spare thermals/jacket. Most comfortable pillow I've ever had.

I agree. Total Luxury! It fits neatly into my sleeping bag hood and stays put.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Down jacket stuffed in spare thermals/jacket. Most comfortable pillow I've ever had.

I agree. Total Luxury! It fits neatly into my sleeping bag hood and stays put.

+3

Very comfortable and I just dont see the point in carrying something extra when other things in the kit do the exact same thing.

[photohiker]

The Western Mountaineering Cloudrest pillow has 90g down compresses well and most importantly 'feels' like a pillow... Will be sure to post my thoughts after I give it a whirl this weekend.

Got one a couple of years ago, found it too soft!

[vagrom]

The "Naes" appear to be on a roll.

[stepbystep]

Downjacket stuffed inside a largish stuffsack(couple of drops of lavender oil on the stuffsack) - perfect

[Dale]

Well then... it appears the stuff sacks have won the pillow fight

I'll have to give it a whirl - only issue is I don't carry a thick down jacket ... my main go to jacket is the Montbell UL Down Jacket - which weighs about 160g so not sure how much padding this will give. I do like the look of the Thermarest stuff sack and this means I'll now have to buy another piece of gear *sigh*

Can't believe there's so little love for the Cloudrest !

[cams]

Yeah I found it too soft aswell. I use a piece of cut down foam pillow re-sewn up. Don't carry enough spare clothes to make a pillow usually.