Sleeping styles: It should also accommodate people who move their head in any direction while they sleep. It should also work in a window, a middle, or an aisle seat. Grip/traction: Your head will likely move around a bit while sleeping on a plane, especially if there’s turbulence. So any kind of grip or traction around the bottom of the pillow will help it stay in place and keep you snoozing.

We tested the most popular travel pillows in the UK. We bought all the products we tested. Each travel pillow was rated on: Weight: Ideally, the pillow shouldn’t add undue burden to your carry-on. While inflatable pillows will always be the lightest option, memory-foam pillows don’t weigh much more and can offer significantly more comfort.

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After using quite a few travel pillows, I’ve found that I enjoy a side-sleeping pillow like the J-Pillow for plane rides since I tend to loll off to one side, and I like the traditionally shaped rectangular pillow, the NEMO Fillo, for other types of excursions like bus and car rides as well as car camping. Its combination of padding and inflate-ability make it versatile for many types of trips. What to Look for in a Travel Pillow When it comes to flying, where these cosy companions really come into their own, there’s no minimum flight time that negates the need to bring a travel pillow. In fact, the designs of short-haul air carriers tend to be less comfortable than larger vessels, so you could argue that there’s even more of a need to keep one in your carry-on for journeys under three hours. It should go without saying that a travel pillow will make longer journeys all the more manageable, too, especially on overnight flights where onward travel plans depend on you being well-rested. What types of travel pillows are available? There are several types of travel pillows, with differences that factor into both their cost and the comfort they’ll provide. Here’s a rundown of the main four:

While the Trtl Plus is expensive (the costliest of the ones recommended here), it does offer a custom fit courtesy of two plastic knobs that adjust both sides of the plastic panel. It comes with a travel bag which is handy if you don’t want to lug it around on the outside of your bag when traveling.The Expert: Taking multiple plane, train, and bus rides every year, I’m familiar with necessary on-the-go accessories like a travel pillow. For instance, I am based in Colorado and last year I flew to Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, D.C. My car travels included a road trip to Zion National Park with a buddy. My average trip takes about seven hours between the trains to and from the airport and the plane ride itself.