TRAVELREST Ultimate Travel Pillow & Body Pillow - Headrest, Auto, Bus, Train, Office Napping, Camping, Wheelchairs, Comfort and Support, Rolls Up, Straps to Airplane Seat & Car - Blue

I'm the type of person who falls asleep almost immediately on road trips. I have gotten used to lugging a pillow around with me everywhere so that I can also have a good nap when I travel. I've tried other travel pillows but have always been disappointed. The "Total Pillow" is very prone to breaking and leaking out the tiny white beads everywhere. The "Horseshoe Shaped" ones usually require that I sleep with my head tilted back on it - making it so I usually end up with my mouth wide open, which usually makes me snore, allows bugs full access to my stomach, great for people to punk me and drop weird stuff in there, etc. It's just horrible. It's not very comfortable, flattering, or sanitary. My head often drops forward and I wake up with a jolt too. I just hate it. Memory Foam pillows are more comfortable, but not very portable so that is out of the question. With as much stuff as I travel with, I really don't want to be lugging around a bulky pillow around too. So here is where the TravelRest pillow comes in. Pros: Very comfortable, easy to inflate and deflate, very portable, very easy to pack/carry - very compact when deflated. Very easy to adjust firmness and settle into. I lean into it and my head goes to the side in a very natural position - allowing for me to finally sleep without my mouth gaping wide open for the whole world to see. No more worrying about snoring and eating bugs while I sleep out in public. I can now sleep without worrying about my head falling over to the person next to me too and it gives me a nice separation too. I can use it like a border between me and strangers. It's actually long enough to lay across my lap and it sits on the armrests and becomes a little table too. Not a real hard table, obviously, but I can then rest a food tray or book on it - so it's very comfortable that way too. Cons: The seams are on the sides of the pillow, right on the inside where I'm resting my neck so it kind of annoys my neck right there. This is easily fixed by sliding my favorite super soft t-shirt over it as a sort of pillow case. I see that they sell a microfiber fleece cover for this pillow as well and that might be another option. That or a flannel pillow case...or just throw whatever overshirt/jacket you are carrying with you over it. Since there are options, I would consider this to be a very minor flaw - easily corrected. My favorite way of using this pillow is to wear it messenger-bag style. You loop the string onto itself so it becomes a strap and you throw that over one shoulder - like how you would wear a messenger bag - then you just hug/lean into the pillow. It's very comfortable and stays put. I really don't understand all the complaints about tying it to head rests and bothering other people's food trays/tvs, etc. I think that the messenger style of wearing it is the most comfortable and that elimates all those complaints easily. When I travel, I tend to be very mobile too and would be uncomfortable tethering my personal item to a seat. It's not like I'm setting up camp here...I'm just sitting here temporarily and I'll be on my way. It's nice to have those options - but if those options are not viable at that particular moment and you still have the option of just wearing the pillow. I don't see what the big deal is. I've also found that it's not like you HAVE to have your head tilted to the side all the time. The pillow has a "L-shape" to it so you can hook it behind your neck a little more and lean back into it. This was something I was worried about when I first saw the pictures in the reviews so I'm glad that I can still just lean back (in case I want to watch a movie or something). ...speaking of movies, I would seriously take this into a movie theatre with me. I always have a hard time getting comfortable in the theatre for the long movies and this thing is just so comfortable no matter where you're sitting to just blow it up and lean/hug into it. It's like a body pillow that you can take with you everywhere. In fact, if they offered up that option, I would sooo buy it in an instant. Possible improvements to this product: Another pillow that's larger, more huggable. To me, that would make it just that much more comfortable and since this is inflatable, it wouldn't be adding that much more bulk. It would still be very compact. Another thing I would like is a longer "L-shape". It might be nice if it wrapped around your neck more, giving you even more option of how you can use it. One last suggestion would be different options for pillow cases: different colors, different materials, something more soft and cuddly. Conclusion: I really like this travel pillow a lot. I am taking this with me everywhere: road trips, plane rides, movie theatre, etc... Anywhere where I can sit is where I can pull out this pillow and hug it, easing into a very comfortable position. It really takes the strain out of lower back/lumbar pain when you can lean over to the side a little. Takes the strain out of my neck/shoulders when I can rest my head over to the side. I would definitely recommend this pillow to anyone. There are some things that could be improved upon, yes...but it works well as it is and if they improved this product in the future, that would be just icing on the cake.

My wife and I bought two of these for plane travel based on the glowing reviews. The concept was pretty compelling, and I have to say that the pillow works almost as well as advertised. ***UPDATE*** This product deserves a minimum of 4 stars. My original review failed to take into account some additional ways to use the pillow effectively. First off, the excellent: 1. The pillow is very easy to inflate, and only takes 3-4 puffs of air depending on your lungs. It is also very easy to deflate, rolls up, and takes up a minimum of space in your carry on bag. 2. The pillow is comfortable enough for an inflatable. It is covered in a soft faux velvet that doesn't irritate the skin or cause discomfort due to pressure points. You can make it even more comfortable with a small cotton pillow or even by putting a cotton pillow case over it, if you prefer that. 3. When it used properly it will support your head and neck very well and will allow you to sleep on an airplane, car, or even sitting in the airport lobby. 4. The 'arm' of the pillow resting along your chest and mid section is very comfortable. I found it soothing since I tend to sleep holding a pillow anyway. Your mileage may vary on that one though. A Few Problems: The pillow can be hard to keep in one place if you use the rope to fasten it to the seat back. There are two bands that connect the pillow to your chair: the first is a loop that you can put around your belt, your seat belt, or even a belt loop. This connection works well and is fastened in place by a quality metal snap. However, the top is held in place by a nylon piece of rope that you can adjust with a plastic thump clasp. It is intended to go around the backside of your seat and then tighten down to hold the pillow in place. This can work pretty poorly on certain airplanes because A. the seat backs in are sometimes slick, B. the nylon rope doesn't have any traction to it (although this is intentional because it allows the thumb clasp to move easily), and C. The top of some airplane seats are angled and as time passes the rope works itself free. My experience was that it was very hard to make the cushion stay in place for more than an hour at a time, and it required readjustment frequently. This may frustrate the person sitting next to you, or the person behind you who you keep turning around and looking at while you make adjustments! ***UPDATE*** After receiving some additional information from the makers of the TravelRest pillow, I've learned that there is an alternative (and far superior in my opinion) way to use the pillow that involves wearing it like a messenger bag by connecting the pillow strap to the bottom strap. This forms a loop you can put around your body and which keeps the pillow much more stationary. Using the pillow in this fashion is easier and more secure. I'd recommend using the pillow this way virtually all of the time. 2. The pillow only gives you support on one side at a time, unlike traditional neck pillows. If you shift while sleeping, you will find yourself with a massive neck cramp. ***UPDATE*** However, you can easily shift the pillow from one side to the other if you're 'wearing it' messenger style. This alleviates that problem pretty satisfactorily. Advice and Observations: 1. Don't over-inflate the pillow. It is actually more comfortable at about 80-90% capacity. 2. It is easy to let air out once the pillow is in place, but it is much harder to add air because the access point is on the bottom of the pillow. Go for a little over full and then let air out as necessary. Conclusions: This is pretty solid invention for sleeping on a plane. In my estimation, it is superior to a traditional neck pillow, but has its share of advantages and disadvantages. I'd recommend it if you prefer strong directional support to softer universal neck support provided by a traditional neck pillow, and if you like the comfort of having a pillow 'hugging' you as you sleep. This pillow also works really well in the car, and if you've got kids who have a hard time sleeping on road trips, these are probably a must buy. ***UPDATE*** I'd like to thank TravelRest for their customer service. This company went out of their way to assist with my pillow by providing additional information on how to use the pillow effectively. They have produced a short video on using the pillow that I have put a link to in the comments section. It is pretty PR-ish, but does show the various ways to use the pillow. I'd also like to say that TravelRest in no way bartered for any changes to this review. They were straight shooters who wanted to make sure I understood their product and was using it properly. I've got no problem recommending them to anyone. It's actually pretty amazing when a company goes above and beyond to provide solid customer service as they did for me.

I'm an overzealous researcher and read many reviews on amazon before I decided to purchase this pillow. I fit the profile of somebody who would love the pillow--side sleeper who likes to hold something while sleeping--and boy do I love this pillow. I'm a frequent business traveler, and I sleep like a rock on a plane, but would always end up with the worst neck cramp no matter what kind of pillow I use, until I got this thing. It packs small, fits right on my laptop pack handle, inflates/deflates easily (granted that you often get the "what is this" stare from neighboring passenger, since it's fairly big, and the occasional "OMG that's cool" comment from the flight attendant), and when you wear it like a messenger bag, fits very snugly around your body. I'm 5'1 and the pillow is long, but the length of the strap is adjustable, so it fits me perfectly, and it can accommodate somebody much taller just fine. I noticed a couple major differences-- 1. I don't have neck cramps after long flights anymore. With the normal travel pillow, I had to shift my head left and right and would still end up with a sore neck. This pillow supports your neck and the entire side of your head, so no more neck cramps. 2. Before, I could not fall asleep unless I lean back my seat, as I needed to lean back to take some weight off of my head leaning to the side which causes the neck cramp. That often pisses off the person behind me thus causes them to constantly bump and kick my seat and ruin my sleep. With the support given by this pillow, I sometimes forget to even lean back. I flew from San Francisco to Chicago last week and didn't even know the plane took off when I landed, and I was sitting up straight the whole time. 3. I don't care if I sit next to the window anymore. I use to dread not getting the window seat, because I needed the support of the side wall or I can't sleep, but now even if I get the middle seat I can still sleep with plenty of support. One thing to note is that if I don't place the pillow correctly, my arm would fall asleep because I prefer to inflate the pillow really stiff and lean it against my shoulder. I find that comfortable until my arm falls asleep. I noticed that if you inflate the pillow before taking off, after the plane gets to a certain altitude, the cabin pressure change causes the pillow to really stiffen up, which I like as it provides even better support, but I've read a couple of reviews where people prefer it softer--I can imagine having the pillow softer would solve the arm falling asleep issue. Overall, this pillows make the dreadful economy class much more tolerable, and it's a frequent traveler must have.

Edit: I upgraded my review to 3 stars solely based on the extremely quick response/support from Travelrest - less than 5 minutes after I originally posted, I got a note along with a private email and phone number to call for help. I can't really knock a company that invested in their reputation and support. While on the plane, I was able to inflate the pillow, though I still wonder if something is a little off with mine - it's not as easy to do as the video makes out, and in particular I found it difficult to adjust the pressure once it was fully inflated (and too firm for my tastes). This could just be me so I won't knock them for it. As for the pillow itself? Well, if you buy the optional cover, it's actually pretty comfortable. Without the cover I didn't really like it at all. You'll also get some looks on the plane - I had seatmates wondering if I was getting ready to make a balloon animal toy. Overall I didn't use it much on my LA-Tokyo trip, though my wife had a better experience using it in a Window seat, propped up against inner wall. I went back to my neck pillow and ended up sleeping better for it. I am 6'4 and noticed that the pillow isn't nearly long enough to stretch across my chest as shown in the photos, so that might have something to do with it. Still, it works as advertised for the most part, so I'm changing my star review. Buy the cover if you get this. --------------- Received mine this morning - was impressed enough with the reviews that I bought the cover for it, too. Looks like I wasted money twice. The pillow won't inflate - it appears the valve is broken (it wasn't attached 3/4 of the way around even before I tried to blow it up the first time). I checked out the video on the company's site and this definitely does not appear to be how it should work - the valve will not hold pressure the way it is. I can't inflate it very well/easily and when I do it loses pressure after a few minutes - and this is inside my house. Not happy about this at all considering I bought it for a trip to Japan I am taking tomorrow (no time for replacement). So, though you shouldn't have to, I recommend buying this a week or more in advance of your trip so you can get a replacement, assuming you even want one. Me, I'll be going back to my crappy neck pillow and thinking of Travelrest's quality control during my 13 hour flight.

I am a frequent flyer and count on my naps when traveling. In the old days, I carried my bed pillow (awkward) and then tried a variety of other smaller pillows, some that I had attached Velcro to in an attempt to lesson my "hand" load by attaching them to my computer bag, backpack or plain old belt loops. I finally gave up and just toughed it out as it was just too much stuff and something had to give. Anyway, saw this pillow advertised on my "Smarter Travel" newsletter and was just interested enough to give it a try (since the airlines have taken away just about every perk they used to have). Had a trip scheduled and used my Amazon Prime to get this pillow before I left. It came in plenty of time. I briefly read the instructions, didn't actually blow it up, but liked the concept so rolled it up and neatly attached it to my purse/computer bag. I had an early morning flight that required that I get up about 4am so when I got into my assigned seat on that airplane, I grabbed my pillow and blew it up. Yes, I felt a little silly but figured out how to put the strap behind me, all the time thinking "this'll never work." Wow, was I wrong. I'm a side sleeper and have never been able to tolerate those little airbag pillow that go around your neck. Anyway, I positioned the Travelrest, closed my window and turned as much as possible to my side and made ready for a nap. Now that my face was actually ON it - it felt wonderfully comfortable, although I will admit when I had opened the package before my trip I did think that perhaps the covering was a little 'cheesey.' Not the case at all when I actually laid my head/face on it. It felt like it had been custom made for me. It did take me a bit to adjust the air inside to my liking (I had filled it a bit too tight which was not as comfortable), but once I did that - I was out like a light. I woke up 2 hours later on the tail end of my 3 hour flight, elated that my trip was almost over. Even when I was awake and reading for the last hour of my trip, my new best friend was not in my way. And when we landed, I simply unplugged the air hole and rolled the air out of it and secured it, once again, to my purse. My neighbors, who had previously looked at me kind of funny, I could tell, were jealous that they didn't have one. I was SO pleased. No crease in my face from leaning on the window or wall, no neck cramp from trying to attain some kind of comfortable position, no fumbling to find an extra hand to hold on to another piece of travel equipment that wouldn't be used again until I got on another plane. In addition, when using it - it very nicely blocks the view and noise from the person seated directly behind you. I didn't have to take off my earrings or re-style my hair. In fact, I have some scars on my head from being burned as a baby that I am VERY self-conscious of and this pillow didn't muss my carefully-arranged hair one bit. I know I'll never see that person again, but hey - it's my phobia. On the plane ride home 10 days later, I sat on the other side of the plane and was just as comfortable then as I was the first time. I will never travel again without this pillow and will be buying another for my little 4-year old grandbaby for his car seat, totally eliminating that uncomfortable sound asleep, head hanging down over the seatbelt which just looks torturous. Just my experience but it was an excellent one and well worth the money. Sometimes you get what you pay for and in this case, it's worth every penny. I just wish I had one on these when I was flying back and forth to the UK.

This is my favorite travel pillow. I CAN sleep well in planes, cars, trains etc., but only with a good pillow. For the past ten years I've travelled with an Eagle Creek horseshoe-style pillow, but recently it was time to replace it, and I had a 14 hour flight ahead so after researching the best travel pillow, I came across the TravelRest. I bought one for myself and after it arrived my husband tried it out and liked it so much we ordered one for him and had it shipped next day air so we would have it in time for our trip. I find it to be more comfortable than the horseshoe pillow because it provides more area for you to lean against. With the horseshoe pillow, I find none of them allow my neck to be really supported and you can really wrench your neck out on them. This pillow allows you to just lean onto it, and as a previous reviewer mentioned- there's something really comforting about being able to wrap your arms around it. Even in a middle seat, you can get comfortable- I usually prever the window to the aisle so I have something to lean on while sleeping but this pillow let me be the nice spouse and let my husband have the window this time. It's been very thoughtfully designed with an adjustable lanyard that goes from top the top of the pillow to the bottom so you can attach it to your seat and seatbelt so it doesn't shift and you can relax into it. The type of airplane seats we were on didn't allow for us to put the lanyard around the seat, but it wasn't really a problem, you can just put the lanyard around yourself in that case and it's very sturdy. It looks a little funny, but it is great. It inflates very easily (seriously, I don't even like blowing up a balloon) and rolls up to a size even smaller than my old horseshoe pillow and the built in snap makes it easy to contain without an extra bag for storage. There's an illustration on the box showing how to attach it to your carry on, and plenty of diagrams on how to use the built-in strap. I imagine it would be fantastic in the car as well, especially for kids on long trips.

Had a bad seal, so the air leaks out rapidly

first off... this pillow is a reliable mainstay for me. I have neck problems. i travel long distance overseas just once in a while, domestically a lot more frequently. i can't see traveling these wretched 17+ hour overnight flights with anything else than something like this to support my neck. sometimes I just honestly just need to pull it out because I'm completely exhausted and there is absolutely NO way I can position my body and head to get relaxation and find rest otherwise (head back, no support, head side, no support, head forward, resting right on tray knob, exhausting). The normal travel pillows/fit/workability are fine. i keep this and one other blow up pillow with me in my backpack for when i just can't stay awake... this and my rick steve's odd shaped pillow give me options because both support my head and neck in comfortable ways. see, the thing I have found is that you just can't get any neck support most of the time. you wake up with hours of stiffness from you flight from your head hanging over to the side while sleeping without any support. the price is a bit premium but reasonable given the quality is overall good. the blow up and release air valve is incredibly easy to manage (the release valve is honestly so easy to use sort of a marvel to me that i'd never seen anything like this before, really. it deflates very fast. the pillow seemed of incredible good quality at the start, but like most all the others, it is just two pliable sheets of flexible plastic heat-bonded with an external seam around the exterior. it has held up generally, but i've had two leaks now over < 10 flights so far. these types of blowup pillows never seem to hold together very well it seems, but this odd shaped stuff does the job much better than the puffy 'C' shaped alternatives so far. i managed to find some silicone/wader glue that worked okay first time to seal but now need to try to find and re-patch a minor leakage again prior to another overseas trip. a main problem for me here beyond leakage had been this new system of ties and support. you have to wrap and tighten the cord around your seat behind which could block tray or tv of person behind you. but honestly... it has not been so much an issue... we are all cattle on these flights, and we just we all try to accommodate, esp on these horrible long international flights. most people behind seem to accept/allow it okay and in most cases the cord wrapping around your seat isn't much an issue anyways. the main issue is that the cord around the seat always seems to slides far to the side and that means the pillow doesn't give you the needed neck support on one side or another. the pic looks just so supported and comfy but you really don't see how the back cords eventually allow the pillow to sway far to either side. i've gotten a reply that i'm just not using it right, so maybe i'm doing something wrong and need to adjust and i'll work with it next time. I'll play around with the chords and anchor system more and update here if needed. in essence though, this is still one of the best airplane pillows/systems I have found so far. absolutely better than going without, better than standard 'C' shaped pillows, and essential on long flights. i keep this with me for all flights at all times... there are times i just feel a need for it even if on short flights and dying of exhaustion and this has helped a lotl