(#1 REVIEWER)I had a couple of back surgeries, so finding a comfortable position in bed is always a bit of a challenge especially when I travel. At home I use a pillow with more loft for my head, and a flatter pillow under my knees to keep my spine in a position that does not hurt. When I travel I often find hotel pillows uncomfortable. They are usually either too fat to feel comfortable under my knees or too flat to be comfortable under my head.This is where Pillowpacker Pillows come in. The unique feature of this travel pillow is its construction. It is shaped as a regular bedroom pillow (but somewhat smaller), but inside it has multiple layers: the out layer is either duck down or microfiber, and inside layer is an inflatable pillow. You can control the thickness of the pillow by how much you inflate the inflatable pillow. The softness of the duck down or microfiber makes you feel like you are sleeping on a regular pillow. By changing the inflation of the pillow I could make it fit both of my needs thicker under the head, and flatter under the knees.
I am attaching a collage of 4 photos. They can be located by following 'customer photos' link under the main photo.
Photo #1 shows a fully inflated pillow (blue) and minimally inflated pillow (red). The valve used to inflate the pillows is very easy to use. It is hard plastic screw valve. Blowing air into it is very easy, it takes only a few blows to inflate it (much easier than other inflatable pillows that have a silicone plug).
Photo #2 shows the Pillowpacker pillow next to my regular size pillow. My regular pillow is 24" x 19", the Pillowpacker pillow is 19" by 14".
Photo #3 shows the construction of the pillow: dark blue is the pillow case, light blue is the sleeve that contains goose feathers, white is the inflatable pillow between the two layers of goose filling.
Photo #4 shows the Pillowpacker pillow case. This is a European-type pillow case which folds over rather than has one open end. I much prefer this style of pillow cases for their neat appearance. It is made out of 100% cotton.
I prefer duck down pillows in general, my husband prefers microfiber, so I got one of each. In the photos above I used the blue pillow case for down pillow, and the red pillow case for the microfiber one. When I inflated both pillows I was able to get the same thickness on both of the pillows, they both weigh 5 oz. They both compacted similar well when I rolled them up for packing. They do feel slightly different in a squeeze test. By squeezing each I can tell the difference between down and microfiber as microfiber has a bit more spongy feel to it. The down pillow is very soft, you cannot feel any quills, this pillow is made with top quality duck down.
I received sample pillows from the manufacturer for evaluation and unbiased review. Originally I thought I would use these pillows only when I travel, but I found the ability to adjust the pillow loft for my back problems so useful that I began using them as my "under the knees" pillow every day. I found that being able to change the inflation really helps my back, as some days the back feels better with knees slightly higher and some days with knees slightly lower.
Whether you want more custom comfort when you travel, or you use pillows to adjust leg position when you sleep this pillow can be customized to fit your needs. I recommend it.
Ali Julia review
