Best camping pillows

You can have a great tent and sleeping bag, pick the perfect spot to camp in but still have a terrible night’s sleep if you don’t have one of the best camping pillows. Bringing a full-size pillow from home would take up your whole backpack and you only have to make do with some clothes stuffed in a bag once to realize that a good camping pillow is an essential item. And their usefulness isn’t just limited to being under canvas, a packable, comfy pillow is invaluable for getting sleep on planes, trains and in the back of the car. 

Size is crucial, both when compressed and packed and when plumped up and ready for you to rest your head on. Equally as important is comfort. An uncomfortable pillow is just not worth packing. To find the balance between size and comfort, camping pillows are usually filled with foam, fiber or down, are inflatable or use a mix of air and filling. All these pillows are good to sleep on but our favorite is the Therm-a-Rest Compressible Travel Pillow. From the well-known sleep pad maker, It’s the comfiest pillow we’ve tried and while not the most compact, it’s well worth the slight extra bulk if a restful, refreshing sleep is the reward.

From the creators of the Therm-a-Rest sleep pad, this pillow offers a very comfy sleeping experience when traveling. Although bulkier than some ( the medium version weighs 9 ounces), the trade-off is a supremely comfortable pillow. Made from durable compressible foam, it also comes in four sizes – small, medium, large and extra-large – so you can pick depending on how important weight and bulk are on your trips. Ultralight backpackers will want a small, car campers can go extra-large.

The squishy pillow, made from upcycled lofty urethane filling from Thermarest mattresses, fits in a brushed polyester cover and is easy to machine wash and tumble dry. You can choose from a range of different pillowcase designs. When packing, a drawstring and cord locks keep it securely compressed until you release it and fluff it up ready to sleep on when camping, on a plane or in the car.

Filled with the same fiber as their sleeping bags, TETON Sports Camp Pillow is a solid if soft choice. Packing down to 4" x 7" x 9” in the supplied storage bag, you don’t need to inflate it, just shake it to fluff up ready to sleep on. 

The soft poly-flannel plaid pillowcase design matches TETON’s sleeping bags and is removable for machine washing or you can throw the whole pillow in the laundry. Weighing 9.6 ounces and lofting up to 12” x 8”, it’s smaller than some pillows but reasonable comfy and a good value, uncomplicated choice for camping and traveling with.

You’ve always got room to pack this inflatable pillow. Deflated and compressed into its stuff sack, it fits in the palm of your hand and measures a minuscule 5” x 2”. When bedtime comes, three to five breaths are enough to inflate it. To pack down, a Quick Deflate feature releases the air in seconds. 

The Aluft 2.0 model features a dot and latch design to stop it slipping in the night. The back has rubber dots to help it grip while a latch strap will fix it to your camping mat for extra sleep security. The TREKOLOGY Ultralight is made from a durable TPU fabric that is comfy enough to rest your head on and also water-resistant. The ergonomic design has enhanced neck support and can take you sleeping on your front, back and sides.

This relatively large pillow is soft and supportive thanks to its shredded memory foam filling which makes for a comfy night’s sleep. The reversible outer cover has two sides. The first, for traveling, is durable and water-resistant so it doesn’t matter if you drop it on the ground. The other side is 100% cotton for sleeping on. The cover is fully removable and machine washable.

Available in two sizes, the regular is 19 ounces and 18” by 12” unpacked whereas the large weighs 28 ounces and unpacks to 23” by 16”. Both pack down smaller and are secured with a strap but still might be too big for backpacking. But the Drift is more versatile and convenient than taking a pillow from home even if the comfort levels it offers are probably similar to what you normally sleep on.

Nothing beats inflatable pillows for lightness and storage size. However, they aren’t always the most comfortable option as you can easily roll off their firm surface when asleep. Klymit’s X marks the spot in the center of the pillow to best support your head. You can also inflate and deflate it easily to get the right height and pressure to customize the pillow for your comfort.

The deflated pillow is easy to find room for in even the lightest of packs. Weighing less than two ounces it packs down to 4.5” x 2.5” x 1” to fit in the included stuff sack and inflates to a roomy 15” x 11” x 4” for a comfy sleep even in the wilderness. A quilted pillow cover is available separately. 

Bottom line

Few things are as important for a successful camping trip as a night of good sleep. Similarly, catching some shut-eye when traveling can make your journey much more bearable. The best camping pillows can make all the difference to the quality of your sleep when you’re not in your bed at home. We always recommend finding room for one in your backpack or carry-on bag. Whether you want to go ultra-lightweight with an inflatable pillow or can afford the room for something bigger in the name of comfort will depend on what sort of trip you have planned. 

However, for a great balance of comfort and size, weight and packability, we would always go for the Therm-a-Rest Compressible Travel Pillow. It’s fantastically comfy but still compresses down to a nice small package that, when it comes to bedtime, you will never regret having stuffed into your bag.