Rocks are hard. The ground is also hard. Metal is hard as well, since we are on the subject. What isn’t hard, unless you ask my wife, is my head. And I’m sure everyone can agree that soft heads don’t belong on hard rocks.
Not only is my head soft but I sleep on my side. If you have a soft head and sleep on your side then you must have a pillow. And I must have a pillow. Don’t ask me why, but for a man who must have a pillow I’ve ended up in the woods with no pillow far to often. Enter stage left the Therm-a-rest compressible camping pillow.
I bought many pieces of equipment for TMEJ. Two pieces were part of my sleep system. One is obviously this pillow, the other is my sleeping mattress. Like the assortment of sleeping pads there are many kinds of pillows out there. Some inflate, some compress, while others have nothing in them at all. My pillow is said to compress to one quarter its size. You can be the judge of that.
I’m pretty particular about my gear. Or certain gear at least. I’ve also established I’m a “spendthrift”. When I buy gear I know they will be used hard and put away wet, so I choose to invest in things that last. Inflatable pillows are all the rage, and seem to get all the glory due to light weight and small pack size. I haven’t met something inflatable that didn’t pop after what I consider a very short usage cycle. I’ve also tried the old “stuff a shirt with other things” method. Needless to say I won’t be buying an ultralight pillow case any time soon.
TMEJ is just around the corner so I’ll be updating with a full rundown of how well this pillow performs. I’m expecting good things.
UPDATE 07/29/17: I have officially slept on this pillow for a total of one whole night in the backcountry. With my limited experience I can still say with certainty that this pillow and I will become very good friends in the coming years. I’ll continue to update as my usage goes up.
UPDATE 02/11/18: I have been using this pillow in the car for taking naps before work this winter. It’s very comfortable and because it’s chunks of foam it shapes easily to the various contours of the vehicles armrests. I don’t think I will ever give up this pillow. I still feel it is more than worth the weight and space. I can always leave behind something non-essential, like food ;p