This is a post in an ongoing feature on Her Packing List called “The One Little Thing“. Each week or two, I’ll be interviewing a traveling lady to find out the one little thing she just can’t travel without. This one is brought to you by Kathleen.
What one little thing can you not travel without?
My Nemo Filloâ„¢ is my favorite item I travel with! I literally don’t go anywhere without it. We have been nomadic for a little over a year now and I have used it on camping trips, hotel rooms, and long plane, train, and bus rides. It is the perfect little travel pillow. It is made of a layer of memory foam covered with microsuede material and can be blown up to your personal comfort level.
>> Read about Heather’s tempurpedic travel pillow as well.
Why has this one item been so important to you?
When we decided to be nomadic in 2012 I was currently suffering from neck and jaw pain caused from stress and TMJ. I had to be really careful of my sleeping positions, pillows and the mattresses I slept on so I was worried about how my body would respond to camping for the first five months of our life on the road. This pillow was my answer! I originally bought it just to use on that first part of our journey (a cross-country bicycle tour) while camping, but ended up using it even when we stayed at hotels because it was so cozy!
Now I don’t sleep with anything else. I no longer have neck or jaw pain! My pain relief probably has a lot more to do with less stress in my life, more yoga, and a healthier diet rather than just the pillow, but it all started to get better when I started sleeping on the Nemo Filloâ„¢. I have used it on countless nights in my tent, in hotel rooms all over the world, 14+ hour plane rides, a 48-hour train ride across the U.S. and everywhere in between.
>> Get the Nemo Fillo Pillow on Amazon
How packable is it? Does it take up much room? Is it heavy?
It is so packable! That’s the beauty of this pillow; it is convenient enough to take it anywhere. I carry it in my day bag or carry-on when traveling. I have the regular size and it weighs in at only 11.1 oz (328.2 ml)! There is an attached stuff sack that tucks away inside of it when you’re using it and fits the entire pillow into a tiny compact ball.
Why would you recommend this to your travel friends?
I would recommend this to my travel friends because it is such a great alternative to those ridiculous U-shaped balloons people have, and it can be slept on in a bed not just in transit. This thing has an inch of memory foam in it and the suede material is so soft! When it comes to travel gear it is all about functionality and weight. This pillow has been around the world and back and is still just as comfortable as the first night I slept on it, and it is so convenient to just throw in your bag because it isn’t bulky or heavy.
Can you name one incident or situation where you were so happy to have this item with you?
Honestly, every single day I am grateful for this pillow. Like I said, I sleep on it every single night no matter where we are in the world. It has come in handy on those really long travel days, I just keep it in my carry-on bag and blow it up quickly when I want to take a nap and put it away just as quickly when I’m done with it.
How did you hear about this item?
My husband had heard of the Nemo Filloâ„¢ from advertisements in the hiking/backpacking community and he suggested it when we were preparing for the cross-country bicycle trip last year. As soon as I read about it myself I knew it was exactly what I wanted. It’s comfortable, packable, light, and luxurious!
What sort of traveler is this item perfect for?
If you travel on planes, trains, cars, or buses this pillow is for you. If you camp or backpack this is for you too! You can blow this pillow all the way up, or just partially so that you can form it to whatever you are sleeping on or against. If you like pillows really big and firm there is even a shock cord on the back to stuff clothing (or something) under to make the pillow even bigger.
About the author: Kathleen is the one half of Our Favorite Adventure where she and her husband blog about their adventures since they decided to leave behind a conventional life to live the life of perpetual travel. Together they have have ridden bicycles across the United States, house sat in Australia and road-tripped across New Zealand. They hope to inspire others to follow their own dreams by sharing their journey! You can follow Kathleen on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Never heard of this before! It sounds fantastic. Another item to add to my travel gear wishlist… 🙂
Great post.
Yay! I am so excited that I’ve influenced you to put this on your travel gear wishlist! It is so awesome 🙂 We just did a long-distance hike and my good girlfriend bought one for herself and she LOVED it as much as me 😉
I’m with Lauren on this one, definitely adding it to my wish list!
Love it, Lou! The pillow comes in different colors now too I think 🙂 Definitely great for all kinds of travel! Cheers!
I want one!!!! I can’t bare those U shades pillows, it’s not natural, who can sleep like that?
You have no idea how excited I am to see this. I’ve been trying to find a good travel pillow that’s packable and this one looks awesome.
My problem is that my feet have started swelling with long flights and trains, so I need to have them elevated when I sleep. But a lot of cheaper hotels in other countries only give you one pillow, so I have to either figure out something in my bag (random clothes?) to put under my feet or choose between using the one pillow for my head or my feet.
Definitely going to check this one out. Thanks!
Thank you, thank you, thank you so much. I have searched and searched Google for ideas about what type of pillow to take while traveling/camping since I have severe TMJD and get migraines, neck pain, vertigo, etc. (the works) and haven’t found much until your article here. I am going to grab one of these before our next trip!