I may bitch and moan about having to travel every couple weeks for some press conference or event, but my job is probably better than most and I get to play with gadgets all day. Life is rough, I know. But when you’re crammed like a sardine into an airplane for at least six hours it starts to wear on you. I’m not one to sleep with my head hanging forward. As a kid I always fell asleep on my seat belt in the car, so that’s what I’m accustomed to and still do it today even though there are only lap belts on planes. And I always wake up with a cramp in my neck.
To heck with those neck pillows, I want something that will replicate that car seat belt wherever I go. Enter TravelRest. It touts itself as the ultimate travel pillow and I’ve been taking it across the world with me for the last couple months to see if that holds true. Hit the jump to find out if your hard-earned $27 is worth it.
The TravelRest pillow is pretty low-tech and kind of chintzy looking, but it works as advertised. I won’t go into telling you what I think it looks like, but I’m sure you can think of a few things. Setup is easy and quick. A small nipple like the ones you’ll find on anything that you can inflate is located at the skinny end near the snap-flap. You can attach the snap-flap to your lap belt to keep it from moving about as you rest.
A cord is located on the bulbous end so you can attach to a headrest or around chairs themselves for support. If you don’t have either of those you can actually sling it around yourself like a messenger bag and free ball it.
The fabric is faux velvet and I’m not fond of it but that’s just personal preference. I was skeptical of the seal thinking it would irritate some part of my body, but that was never the case. It’s pretty low-tech, but works surprisingly well. The reason I’d take this over a neck pillow is that there’s more surface area where your head can rest on.
For $27 (discounts if you purchase more than one) the TravelRest pillow is disposable if it’s not your cup of tea, but its versatility won me over. A handful of times I was stuck in an airport because of weather delays and I’m a big fan of naps. Sure, I looked like a goof, but I was the only one waking up from my naps without a cramped neck.