Klymit Pillow X Inflatable Camp & Travel Pillow

The Klymit Pillow X Inflatable is an excellent camp pillow and easily one of the two best on the market. At $20 it is half the price of its only serious competitor: the also great Sea to Summit Aeros and Aeros Ultralight pillows. Compared with the Aeros, I think it offers comparable performance (arguably even slightly better thanks to the great "X" design) and actually weighs less at only 1.9 oz!The pillow inflates very easily with 2-3 breaths and allows for quite a lot of variation in its firmness. Unlike any other travel inflatable pillow, this pillow can be used while fully inflated thanks to the "X" design, which allows it to cradle the head securely. Every other inflatable pillow I've tried has to have at least a little air let out to prevent a center bulge that tends to roll your head to one side or the other, but in this case, the "X" shape really does make an effective cradle.Of course, at full inflation, it's a tad too stiff for my tastes. I let out about 10-15% of the air for a softer feel, while still retaining approximately 3" of loft/height to support my neck. I use a ThermaRest RidgeRest Solar sleep mat, which is only about 0.7" thick and has plenty of room to put this pillow on top of the pad, where it stays put nicely and gives plenty of support. If you're using a much thicker pad that does not have enough length to spare for this pillow, you might find (as you would with most travel pillows) that you'll need to prop up the pillow with other gear to give it adequate height for your comfort and good neck support. Also, if you're using a nylon-coated pad, you might find that this pillow (which is also nylon coated, not fleece or cloth faced) may slip around on you. Those haven't been problems in my case, but I thought I should mention them.When you want to deflate the pillow, just pull outward gently on the inflation stem and gently roll and squeeze the fabric to work the air toward the valve. It deflates fairly quickly, but the baffles sewn inside to create the "X" pattern can trap a bit of air until you get the hang of how exactly to work the air out as you roll it. Once you do get the hang of it, it is very quick and easy to evacuate all of the air and fold it up into a very compact little bundle (about the size of a deck of playing cards, and half as thick, except for the hard valve).It's hard to see how Klymit can improve on this design. The "X" shape provides an excellent, stable cradle-like feel for your head if you're a back sleeper like me. And if you like to sleep on your side, the "X" also prevents your ear from getting crushed against your head and allows more air to circulate than is typical for a nylon inflatable travel pillow, reducing some of that sweaty effect on warm evenings also. Of course, side sleepers will probably need to prop the pillow up to get added height for neck support. At full inflation, this pillow has about 4" of loft/height, but as I said earlier, it's also a tad stiff and for most people, it realistically offers 2.5 to 3" of loft/height when inflated to a comfortably soft/pliable state.The only potential quibble I can think of is that this pillow does not have a soft fabric (fleece, tricot, cloth, etc.) coating on one side to provide a little cushy softness; however, in practice, it isn't actually a problem. I find that folding a t-shirt in half and laying it on top of the pillow accomplishes the same goal.While inflatable travel/camp pillows will never be as comfortable as a fine pillow you use at home, the Klymit Pillow X is about as good as it gets for ultralight, packable comfort. I find it considerably better than just stacking clothes on top of hard gear items, and I especially appreciate the "X" cradle design. Well worth the weight and price in my opinion. Highly recommended!

Perfect for adding to the backpack for light weight backpacking or reducing weight and size in your BOB. The size is minimal but is still comfortable, easy to inflate and is very durable. Nice design, easy to use and makes the night's sleep way more comfortable.

quite comfy shape. Fabric is a sightly plastic-y feeling, but easy to fix by sticking it in a shirt or something.I have 3 other inflatable camping pillows and a foam self-inflating one, so will compare to those. So you have an idea where I've used them ... I backpack and moved from a couple decades+ in Sierra Designs tents to a Warbonnet hammock about 3-4 years ago.This pillow, due to it's shape, is more comfortable than my Trekology and a cheap import lookalike to it (that feels thin and cheap by comparison). The Trekology lasted only one use ... second use I woke up a couple hours later and it was flat. So while it lasted it was nice ... but this Klymit is more comfortable d/t shape. The cheap clone of the Trekology feels the same as the Trekology did AND has held up for a few uses, so I'd recommend it over Trekology especially since it was 30% cheaper! I got a "pad + pillow" set at costco for a loaner or for my kids ... the pillow in that is similar to Trekology, but not quite a clone ... it's on par with those 2 in comfort, less comfortable than this pillow.This pillow feels more sturdy than the clone or Costco model, but a little lighter than Trekology. It is actually more compact than any of the inflatables and it is definitely lighter than Trekology and feels lighter even than the other two (and they feel cheap ... the Klymit feels light, but not really cheap like those). Klymit is waaay ahead of any of these in weight/ campactness, it's awesome for backpacking where space/wt is a premium.The Trekology had the best fabric feel - soft but not fuzzy. But again, it died fast, so I can't say if that nice feel lasted. The clone felt like plastic, almost a plastic bag. But, to it's credit, it has held up. The Costco pillow is a bit better in the fabric/touch department, about on par with this klymit which is decent, just obviously synthetic. I think the shape of the klymit allows some airflow that makes the clone and the Costco pillow feel occasionally hot - this one has not felt not or sticky to me the way they occasionally have, though the slick feel isn't going to give you Trekology-style warm fuzzy feelings when you are going to sleep on it. I don't see this as a problem ... could easily stick it in a shirt if it is annoying.My foam-filled thermarest-style pillow, which is my oldest, had the best 'feel' to the fabric, but it was also the bulkiest by FAR and always ran around, getting out from under my head. Also, I never could find the perfect inflation - it was either too hard and I rolled off of it or if deflated it a bit, felt rubbery/bouncy then with more deflation, just felt flat. In comparison the Klymit can be adjusted from firm to softer but not feel bouncy, and most importantly, I think due to the shape, it stays put in just the right spot under my head.Have only used it a few times, so can't say how durable, but my Klymit pad (my fav pad) has lasted a few years and still going strong. This pillow is already ahead of the Trekology in the durability department!!!Only thing that any other of the above pillows have that beats this Klymit, that I wish it had, is the valve on the Trekology (and clone). This Klymit has a traditional screw-valve, so it's hard to finely adjust the air pressure. Trekology/clone have a one-way valve so you can puff in a little air to make it firmer, plus a button you can momentarily press to release some air and make it softer. That is very cool and allows you to get it just right. If Klymit had that, I'd say THIS is >>THE<< pillow with no equal and would be 5 stars. That cool valve doesn't make up for my Trekolgy only lasting one use though ... does no good to adjust it perfectly and then 1hr later it's flat!! So... as the most compact of any of the 5 camping pillows I have AND the most comfortable, even if it is not the most "feature filled," I would still say this is the best camping pillow I've used and would recommend it highly - best camping pillow I've used in 30+ years of camping /backpacking. If you can't shell out the slightly higher price for this Klymit (though I'll say it's worth it ... unless you are outfitting a whole troupe...), my 2nd recomendation is a clone of trekology (try to get one with he cool valve, and put it into a shirt to make up for the cheap plastic fell and you'll be good). I can't recommend Trekology given the failure I had while on a trip - made a bummer of a backpacking trip to loose my pillow night 1 ... back to the ol' stuffin' clothes into my shirt trip from 25y ago!I got nothing for this ... I have no connection whatsoever to Klymit nor any reason to dislike others, except for honest real-world bad experience with one named above. I compared models because I like to read **comparisons** when I'm deciding between different options. Different people have different experiences and might feel the opposite of how I do ... great, write a review for folks to see your side! This is MY experience with this product and other similar and I just happen to be really really happy with this pillow; just sharing in case it helps someone deciding between options :) Happy backpacking!

I picked up the Klymit Pillow X on a recommendation from a friend, and I'm really torn about this pillow. It has a few really great qualities but its drawbacks make it difficult for me to want to use consistently. Here we go:Pros-Ultra-portable - it deflates and rolls up into a tiny sleeve, and weighs almost nothing. Perfect for backpacking when every ounce matters.-Easily inflatable - only 2-3 breaths fills it up-Adjustable (kind of) - you can fold it over to give you different support levels, but it's super great as a pillow in a hammockCons-Comfort - in theory, the pillow should be able to cradle your head, but mine ended up just in the middle and not cradled. I had to let out air and fold it over to help prop up my head, which wasn't super comfortable. Which leads me to...-No grip - the pillow slides about because both sides are really slick. I found that I couldn't use it on its own as it would move around too much.It's possible that I move around too much when sleeping, or my pillow needs are/were never going to be met by backpacking pillows. However, the potential is there. It might be heresy, but I'd actually love this pillow if it was slightly bigger (thicker specifically) and had a touch of a grippy surface on the underside to stay in place. Immediately, it would bring it up to a 5-star product. Maybe in future versions? Until then, I'll just use my backpack as my pillow, unless I'm sleeping in my hammock.