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Reviews > Sleep Gear > Accessories > Slumbejack Slumberloft Camp Pillow > Owner Review by Larry Kirschner
Slumberjack Slumberloft Camp Pillow
Report Date: April 3, 2011
I've been an intermittent camper/paddler since my teens, but now that my kids are avid Boy Scouts, I've caught the backpacking bug. I typically do 8-10 weekend hikes per year, and have spent time over the past few years backpacking the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico and canoeing the Atikaki wilderness of Canada and the Boundary Waters between the US and Canada. I like to travel "in comfort", but I've shrunk to medium weight, and continue to work toward going lighter and longer. With all of my investment into these ventures, I expect my wife and I will continue to trek long after the kids are gone… PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS Manufacturer: American Recreation Products, Inc. Manufacturer's Website: www.slumberjack.com Model: Slumberloft Camp Pillow Year of Manufacture: 2009 MSRP: USD $11.99 Listed weight: 10 oz (283 g) Measured weight 7.2 oz (205 g) pillow Measured weight 7.6 oz (216 g) pillow + stuffsack Dimensions as listed: 10 x 20 in (25.4 x 50.8 cm) Dimensions as measured-flat 18 x 9 x 3 in (46 x 23 x 7.5 cm) Dimensions as measured: (stuffed) 4.25 diam x 9 in (11 x 23 cm) PRODUCT DESCRIPTION The Slumberjack Slumberloft pillow is a compressible pillow designed for camping. One side of the pillow is made from a brownish-gray cotton-polyester blend fabric, and has the Slumberjack logo in the lower right corner.  The other side is made of cotton, which is much softer on the skin. The pillow comes in different color flannel fabrics so that I can tell my pillow from my son's. The welcoming plaid fabric is shown in the photo at the top of this report. The pillow is stuffed with "Slumberloft HP," although I am unable to determine exactly what this is. The pillow comes with a small polyester stuff sack which has a drawstring cord. In order to stuff the pillow, I typically roll it up and stuff it in the sack, which is easily large enough to hold the compressed pillow. 
PRODUCT INSTRUCTIONS The pillow is machine washable in warm water and can be dried in a standard dryer. There is a label on the pillow, although I have used and washed mine enough that I can no longer read it. FIELD USAGE I bought my Slumberloft pillow in the fall of 2009, and have used it over 50 nights on the trail since then. I have used the pillow in all sorts of weather during this time, from nights as cold as 0 F (-18 C) to as warm as 75 F (24 C). Most of these trips have been weekend outings, although I have used it as long as 2 weeks during an extended camping trip in Virginia. Fortunately, I have not had any trouble with the pillow getting wet on the trail. FIELD EXPERIENCE Prior to the time when I bought this pillow, I used a rolled up fleece and rain pants as a pillow, so this was planned to be a significant comfort upgrade. When I first started using it, I used the pillow by itself. I found that it was small enough that I could easily fit it inside the hood of my sleeping bag. I liked the flannel fabric for my head, which I did feel was quite comfortable. However, I was somewhat disappointed by the loft of the pillow. Although the Slumberloft filling was nice, I found that I liked to put a fleece or something similar underneath the pillow in order to provide enough support for my head. After using it for a while, I found that the Slumberloft filling began to shift. Whenever I would unpack the pillow from its stuff sack, I spent some time fluffing and re-distributing the filling so that it would loft evenly. This is important to me since I am a restless sleeper and tend to alternate between my back and my side. Even when I spent time fluffing the pillow before bedding down, I found that after a few minutes of trying to sleep, I felt that my head was mostly flat on the ground. To remedy this, I have tried sleeping with the pillow doubled over so that it props me up more. However, this makes the pillow only about a 9 in (23 cm) square, which is only slightly larger than my head. As a result, I can't roll side to side without my head falling off the pillow. Lastly, as the pillow has a cotton fleece cover, it does tend to absorb perspiration. If I use it for a few days when it is hot or I have sweated a lot during the day, it will start to pick up an odor after a few days. This is not a problem when I am only camping for a weekend, but it has become noticeable when I'm out for longer. As mentioned, I have used the pillow a lot, and have washed it many times. It has generally held up well, although it has become lumpier as time has gone on. I don't know if this is caused by the washing or the usage. I will give the Slumberjack credit for being easy to take care of. It washes and dries easily so that I don't have worry about throwing it in the washer/dryer with my hiking clothes when I get home. SUMMARY The Slumberjack Slumberloft camp pillow is a nice piece of "luxury" gear. It is more comfortable to rest my head on the pillow than on the inside of my sleeping bag. However, I only use it with something underneath to provide support to my head and neck. It is not overly large or heavy, so I take it with me when I'm not worried about space or weight. However, I won't be taking this with me into the backcountry, as I don't think the amount of "extra" comfort is worth it when I am out for an extended trip. Things I liked about the Slumberloft camp pillow:
This concludes my Owner Review on the Slumberjack Slumberloft camp pillow. My thanks to BackpackGearTest.org for providing an unbiased forum to evaluate backpacking gear. -larry kirschner Back to Top Read more reviews of Slumberjack gear Read more gear reviews by Larry Kirschner Reviews > Sleep Gear > Accessories > Slumbejack Slumberloft Camp Pillow > Owner Review by Larry Kirschner | ||||||||||||||||||
