Reviews > Sleep Gear > Accessories > FlexAir Travel Pillow > Jamie DeBenedetto > Long Term Report

Little Rapids FlexAir™ Pillows

Long Term Report - August 29th, 2006

Reviewer's Information

Background/Experience

I am a native of Arizona. I began backpacking eighteen years ago with the outdoor club at my high school. At present I hike in some capacity about fifteen times a month, most of which is in Arizona with either the Canine Hiking Club of AZ or with my family. I prefer to sleep in a hammock and I gravitate toward multifunctional gear that will enhance my comfort level for minimal weight. I consider myself a lightweight packer but not ultralight. My total pack weight is rarely above 25 lbs (11 kg) for outings of two to three days.

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Product Information

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Product Description

The FlexAir pillow is a lightweight, inflatable, disposable pillow. A more detailed description may be found in my Initial Report.

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Field Locations and Conditions

Over the last four months I have used the FlexAir pillows in several locations around Arizona. The lowest temperature encountered was 55 F (10 C) and the highest was up around 90 F (32 C). Elevations ranged from about 2,000 ft (610 m) up to 7,300 ft (2,200 m) at my highest sleeping location. One of my last nights out was very rainy so the pillows have been used in the high humidity of a summer monsoon storm.

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Long Term Findings

This report is the last in a series of three on the FlexAir pillows and as such it is more of an account of how the pillows performed over the last two months of testing with some references to my Field Report. Please refer directly to my Field Report for more specifics.

Comfort

I have now used each of the three different pillow sizes at least twice, whether as head support, back support while driving or under my knees. More nights with the pillows have resulted in the same inconsistent sleeping as I reported experiencing in my Field Report. Because the Dual Chambered (DC) pillow and the other two sizes are designed for a specific type of head position (back or side sleeper) I feel they are a bit too inflexible for my needs since I change from side to back quite often throughout the night. Of the three size options I found the larger 240 size to be the most useable for head support. It worked best slightly deflated and wrapped in a shirt just as the manufacture recommends. Without the shirt it had a tendency to shift or slip when I changed sleeping positions and even when wrapped I still found myself sliding off the pillow a few times.

In contrast to my restless nights with the FlexAirs as a headrest, I had very positive results with the pillows as knee support. Due to their small size and shape I was able to use them even in the slightly cramped interior of a mummy style sleeping bag. They moved easily with me as I turned from side to side or from side to back. The DC pillow, while a little too long for my preference, was still very supportive in this capacity, as was the larger 240 size. I preferred using the smaller 150 size though; it just seemed to provide the right amount of support and cushion for my knees and hips after a long day of hiking.

I also used the 150 size as a lumbar pad while driving. I personally don't need lumbar support in my vehicle but I know some people do so I conducted this experiment just to see if it was a viable option. It had to be very minimally inflated but even so it was plenty supportive. I would say it was a workable solution and since the 150 size is so compact it would be easy to just toss one in the glove box or under the seat in case it was needed at some point in the future.

Alternate Uses

The FlexAir website suggests a few alternate uses for the pillows, namely using them as head or lumbar support in vehicles and as a seat cushion. I tried both options for short periods of time to get a feel for whether or not the pillows would actually be functional in either of these situations. Because of its smaller size I used the small 150 pillow for the head and lumbar support experiment and the large 240 size for my bum cushion.

My experience with the pillow as lumbar support is written in the Comfort section above. As head support it was not overly comfortable. It reminded me of sleeping on an airplane, which has never been a pleasant experience for me. The pillow did provide cushioning from the hard and uneven surfaces near my seat but even slightly deflated I felt too propped up. It really wasn't something I could snuggle up to and get relaxed. Unless this was my only alternative I probably would not use a FlexAir pillow while napping on car rides.

To evaluate the pillow as a seat cushion I sat on it for about a half an hour on a small gravelly surface mixed with twigs and leaves from the nearby desert plants. I inflated it just under half way so it wouldn't be too puffy and so it wouldn't pop. It was slightly wobbly but not unstable and I was definitely more comfortable than if I had sat directly on the ground.

Fabric

Since I already reported on the amount of sound generated by the material and the fabric's waterproof qualities in my Field Report I decided to focus more of my energy on the durability of the fabric during the final two months of testing. I exposed the pillows to heat and to some various puncture hazards with interesting results. (One of the 240 pillows was used as the sacrifice for the heat and puncture tests.)

Punctures

I figured the most vulnerable time for the pillow regarding accidental punctures would be if it were dropped on the ground while exiting or entering my hammock or while sitting on it around camp. Although I did not have any nights in my hammock while testing the pillows I simulated this situation by dropping the 240 on the ground several times in a desert location near some mesquite, Palo Verde trees and other desert brush. I have hung my hammock between mesquites on several occasions while backpacking so it seemed the most appropriate place to try the test. I also used it as my sit pad for about a half an hour in this same terrain.

The pillow is so light even when dropped directly on sticks with sharp points or into an area with stickers it wasn't affected. There just wasn't enough weight to push the pointy objects into the non-woven fabric. I thought for sure I would have a problem when I sat on the pillow and the weight increased. I was totally wrong. The pillow held up to the hazards on the ground perfectly. Of course I chose a spot that was not overloaded with pointy things, as I would normally when looking for a safe place to plant my buns. The location was by no means free of debris, there were still plenty of potential pillow poppers but the FlexAir made it through with flying colors.

Heat

It occurred to me that I might want to use one of the pillows as a padded place to sit while cooking since I had favorable results using the 240 size as a seat cushion previously. I also wondered if the fabric could be used as fire starting material in an emergency situation.

When backpacking I use a stove that burns solid fuel tabs. These tabs emit a foul odor as they burn so I normally don't sit all that close to my stove, nevertheless I certainly don't want something highly flammable under me. For ventilation reasons my stove has a few openings on the front and back where flame will occasionally poke out. It rarely extends more than an inch (2.5 cm) away from the side of the stove but it does send out a good amount of heat. To test the heat tolerance of the FlexAir pillow I placed it about a foot (30 cm) away from the lit stove then slowly moved it closer and closer. I stopped about three inches (8 cm) out and left it at this distance for a couple of minutes. Other than smelling a little like the fuel tab it didn't seem affected by the heat. Surprisingly the smell faded after about ten minutes.

Next I used my lighter to try to catch the pillow on fire, it took a few seconds but eventually it caught and continued to burn slowly for a couple more seconds then it fizzled out. I also tried lighting the material after it had been sprayed with water. I kept the flame of my lighter on it until I couldn't hold the lighter any longer but the fabric did not catch. Given these results I would not rely on the pillow as an emergency fire starting option. I also would not be worried about sitting on the pillow while cooking around camp since I cannot foresee a time when I would ever sit as close as three inches (8 cm) from my stove.

Inflation/Deflation

The only new issue I have to report on the topic of inflation/deflation is the afore mentioned 240 size pillow slowly leaking air. This began after the second night of use with this pillow but does not appear to be getting worse. I can still use the pillow as my knee support without problem through the whole night but it has noticeably less air by morning. I have not had this same problem with either the 150 or DC sizes and they have been used on multiple nights also.

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In Conclusion

My opinion of these pillows is very mixed. On one hand they are so super light and compact I have a hard time justifying why I would ever not bring one or two along. They also worked surprisingly well as a seat cushion, water bucket and a camp towel, albeit a slightly coarse one. Conversely, as head support they are not the most comfortable backpacking pillow I have every used. Finding the right inflation level was a little challenging at times and because I shift between back and side sleeping several times a night whichever pillow I picked would inevitably give insufficient support, at least part of the night. It is important to note, however, despite my struggles using the pillows this way, I was completely satisfied with them when used under my knees. They were just the right size even in a sleeping bag and the crumply noise was drowned out by the fabric of my pants most of the time. Thank you Backpackgeartest.org and FlexAir for the opportunity to be part of this test series.

Jamie J. DeBenedetto
August 29th, 2006

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Reviews > Sleep Gear > Accessories > FlexAir Travel Pillow > Jamie DeBenedetto > Long Term Report