Reviews > Sleep Gear > Accessories > FlexAir Travel Pillow > Ralph Ditton > Long Term Report

Models: Standard: 360 mm x 260 mm (14.2 in x 10.2 in).
                Weight: 21 g (0.74 oz) incl. straw.
                Airline: 475 mm x 310 mm (18.7 in x 12.2 in).
                 Weight: 26 g (0.92 oz) incl. straw.
                 Double Compartment Spa Essentials: 468 mm x 316 mm (18.4 in x 12.5 in).
                 Weight: 33 g (1.16 oz) incl. straw.
Length of straw supplied: 203 mm (8 in).

Testing Locations
I have used the pillows since the Field Report at the following locations:
Shapcott on the Coastal Plain Track. S 31° 30. 841' E 115° 39. 835'. Elevation 7 m (23 ft). Date 30th June, 2006.
The night time temperature reached a low of approximately 9 C (48 F) as it rained on and off, keeping temperatures relatively warmer than usual for a winter's night.
Moitch on the Coastal Plain Trail. S 31° 37.419' E 115° 50. 837'. Elevation 58 m (190 ft). Date 12th July, 2006.
The evening temperature went from 5 C (41 F) to a low of -4 C (24 F) during the night. Ice formed on the top of the water that was in a bowl  on the table inside the hut.
Prickly Bark on the Coastal Plain Trail. S 31° 42. 800' E 115° 56. 981'. Elevation 80 m (262 ft). Date 13th July, 2006.
The evening and night time temperatures were a virtual heat wave from the previous evening. The temperatures ranged from 15 C (59 F) to a low of 7 C (45 F).

Field Test Information
At the Shapcott campsiteI tried something new this time. I used two of the pillows. They were the Standard and Airline.
The Airline was used between my knees and ankles to separate the legs and elevate one of the legs to help prevent cramping in my foot.
The Standard I inserted into my Sea to Summit pillow that has a pocket for a small self-inflating mat that gives firmness and height to the pillow. The Standard replaced my self-inflating mat.
By using the Standard, I was able to increase the height of the pillow without sacrificing comfort, thereby raising my head and making myself comfortable.
There was a little noise from the Standard pillow when I was settling down for the night when I was moving my head around testing for non-comfort spots. I did not find any.

end view of Standard FlexAir inside  the self inflating mat position
The next photo shows the combination inside the hood of my sleeping bag.
When I actually used my pillow for sleeping, the FlexAir pillow was on the bottom and my head was on the softer material. I only had the pillow reversed to show the inflation and position of the Standard pillow.

in hood of sleeping bag
The pillow end closes off by way of a hook and loop strip. A part can be seen on the pillow above. In the end I placed the straw in case I needed it during the night and it gave the straw a home.
During the night I took the small Airline pillow away from my legs as it was causing more problems than solving. By having my knees and lower legs apart my leg muscles became sore and ached. This actually woke me up. It did take a good fifteen minutes for the pain to subside after removing the pillow from my legs.
The Standard inside my pillow worked extremely well. I was very pleased with the extra height gained. This I could not achieve with the self-inflating insert. In addition, my  neck was not subjected to any extreme angle so I did not develop any crink in my neck.

I repeated the insert exercise a few weeks later at Moitch and Prickly Bark.
Again I was very comfortable with the arrangement. The bonus out of this is a weight saving of 125 g (4 oz) and less volume taken up in my backpack.
As an exercise at Moitch after the freezing night, I let the air from inside the Standard blow onto my face for a short time when I was deflating it through the straw. The air was freezing, just like the night. My head obviously did not generate enough heat to pass through my pillow onto the Standard underneath. In addition, the Standard was the closest to the sleeping platform board, ie. it was on the bottom side of the pillow.

Summary
Overall I am impressed with the FlexAir Pillows and the noise factor was not as big an issue that I initially thought when I first tried them out.
My wife had no problems with the noise when I used it in our bed. In fact she was very happy for me to use them as they had the effect of reducing my snoring.
Out of the pillows supplied, only one developed a slight leak when in use. To date none of the others have become soiled through perspiration from my head, nor has the fabric frayed.
When one became slightly dirty from contact with the ground, a wipe over with a damp sponge removed the dirt mark.
I am able to reuse the pillows repeatedly.

Pro

• Lightweight
• Rolls up into a very small package
• Comfortable
• Reuseable
• Affordable

Reviews > Sleep Gear > Accessories > FlexAir Travel Pillow > Ralph Ditton > Long Term Report