I’ve been on the hunt for a decent travel pillow for a very long time. With a super long-haul flight with over 24hrs and different connecting flights. I knew I had to try sleep as much as I can on the planes. The Trtl pillow was one of the contenders and I saw a pledge to buy the brand new Trtl plus. Unfortunately, it didn’t arrive before my flights in March and I had to purchase the 1st edition on amazon.
Trtl travel pillow in grey
One of my favourite YouTuber Ingrid Nilsen mention the Trtl pillow in one of her videos and raved about it. Trtl is a British company started by Michael Corrigan and David Kellock, enduring many trips and flights the Trtl travel pillow was born after 80 prototypes were tested.
First impressions
The product itself is very lightweight and compact that can be strapped to my North Face Borealis backpack. The Trtl pillow is made of super soft fleece, with Velcro straps that can be easily adjusted to your neck. The beauty of the pillow is the inbuilt internal plastic support that bounces as your head move. I’ve always been one that can never sleep on planes, my brain is too active and the humming sounds of the plane keeps me up.
However, with some magnesium pills and my trusty AKG nc60 wireless noise cancellation earphones, my silk eye mask and the Trtl travel pillow. You can read my travel essentials here. I wrapped my neck with the travel pillow, the soft material keeps you warm on the plane, however, during the long periods, my face rubbing against the fleece started to build friction and red marks on my face. It can also get overheated with no circulation.
I’m one of those people when sleeping on the plane where my neck would rock forwards and immediately jump and wake up. The internal support kept my neck from bouncing too much and I managed to fall asleep comfortably. Only waking up when food was ready to be served.
The other downside is that you can only position the Trtl travel pillow in one spot, it does look like you’re wearing a neck brace but it is the most comfortable thing.
During my long coach trips in New Zealand, I got the travel pillow out and managed to nap with ease whilst the coach was moving.
Pros
Really lightweight and compact can be attached to backpack easily
It does the job of helping me sleep comfortably upright
Easy to use
Cons
Can overheat
Rubs against skin
I’ve yet to travel with the Trtl travel neck pillow plus, it is a little bulkier than the standard one and needs an additional bag to hook on to backpacks and travel cases. I am vouching for the standard one and will be taking it with me on shorter distance and coach trips as you can easily be attached to backpacks.
