Ever went on a trip where you brought a travel pillow with you? It’s likely that you’ve been tempted by the novelty or you might have even purchased one at the airport gift shop.
Having a travel pillow is quite handy to have during a trip, but have you ever thought of travelling with a regular-sized pillow?
Some people would find it unusual to bring your own pillow when travelling, but it does have its perks!
In this article, we take a look at the doubts people have about bringing a pillow, and some reasons why we should consider packing them for our travels.
The cons of bringing a normal pillow
The main concerns about bringing a full-size pillow is that it is too bulky to travel with. You often have to carry the pillows around as they wouldn’t easily fit your carry-on baggage.
Because of its size, it’s often annoying to carry, especially when walking around the airport to do some shopping or when presenting your travel documents at the gates.
Although having a nice, fluffy pillow to hug during a long-haul flight or when you arrive at your destination is a godsend, the sheer size of a pillow has discouraged most people from bringing them on trips.
What about inflatable travel pillows? Aren’t they portable?
Inflatable travel pillows take up significantly less space, and you can just bring them out whenever you need them.
However, inflatable pillows are not as comfy as real foam pillows and do not offer the same amount of neck support.
Likewise, since inflatable pillows are designed to hold air inside, they’re not breathable, and they tend to feel quite warm whenever you use them, which is not great for summer holidays.
In the case of u-shaped travel neck pillows, well… they’re only ideally used when you’re seated during a long drive or during your flight – they don’t serve many purposes beyond that.
Why should a full-size pillow be included in your travel accessories?
Bringing your own pillow is more hygienic
Although hotels always wash the pillowcases after every use of their guests, the pillows inside the cases aren’t usually cleaned.
They may be sanitised occasionally, but it isn’t a standard procedure in most hotels.
Just thinking about hotel room pillows coming into contact with a stranger’s face or mouth can be a bit worrisome, especially given current times and people’s increased awareness of germs and bacteria.
Because a pillow is in direct contact with your face and is within close breathing range, it’s safer and hygienic to just bring your own pillow when you travel.
You get the same comfort as when you sleep at home
Most people are quite particular about the pillows they use. When you sleep on the same pillow every day, you become accustomed to it and everything else feels wrong and uncomfortable.
Bringing your own pillow ensures that you have a good night’s sleep wherever you are, and you’ve got a small piece of home wherever you go.
You wake up feeling better
What’s great about checking in to nicer hotels is that they usually have very comfortable, plush mattresses, which are always a treat to lie down on.
The weakness of hotel bedrooms is usually the quality of the pillows.
Hotel room pillows can be too soft or too plump, or they could be too thick or thin. It’s rare to find a hotel room pillow that perfectly suits your comfort needs.
If you bring your own pillow when travelling, you don’t need to worry about whether or not you’ll be comfortable, you know you will be.
Typical hotel pillows are stuffed with cotton or down, so if you’re used to sleeping on a memory foam pillow, you might end up having difficulties sleeping, or you could wake up with a stiff neck.
Bringing your own pillow ensures that you don’t have to deal with hotel pillows that don’t fit your preferences.
They’re great during road trips
Having a full-sized pillow inside the car can increase your comfort during a long road trip as long as you’re not driving.
Due to the larger size of a regular pillow, you can place them against your door to serve as a cushion when you sleep.
Without a pillow, putting your weight on the door might numb your arms a bit as you sleep, not to mention they serve as a suitable headrest, so you don’t bang your head on the windows when you doze off.
Some full-size pillows today have become compressible
Given that the major concern about bringing normal pillows is its size, it’s great to know that there are a lot of pillows available now that are compressible.
The bulk of the pillow can now be compressed into a small size using compression bags that suck the air out of the pillow. This means it can flatten and easily fit inside your carry-on without taking much space.
Compressing is particularly great for memory foam pillows, as the materials quickly expand back to its original size and shape right after taking it out of the bag.
What’s the best pillow to bring on your next trip?
The Ecosa Pillow not only offers great features, comfort, adjustability and is ergonomically designed – it can easily fit your travel bag too!
Your Ecosa Pillow will come with two compression bags to shrink it to its packable size, and a machine-washable removable cover to make cleaning much easier.
The memory foam is infused with activated charcoal that promotes odour control and antibacterial protection, making it a very hygienic option for use in hotel rooms.
Ecosa offers free shipping for the pillow across USA and a 100 night trial, giving you enough time to make sure it’s the perfect fit, and hopefully fall in love.