Best Backpacking Pillow for a Great Night’s Rest [2023 Edition]

Regardless of your sleeping preferences or trip type, the Sea to Summit Aeros Down emerges as our editor’s choice, offering exceptional comfort, support, and weight savings.

Combining a thermoplastic urethane inflatable bladder with a luxurious down topper, the Aeros marries the best bits of inflatable and compressible styles of pillows. The bladder provides ample support even for side sleepers and the warm, lofty down topper offers comfort levels on a par with compressible models that weigh 5 times more. 

That, in a nutshell, is the Aeros’ genius and the USP that makes it well worth its slightly inflated price tag.

And it gets better. Most inflatable and hybrids get a bad rep for sliding around while you sleep or being prone to punctures, but not the Aeros. It’s made with robust 20d underside fabric for added durability and employs S2S’s nifty PillowLock system to ensure it stays where you want it throughout the night. 

You’re probably wondering if the above couldn’t be said of all hybrid-style backpacking pillows. And yes, it’s true that most hybrids tick the support and comfort boxes whilst also keeping weight to a minimum. However, the Aeros’ down fill and use of horizontal baffles that maximize loft make it a true standout even compared to the top competitors in the ultralight hybrid category. 

In a head-to-head with our list’s other hybrid, the Nemo Fillo Elite, the Aeros came up trumps on account of its added height and lighter weight at 2.5 oz. If you’re a back sleeper, however, and are happy to carry those 5 extra ounces to save a few $, then the Fillo Elite’s a solid alternative.

If you’re looking for an affordable pillow that falls between an ultralight backpacking pillow and a more substantial car-camping pillow, the Therm-a-Rest Compressible could be the ideal solution for you.

Weighing in at 9 oz., this is the lightest compressible pillow on our list. Sure, it isn’t going to win any prizes for featheriness, but it isn’t going to break your back on a multi-day backpacking trip either. 

The important thing here, of course, is that the latter is something that can rarely be said of compressible-style pillows – cast your eye toward the specs of the HEST Pillow (below) and you’ll see what we mean!

Compared to ultralight air pillows like the Exped Air or Nemo Fillo, the Therm-a-Rest delivers what you’d expect from a compressible. It’s more durable, softer, and offers better next-to-skin comfort. It also, however, takes up a lot more room in your pack and is 3-4 times heavier.

Weight and packed size aside, this pillow does a lot to endear. It has a soft foam filling that feels amazingly home-like, a brushed polyester shell, and measures a generous 18 x 14 x 4 inches. It’s also made entirely with recycled materials and comes with a reassuring 2-year warranty. 

For car camping, the HEST is certainly a contender to consider, offering the comfort and coziness akin to the pillow you use at home.

This beast of a pillow is the heaviest and bulkiest on our list – by a large margin. Unless you happen to have a packhorse or personal Sherpa to haul your gear for you, then, it’s far from ideal for backpacking. 

But not all of us plan on venturing far and wide before setting up camp. 

If you do most of your camping at roadside sites or from the back of your SUV, the HEST’s heft and oversized dimensions are, in fact, a bit of a boon. They make it more supportive than the vast majority of its peers, as comfy as they come, extra-durable, and far less likely to slip out from under your head. 

But the HEST has a lot more going for it than size alone. 

Its shredded memory foam and polyester fill mean it won’t flatten or lose its shape during the night, while zippered access to the fill allows you to customize the level of loft to your preference or sleep style. Unlike most pillows of this size, it also has a curved, ergonomic shape that sits snugly under your head and neck. 

To top it all off, the HEST uses a stretch-woven face fabric cover that’s soft against the skin, provides plenty of airflow, and is both water- and dirt-resistant.

The Nemo Fillo Elite is our top choice for a hybrid backpacking pillow, being ultralight, highly packable, and incredibly comfortable, and all at a more affordable price compared to most others.

It’s made with a winning combo of I-beam baffled air cells and a thin layer of Primaloft insulation, which together provide ample support and oodles of comfort. The fill is also topped off with a soft jersey cover that’s machine washable, cools the skin, and feels frickin’ marvelous against the skin.

Wondering why this didn’t win the award of best overall backpacking pillow overall? 

Well, it might seem like we’re splitting hairs, but there are a few (potential) downsides. 

The most obvious of these is the Fillo’s slender proportions – at 3” thick, this is the slimmest pillow on our list and therefore not ideal for side sleepers. And compared to the Aeros Down, the Fillo’s less substantial base fabric did leave us wondering how long it would last if subjected to the odd spiky root or sharp rock around camp. 

Specs

• Type: Hybrid
• Weight: 3 oz.

If you’re tired of flat camping pillows or hard inflatables that leave you with a stiff neck come sunrise, the Nemo Fillo provides the best support among the pillows we tested.

The above is a bold claim but the Fillo is, without doubt, the most supportive of all the inflatable, hybrid, or foam pillows we’ve ever tried.

Here’s why.

The Fillo combines a tough air bladder base with a generously thick foam topper, providing you with 4 inches of firm but comfortable loft. There are thicker pillows out there, sure, but the foam used in this one offered just a little more “resilience” without feeling more like a basketball than something designed to let us sleep comfortably.

It also has a nice ergonomically shaped I-beam baffled air cell, an incredibly soft microsuede cover, and packs down to a bundle the size of a tennis ball,

The Nemo Fillo’s 9-oz. weight makes it less suitable for long backpacking trips than other pillows on our list. But for roadside camping, travel, or shorter backpacking adventures, it’s a great choice. 

Specs

• Type: Hybrid
• Weight: 9 oz. 

If you prefer to pack fast and light, we recommend the Sea to Summit Aeros Premium as the top choice for an inflatable backpacking pillow.

Weighing just 2.7 oz., the Aeros Premium is only 0.7 oz heavier than the lightest pillow on our list, the Exped Air UL. As with all inflatables, both of these pillows are a little squeaky, prone to slipping, and a little hard under the head. But if you prefer a firm pillow and a little more loft, both are solid options.

If forced to choose between the two, we’d park ourselves firmly on the fence. For ounce-counters, the Exped’s naturally a better choice given that it’s a whole 4.7” wider. If durability is more of a concern, then the Aeros is your best bet – its 50D fabric is much more likely to survive rough treatment around camp than the Exped’s 20D stretch polyester. 

You might be wondering what differentiates the Aeros from the countless other worthy inflatables on the market. 

For starters, we love the Aeros’ ergonomic design. The top is contoured in a way that cradles the head, which makes it a little more stable than other inflatables. 

Secondly, the mini-valve via which inflating’s done through allows you to adjust the level of loft with ease, without a headlamp or even having to raise your head.

Finally, the Aeros’ unique PillowLock system keeps your pillow exactly where it belongs when used in combination with an S2S sleeping pad, eliminating the most commonly cited drawback of nearly all inflatable-style backpacking pillows. The pad isn’t included, of course, but if you need an excuse to buy one…

Specs

• Type: Inflatable
• Weight: 2.7 oz.

For a high-quality, foam pillow that ticks all the boxes on a budget, we love the REI Co-Op Trailbreak.

The Trailbreak is one of the most popular backpacking and camping pillows on the market. And with good reason. 

The Trailbreak is made with upcycled scraps of foam that REI Co-Op use to make their self-inflating sleeping pads, which, handily, makes it one of very few self-inflating pillows on the market. When it’s time for bed, all you have to do is pull it out of the storage pocket and watch as it transforms from a tennis-ball-sized bundle into a plush cushion five times its packed size.

Pretty neat, right?

Compared to its closest compressible competitor, the Therm-a-Rest Compressible, the Trailbreak’s an ounce heavier at 10 oz., but also a little more affordable and packs down to a smaller size.

The Therm-a-Rest Trekker is our go-to backpacking stuff sack pillow for multi-day trips when pack space is limited.

This pillow packs down to the size of a large handkerchief and can easily fit inside a shirt pocket. When opened, however, it measures a healthy 17” x 14”, making it one of the largest camping pillows on our list. 

But how does it work? Well, as with all stuff sack pillows, the Trekker relies on your extra clothing for its loft, so we wouldn’t recommend it if you’re on a backpacking trip with your nudist colony or if you like to sleep in all the clothing you carry. (We tried filling ours with leaves once, but wouldn’t recommend it!)

What we love most about this sack is that it weighs next to nothing but, thanks to its plush, brushed polyester exterior, allows us to enjoy a perfectly pillow-like experience without having to carry a separate pillow along for the trip. And when we’re done with it in the a.m., we can also put it to work as a standard stuff sack for other bits of gear. 

Gotta love gear that’s multifunctional, right?

Specs

• Type: Stuff sack
• Weight: 2.3 oz.

The Exped Air UL is ideal for backpackers and thru-hikers seeking a durable, thick pillow that provides ample support at an ultralight weight.

Tipping the scales at just 2 oz., this is the lightest blow-up pillow on our list. But there are several other reasons why the Air UL has made a habit of picking up “Top Backpacking Pillow” awards over the years.

For starters: it may be a featherweight, but it’s far from flimsy. While the Air UL’s 20D fabric makes it less robust than the Aeros Premium, it’s more than tough enough to deal with regular use and abuse.

Secondly, this is a large pillow – measuring 18.1” x 11.8” x 4.7”, it’s one of the widest and thickest pillows on our list, which makes it ideal for side sleepers. 

Finally, if you’re a stomach or back sleeper, the Air UL’s low-profile FlatValve makes adjusting loft a cinch, while the anatomical shape means your head will be comfortably cradled and held in place no matter how much (or how little) you inflate it.

Specs

• Type: Inflatable
• Weight: 2 oz.