The Best Camp Pillows of 2024: Staff Picks

Think back to a morning you woke up refreshed and eager for the day ahead. Odds are good that ready-for-anything feeling arrived on the heels of a good night of rest. "If you don't have good sleep, then you don't have the energy to hike 10 miles or have fun the next day," says Elizabeth Nguyen, senior retail specialist in the camping department at the REI store in Atlanta, Georgia.It may seem more difficult to get that quality shut-eye in a tent, but there are lots of ways to set up a comfy bed away from home. While sleeping pads and sleeping bags get a lot of credit for supporting your slumber when camping, there's an underappreciated item of gear that can up the cozy factor: a camp pillow. After all, if a pillow is essential to your best-rest scenario at home, it deserves a spot in your camp kit. We've rounded up our favorite camp pillows sold at the co-op, with options for a variety of sleepers and outings, along with expert tips for how to choose the one that's right for you. Read on for our picks.Staff PicksFind quick recommendations below or scroll down for in-depth reviews.Best Overall Camp Pillow: NEMO Fillo PillowBest Affordable Camp Pillow: Therm-a-Rest Compressible PillowBest Lightweight Camp Pillow: Rumpl Stuffable PillowcaseBest Camp Pillow for Backpacking: Sea to Summit Aeros Premium PillowBest Camp Pillow for Car Camping: HEST Camp PillowBest Camp Pillow for Natural or Curly Hair: Outdoor Afro + REI Co-op Nature Nap Satin PillowCamp Pillows Buying AdviceThere are two main considerations when choosing a camp pillow: sleep patterns and activity. You'll want to take both into account when making a decision about the packability, weight, size, cost and overall feel of your pillow.Generally, you should try to replicate your home sleep system as much as you can, taking into account your gear's weight and bulk, advises Tim Bird, department manager at the REI store in Farmington, Utah. "The more familiar your sleep system feels, the more likely you are to get a quality night of sleep," he says.No matter what type of camp pillow you choose, however, rest easy that the right sleep system won't feel like a sad subsistute for your real bed. "I think a big urban legend with sleep systems is 'I'm not going to be as comfortable as I am in my home,'" says Rodriguez. "I beg to differ."Sleep HabitsPrior to buying a camp pillow, think about how you sleep at home. Are you a side sleeper? Do you snooze on your tummy? Perhaps you do a mix of back, side and stomach sleeping. Next, consider whether you're a heavy or light sleeper. Do you wake up at the slightest noise or can you catch eight hours through a hurricane?Experts recommend slightly different styles of camp pillows for different types of sleepers.Position: If you're a consistent side sleeper, consider an inflatable camp pillow, Bird says. Inflatables allow you to make incremental tweaks to the pillow's density and thickness—especially if it features a quick-adjust valve like the Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Pillow—simply by adding (or letting out) more air. Stomach sleepers should consider a softer, lower-loft camp pillow that's compressible or stuffable. This will help ensure you aren't sleeping with your neck at a weird angle. A lightly filled inflatable camp pillow could be an option as well. Back sleepers tend to need medium loft and medium firmness, so any style would work if you inflate, stuff or compress the pillow to your specifications.Heavy vs. light sleepers: Inflatable camp pillows might not be the best fit for super light sleepers, since they have a greater tendency to make noise when you move—and that noise is directly under your ear. If you're sharing a tent with someone, consider their sleeping habits too. "A friend of mine is a deep sleeper, but moves around quite a bit," Bird says. "He had a pretty loud pad/pillow combo, and no one wanted to share a tent with him."Movement: If you tend to be a restless sleeper, explore sleep systems with a sleeping pad, sleeping bag and/or camp pillow designed to work together. Some, like the Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Pillow, use attachments on the pillow and upper portion of the sleeping bag to keep the gear together and reduce the likelihood they'll move around when you shift. These systems may be costly to buy all at once, but as the experts point out, it's hard to put a price on a good night's sleep.For more tips on snoozing soundly in the backcountry, check out Sleeping Tips for Campers.Sleeping EnvironmentYou'll want to consider how you're most likely to use your camp pillow. Will it be a companion on nights deep in the backcountry or a go-to for car camping or glamping expeditions? Perhaps you plan to occasionally use it as a nap accessory when it's your fellow road-tripper's turn at the wheel. The "how" and "where" of your plans will determine how much to factor the pillow's weight and compressibility into your decision-making process.Car camping: If you're simply toting your camp kit a handful of steps from your vehicle to your tent, weight and compressibility (how small the pillow packs down) are less of a concern. Choosing a bigger, heavier, less packable pillow—or even bringing one from home—will likely be fine for these adventures. Notably, these pillows tend to be a bit more affordable.Backpacking: On the other hand, if you'll be trekking miles into a backcountry campsite and carrying your must-haves in a finite amount of pack space, the camp pillow's weight, size and compressibility are likely significant factors. Thus, for backpacking endeavors, you'll need to find a reasonable balance between the pillow most conducive to your sleeping habits and what you can carry comfortably on your back. "When backpacking, smaller and lighter isn't always better if it's going to be impacting your recovery or the quality of your trip more generally," says Bird, who hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2014. "We want all of our gear to be as lightweight as possible within reason, but we don't want it to be so lightweight that it impacts our trip negatively."Dirt: Plan to sleep in an especially dusty, muddy or otherwise dirty environment? You might want to look for a camp pillow with a removable—and washable—case, like the Rumpl Stuffable Pillowcase or the Therm-a-Rest Compressible Pillow.Temperature and humidity: If you often sleep in conditions that are hot and/or humid or if you tend to run warm when you sleep, it might be best to choose a camp pillow with a cooling, nylon face fabric instead of a cozy, microfiber version—or one that features both, like the Rumpl Stuffable Pillowcase.Sleep TestAfter assessing your sleeping habits and determining where you're most frequently going to take your camp pillow, visit your local REI store to test out the goods. "We're outfitters," Rodriguez says. "We are not a fast-food store for sleeping pads or backpacks or pillows. We're an experience."As such, REI sales staff wants guests to come in, lie down and test out different camp pillows for themselves. Pair a camp pillow with the type of sleep system you already have or check out a new sleeping pad and bag to pair with your pillow. Pro tip: When you're testing an inflatable camp pillow, make sure the valve doesn't interfere with your typical sleep position.Then, once you make a purchase, be sure to try out your camp pillow at home before taking it outside, maybe while watching TV or taking a nap. "If it doesn't work at home," Rodriguez says, "let's have a conversation before you go out on your adventure."MethodologyWe polled REI staff, members and customers for their favorite camp pillows based on their comfort, packability and portability. These are their favorites at the co-op for backpacking, camping and car camping.