I need a nice pillow when sleeping outdoors. Some folks make do with extra clothes inside a stuff sack, but I take a pillow. The few extra ounces are well worth carrying for a good night‘s sleep. Klymit has been making the Pillow X for a few years and they went ahead and made a supersized version properly named the Pillow X Large.
The Pillow X Large is an inflatable style pillow. A 30D stretch polyester makes up the pillow body, and this fabric has a nice soft feel. The material isn‘t quite like cotton or flannel, but it does feel good against the skin. Klymit says the Pillow X Large inflates in 3 to 5 breaths. I get the job done in four big breaths but it is the most comfortable with about 2 breaths of air inside. Everyone will have their personal preference though and changing the pressure is super easy with the twist-style valve.
To keep the Pillow X Large from turning into a round balloon, Klymit built in a unique X shaped internal baffle. The baffling forms a big X in the center just like the name implies. The sunken X shape makes a great cradle for the head and it supports the neck really well. I tend to roll around while snoozing, and sleeping on the side, back, or stomach all work great for me.
The Pillow X Large measures 12 X 17 X 4.25 inches, but the thickness varies with air pressure of course. On my scales, the pillow weighs exactly 3.2 ounces and the stuff sack adds another 0.2 ounce. The pillow packs down to a 3 X 4 inches. The fit in the stuff sack is snug, but the pillow goes in without much trouble. Kudos to Klymit for getting the stuff sack right.
Here‘s my pros and cons for the Klymit Pillow X Large. The pros are that it is light, comfortable, easy to inflate, and it is easy to adjust the firmness. One con is that the material is a bit slick and the pillow slid around on my sleeping pad when I used a quilt. The hood of a sleeping bag will capture it so that won‘t be a problem for most. The only other con might be that the pillow is un-insulated. I slept fine with temperatures into the 30‘s but it might get cold when the temperatures really plummet. I doubt this is much of a problem but I thought I‘d mention it.
Klymit set the MSRP of the Pillow X at $29.95 and they offer a limited lifetime warranty on it. This pillow would work great for both traveling and camping. The pros far outweigh the cons and I think it is well worth the money. Click here to browse over to Klymit‘s website and check out the Pillow X Large and Klymit‘s other great gear. I really like the Static V line of sleeping pads as well.
Mark
I‘d like to thank Klymit for sending the Pillow X Large out for testing and review. We at Industry Outsider have limited budgets, and the ability to provide honest, useful information on gear hopefully benefits everybody.