Opinion
I tried the ‘world’s best neck pillow’ and I still didn’t sleep
Ben Groundwater
Travel writerIt’s the ultimate challenge. Can a person who hates travel pillows be swayed by the new and adoringly reviewed Trtl Travel neck pillow?
I didn’t actually buy this thing. My partner, Jess, a neck pillow devotee who is on a relentless worldwide search for the perfect travel support, shelled out the almost $75 necessary to purchase the latest in neck-bracing fashion.
The Trtl pillow is a hit, with some travellers anyway.
People love the Trtl (pronounced Turtle). It’s been reviewed more than 10,000 times online and still has an average of almost five stars. A Lonely Planet reviewer declared that it “makes the middle seat feel like first class”, which seems like wild hyperbole to me, but hey, what do I know?
For the uninitiated, the Trtl pillow consists of a hard, ribbed support base, about the size of an A5 sheet of paper, which is height adjustable thanks to a couple of small dials on the side. Turn those dials, and the support stretches out or shrinks, meant to fit the size of your neck.
That solid support is padded with foam and wrapped in a long fleece sock. It’s supposed to be tucked into your neck – either side or under your chin – with the fleece, then circled around your neck and fastened with velcro to the support, thus keeping you snug and supported as you rest your head on the appropriate side.
Ben Groundwater wearing the Trtl before his flight.Credit: Ben Groundwater
This is a major step up in neck pillow technology. I think I’ve tried almost every single one out there, but never found one that feels more comfortable than just swinging out the headrests on the plane seat and using those as support.
You’ve probably all seen the standard neck pillows, the spongy, U-shaped jobs always dangling off people’s hand luggage and being sold – sometimes with Australian flag designs, which seems odd to me – at the airport knick-knack stores. I’ve tried them and don’t find them comfortable at all.
I’ve also tried inflatable versions of that same shape, which are plain awful. I’ve tried expensive versions, too, with memory foam and all sorts, in desperation at airports before long-haul flights. All the memory foam has done is help me remember to never use it again.
The top cupboard at my house is littered with spongy U-shaped pillows of all descriptions that will never be touched again.
The Travelrest All-In-One Ultimate Travel Pillow.
My partner, in her search for perfection, also bought a Travelrest Ultimate Travel Neck Pillow, which is shaped a bit like a banjo, and I don’t know if I ever figured out how to use it properly. What is the long, handle-like bit for? Am I supposed to just cuddle it? Or does it provide some sort of support?
Regardless, I gave the Travelrest a red-hot go, wrestling it all the way from Sydney to Dubai, but I didn’t get any extra sleep. And I never used it again.
Sadly, I’ve never had the guts to lash out on an Ostrich Napping Pillow, which is basically a giant, padded glove that slips over your entire head, with a hole for your mouth, allowing you to rest head-first on the tray table.
The major downside is that the thing is absolutely huge, so you have to find some way to lug it around, and when you put it on, you look like Mr Bean with a Christmas turkey.
The Ostrich pillow, which leaves you looking a bit like you have a turkey on your head.
But anyway, back to the Trtl, the apparent king of neck pillows, the answer to all our long-haul travelling woes. I tested it on a flight from Sydney to Santiago via Auckland with LATAM. That’s a genuinely long flight with plenty of time to catch some rest, and surely the Trtl is your ticket to making that happen.
And… I didn’t like it. I don’t get the hype.
The issue I found is that the Trtl is designed to support only one side of your head and neck at a time, which means you have to choose your side and stick to it. I find it hard to get comfortable in a small plane seat, which means I’m shifting around a fair bit, which also means the Trtl is only doing its job for about half the time I’m trying to sleep.
As soon as you shift your body weight in a different direction, your head lolls onto your chest or your other shoulder, you wake up, and you try again.
I just couldn’t find a way to feel comfortable while wearing it. I tinkered with the dials, shifting the ribs out and in, tinkered with the wrap and how much of my neck and face were covered, but still, the best sleep I got was when I ripped the whole thing off, swung out the little headrests on my seat and just sandwiched my head between them.
Clearly, the Trtl works very well for some people, I’m just not one of them.
And so my quest continues. Maybe it really is time for the Ostrich.
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