Best Travel Pillows for Neck Support: Avoid the Head Bob!

Which Travel Pillow is Best?

Everybody sleeps in different positions when they’re at home in bed, but on an airplane, your options are severely limited. The majority of travelers aren’t in the lie-flat seats in first class. Most of us are in regular seats that may or may not recline slightly.

That means we generally all need a travel pillow with adequate neck and chin support to sleep on a plane.

The head nod is the worst. For some people, it gets out of hand quickly when they wake suddenly from their deepest bob yet and come out swinging. Arms, legs, it doesn’t matter. Something’s getting knocked over or dropped on the floor.

As a short woman married to a tall man I frequently end up in the middle seat on the airplane. I don’t really sleep on airplanes anyway, but I still try every time because resting is better than staying awake for 48hrs straight.

In my opinion, after years of testing different options, the best travel pillow to stop the head bob and support your neck is the Trtl.

I, too, was seriously skeptical of it at first.

✳️ How is a scarf going to support me enough to sleep?
The magic is in the plastic support piece, and yes, they have different sizes.

✳️ It’ll be SO HOT with a fleece scarf wrapped around your head.
They have designs with different weight fabrics so you’re covered if you run hot or cold.

✳️ How do you breathe with it wrapped around your face?
Even if you position the support piece in the front, you should still be able to breathe. If you can’t, you might have the wrong size.

We’ll look at all the different types of travel pillows in more detail below so you can decide which is right for you.

For example, a good foam horseshoe with an adjustable strap is a close runner up if you don’t wear headphones or ear buds while sleeping on a plane.

Ranking the Best Travel Pillows for Neck Support in Order from Best to Worst

I’ve tried many kinds of travel pillows over the years, and this is how I rank them, from best to worst:

1. The Trtl
2. Foam Horseshoes
3. Inflatable Pillows
4. An Actual Pillow

Let’s look at the pros and cons of each, with reasons for my rankings.

The Best: The Trtl

Hands down, the best travel pillow I’ve used yet. Getting the right size is important. I started with a standard and then got the adjustable one. That sealed the deal for me.

No more head bob. No horseshoe hurting my ears or knocking my headphones around. Just a comfortable, soft, supportive travel pillow that let me sleep, however briefly, on an airplane.

It’s easy to put on and take off in your seat, although it uses something similar to but not as scratchy as Velcro to stay in place. That noise when you take it off annoys me, but it’s not a deal breaker.

You can wear headphones or ear buds comfortably with this travel pillow, which is nice when you want to block out plane noises while resting.

I appreciate that it has a storage bag to make sure it’s not getting dragged around the airport floor.

Pros

• Best neck/chin support I’ve found so far
• Can wear headphones while using it
• No assembly required, wrap it around and secure at a comfortable tightness
• Different support heights available, for best-fit support
• Different weight fabrics available, for better temperature control
• Stores in a cloth bag with a clip, to keep it clean in the airport
• Machine washable if it gets dirty

Cons

• Loud Velcro-like noise is annoying when taking it off
• Limited on how easily it’ll squish into a bag
• Highest cost

There are many options for Trtl travel pillows. Take the time to choose the right one for you. The correct support height and a comfortable fabric weight are crucial.

They have a return policy, so try it out at home sitting in your car first. Leave all the tags on and don’t rip the bag, and they should still take it back. Alternatively, you can buy them on Amazon, too.

Here’s the one I use to stay cool.
Here’s the one my 6’-2” tall husband uses.

Second Best: A Good Foam Horseshoe Pillow

The most popular type of travel pillow is the foam horseshoe. You’ll find these everywhere travel items are sold, including in airports.

Some styles are better than others, usually, but not always, indicated by price.

If you do go this route, make sure you get one with high sides and an adjustable strap/buckle to lock it in place. Otherwise, it’ll either fall off while you’re sleeping or stretch too far to be useful support.

Be conscious of where you buckle this to your luggage when you’re walking around the airport and taking transit to your hotel. I see these pillows getting dragged on the ground all the time. It’s my second biggest beef about this item.

The first is it’s uncomfortable to wear headphones or ear buds with these types of travel pillows. I will stay awake if I don’t have white noise, so my headphones are another crucial part of sleeping on a plane, and I can’t use them with the horseshoe pillow.

Pros

• Adequate neck support (with appropriately high sides and a buckle/strap)
• No assembly required, just put it on and adjust the strap
• Easy to clip to your bookbag
• Easy-ish to squish into tight spaces in luggage

Cons

• Easy to drag it on the floor accidentally
• Can’t wear headphones or ear buds at the same time
• Limited options for temperature control (basically all microsuede)

I’ve tried many types of horseshoe pillows: simple foam, layered memory foam, an inflatable one, and a convertible one that was bean bag beads filling and could be a horseshoe or a square pillow.

The convertible and inflatable ones were awful. The simple foam ones were just ok, but only if they had a buckle. The beefy memory foam ones are the best in this category, again, if they have an adjustable strap or buckle.

This foam horseshoe travel pillow is similar to my backup. It’s what I used before I got my trtl pillow.

A Different Option: The Inflatable Pillow Stand

I’ve seen a few versions of the inflatable travel pillow stand, but I tried out the least goofy looking one and still got chuckled at by a stranger on an airplane. Not that that’s a huge deal if you’re comfortable.

The concept is sound. Why fight the head nod? Embrace the tendency to lean forward as you fall asleep sitting up and instead burrow into a soft, squishy thing that has room for your arms and face.

I’ve always said my mattress at home would be perfect if it only had a slot for side-sleepers to put their arm. Hugging an inflatable pillow with an arm slot to sleep on a plane isn’t that different. That’s why I tried this pillow despite the goofiness factor.

Unfortunately, these aren’t nice soft fabric. It’s an air mattress, basically, so it’s tough plastic with that thin microsuede material on top. It will leave lines on your face.

Pros

• Provides a different type of support by allowing you to lean forward
• Packs away small, doesn’t take up much space in your carry on
• Gives you a place to put your arms and face
• Can wear headphones or ear buds with most models

Cons

• Assembly required, inflating and deflating it on an airplane
• Bulky when not in use, can’t stash it
• Can’t adjust height
• Can’t adjust temperature
• No soft covering
• Looks kind of silly

The lack of height adjustability is the biggest problem with these.

If you’re tall, you have to lean pretty far forward to use it which can be uncomfortable, depending how much room you have to work with in your airplane seat.

If you’re short, you may have to angle it to line up properly for your arms and face.

I don’t understand the smaller, rounder options, either. They’re much too short for adults to use unless you’re leaning against the back of the seat in front of you.

They might work on a tray table for older kids, but they’re still probably too tall for a toddler.

The bulkiness is another problem. You can’t stash this pillow under your seat, in an overhead bin, or in your lap without deflating it.

Some models come with a simple hand pump, but most assume you’ll blow it up manually. That gets annoying if you have to keep inflating and deflating it.

Wanna try it out yourself before passing judgement? Here’s the one I tried.

Better than Nothing: An Actual Pillow

Some people bring their regular pillows from home onto the plane, and I’ve gotta say that I don’t support that choice. It’s too big, it’s going to hit your neighbor, and it’s probably gonna be dropped on an airport floor at some point.

Did you leave it outside with a family member, or did you take it into the bathroom stall with you? And then you’re going to put your face on it and breathe all that in? No thanks.

If you’re on a full-service airline for your long-haul flight, there’s a good chance they’ll offer you a pillow free of charge. It’ll be a miniature one, but still a rectangle.

If you have no other options, this’ll do. It’s better than bringing your own, and it’s free. Or, at least already included in the price of your airfare.

Pros

• No additional cost (bring yours or use the one the airline gives you)
• Works fine if you have the window seat

Cons

• No neck support for aisle or middle seats that have nothing to lean on
• Subject your pillow to airport floor germs
• Regular pillows are bulky

Before your flight, confirm whether or not you’ll have a pillow provided.

Budget airlines usually don’t include it, but full-service airlines will for flights over 4-5 hours. Always check beforehand.

Travel Pillow Comparison Chart

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the four types of travel pillows I’ve tested:

Type	Support	Vanity	Cost	Buy It Here
Trtl	⭐ ⭐ ⭐	GOOD	$$
Foam Horseshoe	⭐ ⭐	OK	$-$$
Inflatable	⭐ ⭐	MEH	$-$$
Regular Pillow	⭐	OK	FREE

After years of research, I’ve found the travel pillow that works for me.

The Trtl gives me the support I need without any funny looks from strangers. I don’t have to worry about getting it dirty in the airport, and even if it gets something spilled on it on the plane, it’s machine washable. The price tag seems steep until you actually sleep for the first time on an airplane.

It’s made my long-haul flight experience considerably more comfortable, and that’s a hard thing to do in economy seats.

I recommend you try the Trtl. Just make sure you try different sizes and fabric weights so you find your perfect fit!

Happy travels!

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