NEMO Fillo Camping Pillow
Article and photo's by: Molasses
When I first started doing research to start backpacking I combed the Internet obsessively. It was out of control, I was a sponge for backpacking information. There was just so much to learn!
One of the things I saw that seemed to be pretty universal was using extra clothing stuffed into a stuff sack as a pillow. I wish I could do that because it really does save some weight in your backpack. I, however, cannot do it. I tried for several backpacking trips to live with various amounts of clothing as a pillow. Then I bought a small compressible pillow and tried that. The compressible pillow pretty much became a running joke. Let me tell you what happens when you put your head on a compressible pillow...it compresses, you may as well not even have a pillow!!
After laying awake most of the night, yet again, on our backpacking trip to Maine last fall I was finally convinced that the only way around my lack of comfort on the trail was to just buy a decent freaking pillow.
Enter the NEMO Fillo. I had this pillow on my Amazon wish list. It had been sitting there because it had really great reviews, but it cost $40. I had a hard time dropping $40 on a pillow that I'd only use a few times a year, so there it sat for a good 9 months or so before I finally decided I'd get it before our next trip. Towards the end of winter I started comparing prices between Amazon.com and Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS), the prices were really close so I decided to head over to EMS to buy the pillow. As soon as I picked it up I knew I wasn't leaving the store without it. It felt like a quality product, and it totally is. I left the store with my new prize and proceeded to play with it in the car, I blew it up, I took it in and out of it's attached stuff sack several times, I was like a little kid with a new toy. Don't worry...Sidetrack was driving.
We ended up going back to EMS before our Isle au Haut trip because, after taking a good look at my Nemo Fillo, Sidetrack decided he wanted one too. He was tired of the annoyance of the lumpy clothing pillow and decided the extra weight was worth the good sleep.
I used this pillow for the first time on our Isle au Haut trip this past June and let me tell you, I slept better than I ever have on a backpacking trip. Freaking amazing!
The NEMO Fillo has an air chamber so it won't go flat on you like a compressible pillow will, it also has a memory foam topper, which makes it feel less like an air pillow. There's also a removable, washable, microfiber cover that is soft and comfortable. And, the real genius, for me, is it has bungee straps on the bottom that allow you to put clothing underneath to raise the pillow up more.
Not everyone is cut out for pillow-free sleeping. My sinuses plug up when I lay down, the less my head is elevated the worse it is. Also, I have Acid Reflux. When my acid reflux is bothering me on the trail I've had to stuff backpacks and all kinds of stuff under my sleeping pad to elevate my upper half. Now I can just stuff more clothing into the bungee cords under the pillow and it's so much easier and more comfortable.
Now I can backpack and actually sleep, which makes for a much happier trip for everyone involved. ;-) This pillow is totally deserving of the rave reviews I've seen everywhere.
The pillow weighs more than a lot of backpacking pillows out there, but seriously, it's worth it if you need a quality pillow. And, if you really want to save some weight you can remove the foam insert, it is half the weight of the pillow.
One of the things I saw that seemed to be pretty universal was using extra clothing stuffed into a stuff sack as a pillow. I wish I could do that because it really does save some weight in your backpack. I, however, cannot do it. I tried for several backpacking trips to live with various amounts of clothing as a pillow. Then I bought a small compressible pillow and tried that. The compressible pillow pretty much became a running joke. Let me tell you what happens when you put your head on a compressible pillow...it compresses, you may as well not even have a pillow!!
After laying awake most of the night, yet again, on our backpacking trip to Maine last fall I was finally convinced that the only way around my lack of comfort on the trail was to just buy a decent freaking pillow.
Enter the NEMO Fillo. I had this pillow on my Amazon wish list. It had been sitting there because it had really great reviews, but it cost $40. I had a hard time dropping $40 on a pillow that I'd only use a few times a year, so there it sat for a good 9 months or so before I finally decided I'd get it before our next trip. Towards the end of winter I started comparing prices between Amazon.com and Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS), the prices were really close so I decided to head over to EMS to buy the pillow. As soon as I picked it up I knew I wasn't leaving the store without it. It felt like a quality product, and it totally is. I left the store with my new prize and proceeded to play with it in the car, I blew it up, I took it in and out of it's attached stuff sack several times, I was like a little kid with a new toy. Don't worry...Sidetrack was driving.
We ended up going back to EMS before our Isle au Haut trip because, after taking a good look at my Nemo Fillo, Sidetrack decided he wanted one too. He was tired of the annoyance of the lumpy clothing pillow and decided the extra weight was worth the good sleep.
I used this pillow for the first time on our Isle au Haut trip this past June and let me tell you, I slept better than I ever have on a backpacking trip. Freaking amazing!
The NEMO Fillo has an air chamber so it won't go flat on you like a compressible pillow will, it also has a memory foam topper, which makes it feel less like an air pillow. There's also a removable, washable, microfiber cover that is soft and comfortable. And, the real genius, for me, is it has bungee straps on the bottom that allow you to put clothing underneath to raise the pillow up more.
Not everyone is cut out for pillow-free sleeping. My sinuses plug up when I lay down, the less my head is elevated the worse it is. Also, I have Acid Reflux. When my acid reflux is bothering me on the trail I've had to stuff backpacks and all kinds of stuff under my sleeping pad to elevate my upper half. Now I can just stuff more clothing into the bungee cords under the pillow and it's so much easier and more comfortable.
Now I can backpack and actually sleep, which makes for a much happier trip for everyone involved. ;-) This pillow is totally deserving of the rave reviews I've seen everywhere.
The pillow weighs more than a lot of backpacking pillows out there, but seriously, it's worth it if you need a quality pillow. And, if you really want to save some weight you can remove the foam insert, it is half the weight of the pillow.