The Trtl Travel Pillow Is the Best Neck Pillow I Own

I’ve always been a good sleeper. I can sleep anywhere and through anything.

But falling asleep is a challenge—one made all the more onerous when shoehorned into an airplane seat in Economy with hours to go to my destination.

As a result, I’ve learned that even the best neck pillows for travel left a lot to be desired, hogging space and looking ridiculous, only to still leave my head bobbing and neck screaming as I doze in fitful, 10-minute bursts.

But the neck pillow that changed it all for me was the Trtl Travel Pillow, and I haven’t taken a flight without it for the better part of a decade. It’s helped me keep my head held high as I’ve dozed on flights to and from Honolulu, Cape Cod, Paris, Reykjavík, and more.

Once, I ugly-slept 1,900 miles on a 10-hour red-eye from LAX to London Heathrow. I nodded off somewhere west of Lake Superior and snoozed straight on through to Newfoundland and Labrador. How’s that for compelling? It’s all thanks to the Trtl.

I sprang for this game changer in 2018, after digging around the internet to see what others were using and loving. This one was intriguing, well-reviewed, and just strange enough to possibly break the mold. And boy, does it ever.

To call it a pillow is a bit of a misnomer, because it’s not a fluffy thing you lie your head on. The Trtl pillow is somewhere between a neck brace and a snuggly scarf, supporting your neck to help hold your head upright and bobble-free. The reward is restful sleep on planes, trains, cars, buses, and more, without neck pain and kinked muscles when you wake.

Inside the pillow’s washable, fleecy cover is a plastic structure molded to the curve of the neck. Using it is simple: Just position the curve anywhere along the neck, whip the scarf around once to secure it, and velcro it in place.

It works as well on the right side as the left, and I’ve even had luck with it positioned under my chin, keeping my head from jerking me awake when it droops forward.

It’s such a welcome departure from the usual squishy, bean-baggy horseshoes that give next to no support and look a little too much like hemorrhoid-relief cushions for my taste. And cleaning the Trtl neck pillow is as easy as using it: Pull off the fleece cover and toss it in with your post-travel laundry, then it’s ready to go on your next trip.

A lot has changed in the decade since I first got decent sleep on a plane. Trtl, then a small British company, has scaled up and branched out into packing cubes, eye masks, compression socks, and, most recently, loungewear. I’ve leveled up in luggage, from my old high-school backpack to hand-me-down suitcases to hardside luggage with stylish weekender bags on top.

But what hasn’t changed is that almost 10 years later, my Trtl pillow goes with me everywhere I fly, and I’m still sleeping like a baby on airplanes, even in Economy. Snag one of your own at Amazon so you, too, can comfortably catch z’s on every flight.