I spent 28 years teaching middle school geography, and I have spent most of that time flying with a neck pillow that did almost nothing. It was thin, it slid forward, and I would wake up two hours into a red-eye with my head tilted at an angle no human neck should hold. Then I tried a memory foam neck pillow from napfun, and the difference was not subtle. It is the first travel pillow I have packed twice on purpose.
I fly out of Denver International five or six times a year, usually with my husband Mark, who packs too little while I pack too much. After six flights with the napfun pillow, here are the ten reasons it keeps earning its spot in my carry-on.
The memory foam neck pillow I now pack on every flight
After years of waking up stiff, the napfun memory foam neck pillow is the one I reach for first. It supports my head without propping it forward, and it packs flat enough to live in my carry-on full time.
Amazon Check Today's Price on Amazon →It holds your head up instead of pushing it forward
Cheap pillows shove your chin toward your chest. The napfun pillow cups the sides of your neck and keeps your head roughly upright, which is the whole job. On a four-hour flight to Chicago I woke up with my neck in the same position I fell asleep in, which has never happened to me before. I remember checking the time on my watch and thinking I must have only dozed for twenty minutes, but we were already over the Mississippi. That was the moment I stopped treating the pillow as a gimmick.
Memory foam actually bounces back
The inflatable pillow I used for years worked until it did not. By hour three it had leaked enough air that my head was resting on a damp rubber balloon. Memory foam does not deflate. The napfun pillow has kept its shape through maybe thirty flights, and it still feels as firm as it did on day one. I have also left it squashed at the bottom of my carry-on for two weeks straight, under a toiletry bag and a pair of boots, and it puffed right back within a few minutes of being unpacked.
It works on window seats, middle seats, and aisle seats
I have used this pillow against the window, leaning forward onto the tray table, and even in a middle seat between two strangers. It does not need a wall to work. The foam holds your head no matter which direction you tilt, which matters when you get stuck in the middle row on a full flight to Orlando. On that particular flight, the man on my left slept with his elbow on the armrest the whole way, and I still managed to nap for a solid hour without my head ending up on his shoulder.
It cuts down on that stiff-neck day after landing
I used to land in Europe and spend the first day rotating my head like a rusty robot. With the napfun pillow, I landed in Lisbon last spring, walked straight to the tram, and did not think about my neck once. That alone is worth the packing space. Mark, who refuses to use any neck pillow on principle, spent our second morning in Lisbon asking me to rub his neck, and I did not even feel smug. Much.
The strap keeps it from sliding off when you doze
My old pillow had a flimsy toggle that came undone in my sleep. The napfun pillow has a strap that actually stays put. I have woken up more than once with the pillow still exactly where I left it, which sounds like a small thing until you have spent an hour fishing a pillow out from between the seat and the window shade. On the flight home from Lisbon, I woke up from a two-hour nap and the strap had not moved a single notch.
It doubles as lumbar support on a bad airplane seat
Some seats on shorter flights have almost no lower back support. When that happens, I tuck the napfun pillow behind my lower back and it works surprisingly well. It is not a dedicated lumbar pillow, but it is better than the folded sweatshirt I used to wedge back there. On a two-hour hop to Salt Lake City last fall, I sat with it behind my back for the whole flight and got off without the usual ache in my left knee and lower back.
It packs flat enough to stay in your carry-on all the time
I keep the napfun pillow in the top pocket of my carry-on between trips. It compresses down small enough that I never have to decide whether to bring it. It is just there, which means I use it on short hops too, not only on the long flights where I know I will sleep. I measured it once out of curiosity, and it takes up about as much room as a rolled-up sweatshirt, which is a trade I am happy to make on every single trip.
It helps on trains and in airport chairs, not just on planes
I have used this pillow on an Amtrak ride from Denver to Glenwood Springs and in a hard plastic airport chair during a three-hour delay. It is not a plane-only gadget. Anywhere you have to sit upright and wait, it makes the wait easier. During that delay in Chicago, I sat in a row of chairs near the gate, put the pillow between my head and the window behind me, and read a full chapter of my book without my neck complaining once.
It is easy to clean after a long trip
The cover zips off, which I did not expect at this price. After a long-haul flight with a meal tray and a sleeping stranger's hair brushing against it, I can unzip the cover, wash it, and put it back on. That matters more than it sounds like it should. I washed the cover for the first time after our trip to Lisbon, hung it over the shower rod to dry overnight, and it was back on the pillow before I finished packing for the next trip.
It makes you less cranky when you land
This is the honest one. A bad neck makes me short-tempered, and a short-tempered traveler makes a bad travel companion. Mark can confirm. When I land without a stiff neck, I am easier to be around, and we both enjoy the first day of the trip more. That is the real benefit of a good neck pillow. It is not about the pillow at all. It is about showing up for the trip as the person you actually want to travel with.
What I'd Skip
If you only fly once a year on a two-hour hop, you do not need this pillow. A rolled-up jacket against the window will do the job. I would also skip it if you are someone who genuinely cannot sleep sitting up, because no pillow will fix that. And if you are looking for something to use only on a single trip, a cheaper inflatable pillow is fine. The napfun pillow earns its space when you fly often enough that a good neck is part of your regular routine.
I landed in Lisbon last spring, walked straight to the tram, and did not think about my neck once. That alone is worth the packing space.
Pack one good pillow and stop waking up stiff
The napfun memory foam neck pillow is the one I keep in my carry-on between trips. If you fly as often as I do, it is worth trying on your next flight.
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