We recently went on a hiking trip for my 40th birthday with my 12 year old and we needed to find some hiking pillows. The only problem with what I have found is hiking pillows are either uncomfortable or they are so expensive!
I decided to come up with a cheap solution to our problem…I made my own.
I had an old memory foam pillow that was king-sized, so I cut it into pieces, and we made our own pillows. Don’t pay any attention to the condition of the pillow…it worked, and it didn’t cost me any more money!
To cut up my old pillow, I used my electric knife. I measured the pillow and cut it into fourths. If you are using a standard pillow, you could cut it into thirds. The key thing to think about is weight. When I cut this pillow up and added a case, it only weighed 10 ounces.
You have to be sure to always consider weight when you are backpacking. I didn’t realize how important this was until after our first trip. Backpacking is a learning experience, but I do feel like everyone who has ever considered going shouldn’t let things like expensive gear stand in your way.
I was able to go with everything I needed, including 5 liters of water, and kept my packed weight under 30 lbs. A good rule is that your packed weight shouldn’t exceed 20 percent of your body weight.
Now, back to the pillow. To make a pillowcase for it, I took 3 old pillowcases we had, turned them inside out, and then sewed a straight line down the back where the old seam was to make a new seam. Then, I cut off the excess.
Below is a picture of the one my son had in his bag. Let me tell you that this was the best hiking pillow I have ever slept on. It was lightweight, comfortable, and it squished inside my bag so it didn’t take up a bunch of room.
This wasn’t my first overnight hike, but it was for my son. He reported sleeping like a baby (except for when he woke up and thought there was a bear in our site…it was just the dude next to us snoring).
Hiking on the Appalachian Trail is challenging and fun. We certainly enjoyed it a lot more with comfortable hiking pillows!
If you love camping, but don’t know where to start…check out our beginners guide to tent camping!