Review: MLVOC Inflatable Travel Pillow Set

Product Link: MLVOC Inflatable Travel Pillow Set
Vendor: XSYL
Price: $11.49

I've own different types of neck pillows from ones that are memory foam (non-inflatable) or the inflatable type with different inflation methods.  The purpose is to find the perfect one for each person in my family.

Pros:

• Soft velvety pillow with extra neck support
• Packs small and comes with it's own carrying bag
• Ear plugs came with its own carrying case

Cons:

• Need to provide a better eye mask
• Need more color options

Package Includes:

• MLVOC Inflatable Travel Pillow
• Eye Mask
• Ear Plugs w/ Carrying Case
• Carrying Bag

So this came in a plastic bag that has a ziplock zipper.  I thought this was the carrying case that was listed as included in the product description.  But it was actually just a bag to hold all the included items together.  I am actually perfectly happy with using this bag to hold everything.
Removing all the contents from the zipper bag, I was very impressed with all the things that were given for this pillow set.  Although some of the things included weren't of the best quality.  For example the carrying bag was actually not as good as the zipper bag where everything came together.  The Eye Mask works well enough as a travel mask since its very thin and easily portable.  But it would not be something I would be using at home.  The ear plugs were the foam type that you throw out after a couple of uses.  I did like that it came with its own carrying case that I can just put in my own ear plugs in the future. 

Moving on to the star of the show the inflatable pillow.  The form factor for this is a little different from normal pillows.  It actually has two protruding area near the back of the pillow which gives extra neck support to prevent your head from rolling to the side.  This is the first time I've seen an inflatable pillow with this extra support and it's an absolutely great design change. 

The inflate valve is on the back of the pillow in the middle.  It only took about three breaths of air to blow it up fully.  The valve was well thought out, no air escape while I was blowing it up.  Once I have the neck pillow nice and firm I started using it and found that the extra neck support is really great.  The pillow is extremely soft and has velvety feel to it.  Pressing your face to the side feels very nice and wasn't tough on the skin.  I like that the cover can be removed to wash since these things do get dirty.

To deflate the pillow again is different from other designs.  You open the valve and press the bump in between the valve and let the air out.  It only took a couple of seconds to get the pillow deflated so you can fold it back into its carrying case. 


Overall, I really like this inflatable travel pillow.  I am having a tough time giving this up to an elderly family member while I keep my current Naturehike neck pillow.  But the extra neck support will be great for the elderly.  I would purchase more of this if other colors options were available.

Product Link: MLVOC Inflatable Travel Pillow Set
Vendor: XSYL
Price: $11.49

Disclosure: I was provided this MLVOC Inflatable Travel Pillow Set for testing purposes.  I'm not obligated to write positive reviews so my opinions are based on actual usage of the product. 

Review: Samtech 4-in-1 Travel Pillow Set

Product Link: Samtech 4-in-1 Travel Pillow Set
Vendor: Samnovo Store
Price: $6.97
Color Available: Pink, Sky Blue, Blue, Light Grey, Rose Red, Wine Red

I travel a few times a year domestically and internationally.  Some trips are about 2hrs whereas others can go up to 16hrs.  In the past I use the memory foam pillow which was great to sleep on.  Unfortunately they take up space when not in use.  The Samtech inflatable pillow would help resolve this. 

Pros:

• Extremely portable and doesn'take up much space
• Feels nice to touch

Cons:

• Takes a bit more effort to inflate
• Leaks air after a while

Package Includes:

• Inflatable Travel Pillow
• Inflator
• Eye Mask
• Ear plug

This Samtech products comes in a soft light blue zipper bag.  Inside the bag is a small inflator and also another box.  When you remove everything from both the bag and box you get all your 4-in-1 items.  Upon taking out the products I tossed the blue zipper bag into the garbage.  It arrived extremely dirty and I just wasn't comfortable with using it.

The travel pillow had a distinct smell.  I can't point my finger at it but I did wash the pillow first and left it in sun to dry.  I used the inflator to pump up the pillow.  It took about 100 tries (switching between right and left hands).  The total time was about 2 minute.  The beginning was a little slow.  I think I squeeze that inflator about 20 times before it seemed like it was gaining air.  But then it sped up a little about half-way through.  The good thing about inflatables, it leaves the firmness of the pillow up to you to decide.  

I also washed the eye mask before using it.  It's nothing special just any cheap eye mask you can find anywhere.  The ear plugs I didn't test because they looked about the same as any other pair of ear plugs.  I'll use this when I go on my next flight.

Overall, this is a good product that you are receiving.  I think Samtech can improve on the packaging a little more and see if there is anyway to make the inflator a little smaller.  Currently I inflate the pillow by breathing air into it.  Carrying a decent sized inflator that takes about 100 tries to pump the pillow up just doesn't make sense when I'm trying to minimize carry-on space.  Lastly, it would also be nice for them to include a small pouch that would hold everything folded up.

Product Link: Samtech 4-in-1 Travel Pillow Set
Vendor: Samnovo Store
Price: $6.97
Color Available: Pink, Sky Blue, Blue, Light Grey, Rose Red, Wine Red

Disclosure: I received this Samtech 4-in-1 Travel Pillow Set for testing purposes.

Review: Azurec U-Shape Inflatable Neck Pillow

Product Link: Azurec U-Shape Inflatable Neck Pillow
Vendor: MTgalaxy
Price: $12.99
Color Available: Blue, Brown, Green, Red 

The Azurec U-Shape pillow is very similar to the Sea to Summit Ultralight Aeros Pillow Traveller.  While this isn't exactly the same as STS and may skimp on some minor details, the price savings is huge in comparison

Pros:

• Comfortable, soft but firm
• Small size and very easy to carry especially for plane travel

Cons: 

• Deflation valve tough to open when deflated

Package Includes: 

• Azurec U-Shape Inflatable Pillow
• Stuff sack

The Azurec U-Shape Inflatable Neck Pillow arrived as a stuff sack thrown into the shipping box.  Attached to the stuff sack is a Azurec card that tells you there is a warranty to the product.  So even though this says Azurec, on the stuff sack it shows "Naturehike".  

Naturehike is a company that sell hiking, climbing, camping and outdoor sports products.  So it looks like Mtgalaxy purchase the Naturehike product and re-branded it Azurec.  This really doesn't affect anything but might be slightly confusing if you weren't prepared for it.

On the stuff sack is the cord lock that's holding the sack opening close.  Upon moving the cord lock aside and opening up the top, you can see the rolled up blue pillow.  The sack is very similar to the STS except that STS made their sack a similar color as the pillow.  I think Naturehike didn't do that for cost savings benefit.  It is cheaper to mass produce a single color instead of making multiple colors.  I would definitely have preferred if they did matching color sacks though. It just looks better!  There's a strap on the side of the sack that you can attach a rope or carabiner to hang against your backpack.

Opening up the sack bag, the pillow was rolled up tightly inside.  Once unrolled, you can see the Naturehike name on the right side of the pillow whereas STS has it at the top.  The wording from Naturehike uses a lighter color while the STS dark black fonts.  On the back of the pillow is where you'll find the inflate/deflate valve on the upper left hand corner.  
 

  
The valve is a two tier system.  Pull open the first tab and you'll find the inflate hole.  For this pillow, I was able to pull open the inflate valve with little effort.  But I couldn't open the deflate valve and didn't want to force it in fear of ripping the valve apart.

The Azurec valve is a bit different from the STS valve but this was not a deal breaker.  I didn't mind that its not as easy to open as the STS pillow's valve.  For me,  it's still very easy to both inflate and deflate the Azurec pillow.  

I was able to inflate the pillow to firm in five deep breathes.  The good thing was in between blowing into the hole, air did not leak out while I was in between breathes.  The Azurec pillow did not feel as soft as the STS pillow but it does come in close behind and I felt was much better than other inflatable neck pillows.  With neck pillows I like it really firm so it can support my head as it rolls to the side.  With this pillow adjusting firmness to what I need was easy and painless. 

The Azurec did loose some air after about 10 hours.  Since I couldn't measure air, the air loss is just a feeling of it not being as firm.  I'm not saying it totally deflated but rather it wasn't at that super firm level as when I had originally gotten it to be.  I do think its pretty normal for inflatable pillows to lose air after extended use and top up is necessary in most cases.  Thankfully topping up the pillow is pretty  easy.  Just open up the inflate valve and breathe into it again. 

So next thing to test was the ease of deflating the pillow.  I find that pulling on the deflation valve was much easier after the pillow is inflated.  I was able to get it open on the first try without applying much force.  It literally deflated in the space of two seconds. 

To repack the deflated pillow wasn't difficult.  You can either follow the original fold line or fold it in halves, then quarters etc.  I do warn that you should NOT close the deflate valve yet, because there is still a small amount of air in there that will get pushed out when you roll up the pillow.  So wait till you roll it up as much as possible before closing the valve up.

Overall, I love this Azurec pillow and think this is a very good substitution for the STS pillow especially since its at least half the price of the STS version.  I like that the form factor is so small and easy to throw into your bag, purse etc for plane travel.  Inflating and deflating the pillow literally takes less than 30 seconds.  You can take it out and inflate as you are waiting for plane to take off.  And on the reverse you can deflate it as we wait to leave the plane.  

Product Link: Azurec U-Shape Inflatable Neck Pillow
Vendor: MTgalaxy
Price: $12.99
Color Available: Blue, Brown, Green, Red 

Disclosure: I received this Azurec U Shape Inflatable Neck Pillow for testing purposes.  I'm not obligated to write positive reviews so my opinions are based on actual usage of the product.