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Travel pillows, lets face it, they come with a lot of hype but often end with a lot of dissatisfaction and that’s just for regular height folks. So you can imagine trying to find the best travel pillows for tall people is far more difficult than it is for regular height folks and feels near impossible at times.
Even tho, everyone recommends a tall person to invest in a neck pillow for flights, long train trips etc. The number of people that find a travel pillow irritating makes you stop and think, why then?.
Traveling on a plane has never been easy for the tall person, not enough leg room, head room and lack of a headrest can make even the shortest of trips seem to last forever. The lack of head support on the planes seats almost make a neck pillow pointless for really tall people.
So what is a tall person suppose to do if they are on a 18 hour flight to Bangkok with no neck support. Well there’s no easy answer, that’s for sure. The easiest answer is to book the window seat, that way you can use a pillow to lay your head on the window.
But not everyone can have the window seat, nor do they want to sacrifice valuable leg space the aisle seat offers. So after putting our 10 pound heads together, the following list comprises of some potential solutions to the travel pillow issues us taller folks endure.
U Shape Pillows Are Out, Time For Evolution
While the Cabeau Evolution is technically a U shaped travel pillow, its somewhat evolved to better support longer necks. The problem with many U pillows is that they are too short on the neck for a taller person.
Not too many the lack of chin support to keep your head from falling into your lap. The Cabeau Evolution solves these issues with its unique and highly praised design.
To support the head better, the Evolution has a contoured section which sits basically on top of where your regular U pillow ends. So its taller to give people with longer necks more support. Plus it cradles you chin, checks and neck.
No More Head Tilting
To keep your head from tilting forward, which is a huge complaint for U pillows in general, whether you’re tall or not, the Evolution has a Patented seat strap and a thinner back pad.
However this seat strap will need to be in contact with the head rest in order to be effective. So if your head doesn’t touch the head rest at all, this travel pillow may not be completely suitable.
The strap basically uses Velcro to strap around the head rest of the seat. This keeps the travel pillow attached to the seat preventing your head from tilting forward giving you the sensation of whiplash.
To make the idea even more effective, the Cabeau Evolution features a chin strap that can be adjusted to suit your size head. Another way this pillow reduces the amount of head tile is by having a thinner back pad on the pillow.
Bulky thick U pillows often push your head forward as a result of this. So by having a thinner back section, the Evolution allows you to keep your head aligned with your spine, resulting in less cramps, strains and pinched nerves.
Suitable For Most Tall People
Overall, I think the Cabeau Evolution is a brilliant travel pillow, but it may not be for everyone due to the seat attachment. If you’re afraid the back of your head won’t touch any part of the head rest, see the options below for alternative innovative travel pillow solutions.
But the fact this pillow has taller sides consisting of wicking and memory foam, the pillow will suit a large portion of the population. Tall sides and a thinner back on a U pillow is what the tall person often desires.
Head Support Pillow For Tall Travelers
This travel pillow is great for the very tall people whom have problems with the back of their heads actually touching the headrest of the seat on the train, plane, bus etc.
Its the 6-1 by Langria. What makes this pillow amazing is the unique ‘S’ design. This s design contours to the back of your head, neck and shoulders. Imagine looking at someone side on, the shape that is represented is a ‘S’ shown from the head to the top of the shoulders.
So this Langria pillow is curved to support these areas. While this is great for regular height people, it has a hidden advantage for the taller travelers. Why?, because of the support that fits behind your lower neck/shoulders which cradles the back of your head.
So if your shoulders have contact with the back of the seat, you can position this pillow in nicely to provide a imitation head rest taller than the actual seat. Sure it won’t be as firm and supportive as a real seats backrest, but whats a tall person to do?. Ask the hostess to install a taller seat for you?.
Other Features
The 6 in one travel pillow is capable of being used in multiple positions, but for the most part, it plays a crucial role in supporting your neck on long flights. The other main position I find this pillow to be helpful is the side sleeping position.
If you do happen to get a window seat, you can turn the Langria to one side and use it as a pillow to rest against the window. All while still being securely attached to your head so it doesn’t shift out of position.
This is a pretty handy feature, but for me, its all about the main feature: being able to provide back of the head and neck support. Especially if you’re so tall your head doesn’t fit nicely on the back of the head rest. The shoulder support on the Langria is the solution to this problem.
Travel Neck Brace Alternative For The Taller Person
This next product came from an idea I got when watching a review on YouTube. If giving yourself the proper neck support is what you need and you’re not afraid of looking a bit of of place, then an inflatable neck brace is a great alternative to the regular U pillows.
While traditional neck braces serve a purpose for injuries and conditions such as pinched nerves in the neck, herniated discs, arthritis and so forth. The more portable and inflatable neck braces provide a highly supportive travel pillow for all.
How Do They Work
Well it’s really quite simple, you wrap it around your neck and use the included hand pump to squeeze air into the chambers of the neck brace. This particular inflatable neck brace by Trusted Medical Supplies found on amazon here, has 2 extra long velcro neck straps.
The extra long neck straps are what make this particular brace ideal for taller and bigger people. Some of the straps included on other inflatable braces won’t be able to fit around larger necks, which many of us taller folks have.
No head Movement
Once you have put the brace on your neck, you pump air into the chambers. Every few seconds or so you will need to shuffle your neck side to side to let the air penetrate all the chambers so that the brace provides 100% neck support.
Once you’re satisfied with the level of comfort provided by these air bags, you simply use the longer neck straps with Velcro on them to join the ensemble together. Job done.
While you can still manage to turn your head if you need to, with the support these inflatable neck braces offer, your head shouldn’t bounce around in any direction while you’re sleeping. This is because the lower chambers are in contact with your shoulders and throat.
So the head stays in the correct spinal alignment for hopefully, the perfect sleep while traveling. While inflating the pillow is a little extra work and the looks you may get may be confusing, you can rest assured that your head is going to be the most comfortable head on the plane.
This Guy Is Onto It
Neck Support Pillow Sling For Tall Passengers
If you tend to sleep on your side and when traveling always find yourself slipping sideways down the seat as a result, this next travel pillow is for you.
Its called the Travel Rest and is an inflatable sling type pillow. Its inflatable by your mouth, no hand pump this time. So while some passengers may think you’re inflating a pool toy for unknown reasons, you can confidently ignore the funny looks as you now as a supportive pillow you can lean on.
A Travel Pillow You Really Can Lean Into
The leaning part is crucial to this pillow being as successful as it is. Many people struggle to sleep on planes and long trips because their bodies simply collapse into a state of jelly. Any other sot of travel pillow doesn’t give a solution to this problem.
However, the Travel Rest allows you to lean your body into the pillow which is cradled over your shoulder for neck and head support. So even if you’re on the aisle seat, you can still lean your body into this pillow as if it was a window seat and not disturb the person next to you.
This is good for tall people because of the limited amount of head rest we often have. So when you strap this pillow over your shoulder, it creates an air bag like head rest you can turn your body into and rest your head on.
Because you are not wedging this travel pillow in between the back of your head and the seat, you don’t get the feeling of leaning forward like traditional U pillows do. Another good thing about the Travel Rest is it can be worn on either side, or both left and right if you have 2 pillows.
Its also been proven to be able to loop over the sides of the seat where applicable to have a stationary type of pillow in place. Or in the car by looping the strap over the head rest of the car seats.
It really is a universal travel pillow tall people can use just about anywhere. A great solution to the ongoing problem of sleep deprivation caused on long journeys.
Portable Travel Anywhere Pillow
The TRTL pillow is hugely popular, but can be hit or miss for the taller persons. This is because it will depend on the size of your head and length of your neck dramatically. While its been proven by science to position your head best, it still may not be for every tall person out there.
So what is the TRTL, or turtle as people call it. Well its looks like an oversized scarf wrapped around your neck. So how does this give you head support?.
Inside the scarf is where the magic happens. Inside is what they call a ‘rib’, which is a firm yet flexible support frame. This is positioned on your shoulder and the side of your head. When you lean your head into it, the magic happens and the TRTL acts as a cushioned pillow.
The Rib inside the hypoallergenic polyester fleece acts as a barrier stopping your head from tilting by putting a slight amount of pressure on your shoulder. Not so much that you feel discomfort, but enough to provide the adequate support for your head.
Of the 5 travel pillows listed here for tall people, the TRTL would be my least favorite. But that’s not to say it won’t work for you. But I prefer the other options listed above as they are more supportive for the whole head in my opinion.
It’s Not Easy For The Tall Traveler
Traveling has to be one of the main disadvantages to being tall. Everything down to the carry on luggage with extended height handles needs to be addressed before boarding the plain.
With the majority of economy class seats being too short for the tall person, buying a suitable travel neck pillow is difficult. With no where to rest the back of your head on, using a standard U shape travel pillow is out of the question.
Which is why us taller people need to be creative with the travel pillows we use. Find a style that best works for you and accept that it will most likely never be perfect. After all, even normal height people struggle to get decent sleep on a plane. So we’re not completely alone.
