Decision to Try Seat to Sleep Travel Nest
As a family that frequently flies across the world with a 3 & 5 year old, we’re always on the lookout for gear that makes long haul flights more tolerable. When we decided to take a 15 hour flight to Australia, I decided it was time to try out something new for sleep. In the past, we’ve relied on the tiny airline pillows or taken a regular pillow, but they both have major downsides. The airline pillows are so small that they really don’t work for sleeping against armrests (often a practical choice) and carrying a regular pillow around is so bulky and doesn’t fit with our ultralight travel ethos. As such, I started researching travel pillows for kids and came across the Seat to Sleep Travel Nest featuring a compact blow up design. The company is based in the UK but ships to the US, so I immediately placed an order and was delighted to receive one for each kid just in time for our Australia trip.
Features of the Travel Nest
7 ounces (light enough for our 3-year-old to carry it)
6 inches x 4 inches x 3 inches
Convenient carry bag with carabiner clip to attach it to luggage
Inflate it in second by mouth - no pump needed
Soft fabric type surface that is wipeable for clean-ups
Me holding the Travel Nest so you can see the size
First Impressions
Our two Travel Nest pillows shipped quickly and arrived nicely packed. We could immediately see how handy the included travel pouch would be and clipped them to the kid’s backpacks for them to try out. Their backpacks are tiny (5L and 8L) but the Travel Nest didn’t seem too big for either and even fit in the side pocket of our son’s Deuter Schmusebär backpack. We inflated them in the living room for the kids to try out before the flight and they did indeed blow up really fast. It probably only took about 15 seconds and we were impressed with the quality of the valve and fabric. The kids both said the fabric felt soft and comfy and were super stoked to practice sitting with and laying on the pillows. In summary:
Fast to blow up (15 seconds at most for us)
Really compact for clipping to little kid’s backpacks (could even fit it in the side pocket of our son’s 8L backpack)
Heavy duty feeling high quality plastic/fabric with a soft finish for the side your child lays on
Trying out the Travel Nest in our living room before our flight
Our Flight Experience With the Travel Nest
The day came to board our 15hr overnight flight to Sydney and since it was already the kid’s bedtime, our Sleep Nest pillows came out pretty fast. As practiced, we were able to blow them up super fast but then spend a little time adjusting firmness by letting out air, adding back some air etc to get them to contour best with the seats and armrests. Our son used his for awhile just sitting in the seat and the back of the pillow made a nice little neck rest for him since he’s way too short to lean his head against the actual headrest. I arranged our daughter’s so she could use it as a pillow against the armrest and she drifted to sleep pretty quickly. Fifteen hours is a very long flight with little kids, so we had a lot of time to play around with the pillows! What we found were mixed results. At times the kids found them really comfy and would sleep uninterrupted for a couple of hours, while at other times they seemed to struggle to get into a comfortable position with the pillow, rolling around a lot, putting their heads up on the inflated sides and then down in the un-inflatable flat center etc. We kept trying to find the sweet spot of inflated enough (can’t feel armrests or buckles through them) vs inflated too much (too firm so hard to sleep on and no contour to sleeping surface). If the kids used them on the armrests on the aisle, we did find that they stuck out into the aisle if you propped them in a position that was truly comfortable for the kids. That said, it was easy to keep adjusting the inflation level and I think people expect some sticking out of things into aisles on long flights! They were also nice for bridging that uncomfortable gap between seats and over seatbelt buckles when the kids laid down sideways to sleep. When we landed in Sydney, we were able to deflate the pillows in seconds thanks to a quick release valve mechanism and have them rolled back up and stowed in their carry bags in about a minute. The size of the carry bags are perfect for actually being able to get the product back inside unlike some things that you take out of their bags and can never get them back in! Our experience on our flights home from Australia were the same with the kids using and liking the pillows at times and then seeming more comfortable just sleeping with their heads in our laps at other times. In summary:
Creates a great neck rest for little ones while they’re sitting in their seats so is useful beyond just sleeping
Creates a great bridge across uncomfortable gaps in seats or for leaning against armrests
We struggled a bit to find the sweet spot between inflated too much or too little
If your child is using it against an armrest on the aisle, the Sleep Nest pillow protrudes a bit into the aisle which may or may not be an issue depending on flight attendants and other passengers
When our kids were laying over with their heads in our laps they seemed equally comfortable with or without the Sleep Nest pillow
Deflates super quickly and easy to roll up and pack back into the carry sack at the end of your flight
Our son using the Sleep Nest as a neck and back support while sitting
Our 3-year-old settling in to sleep shortly after take off
Trying out some different ways of using the pillow
Both kids seemed to sleep just as well with their heads in our laps as with the Travel Nest
Some examples from Seat to Sleep’s website of ways to use the Travel Nest pillow on a plane for sleep (photo credit: Seat to Sleep)
You can see from this image how using the Travel Nest against an aisle armrest will have your kid and the pillow protruding a bit into the aisle (photo credit: Seat to Sleep)
Pros & Cons After Using the Travel Nest
After our extremely long trip to and from Australia, these were the main pros and cons for us.
Pros
Packs really small
Comes with its own little carry sack with a handy carabiner clip to attach the pillow to luggage (and it’s actually easy to pack it back into the carry sack)
Super fast to inflate and deflate
Feels well made and durable
Cons
Feels pricey for what it is (currently $65 USD)
Can be a bit hard to find the sweet spot between inflated too much and too soft
Could be a bit narrower so it doesn’t slide off airplane seats as easily when kids are laying flat (size works fine when they’re sitting up or laying against an armrest)
Overall Thoughts
Despite not loving the price of these pillows (especially when purchasing two), we were really glad to have them on our long haul trip to have something different to try to hopefully get our kids to sleep. Whether they actually slept better with them than without them is hard to say since we don’t really have a control group, but we’re planning to take them again on our next long haul trip as they do definitely make leaning against armrests more comfortable and would even be great for sleeping on the floor in an airport if our flights get delayed. They feel like a high quality product that’s going to last well and the carry bags with clips are a great extra touch.
Have you used the Travel nest with your kiddo? If so, we and our readers would love to hear your experience! Leave us a comment.
