18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hey! The weird shape works!, December 13, 2007
I really hate the conventional neck pillows and I wasn't about to spend $70 on a full neck ring thing so I tried this pillow out on a trip to China. It looks strange but it blows up easily and works quite well. It can be reversed for either side of the head (just remember to push in the spout). I carried it around everywhere. Great Job Mr. Steves (or company)!
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Almost Perfect, January 26, 2008
This pillow is really comfy and the head rest part is genius. I was concerned about getting an inflatable pillow because the edges are often rough and rub your neck raw. That is not the case with this pillow. Once it's inflated, the pillow is awesome. The reason I didn't give it 5 stars, though, is because I had a heck of a time getting it inflated. I had to pinch the valve in a really particular way and blow really hard to get air to go in, so I wouldn't recommend this for someone with breathing problems or weak hands unless you have someone else that can inflate the pillow for you. Otherwise, a really excellent product.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very disappointing (and leaky), March 30, 2009
I ordered the Rick Steves Deluxe Neck Pillow in anticipation of a 14 hour flight to the far east next month. I thought: Hey, this looks like an improvement on those U shaped pillows that don't give side support. I inflated it at home and immediately discovered the following problems:
Problem #1: The continuous seam along the inside part of the cushion that makes contact with your neck has a raised and rather sharp edge. It really irritates the skin and gave me tiny paper cut-like abrasions on the sides of my neck. My rigged solution was to put a small wash cloth around my neck as a protective shield.
Problem #2: It's very difficult to inflate out of the package. The sides of the flattened pillow seemed almost fused together. It took a lot of pulling and twisting to get the pillow wall to unstick from itself so that air could be blown in. And even then the inflation was not easy. The valve design, plus the multi-chambered shape make it a pain. It took some really hard blowing to get the thing fully inflated. I'm an adult male in excellent cardio-vascular health and it was still an eye popping struggle. Reminded me of the time I watched a Scotsman inflate the bag of his bagpipes!
Problem #3: The darned thing has a slow leak! I tested it out while watching tv in my living room. Within 10 minutes it had lost 1/3 of the air inside. That's just poor manufacturing and quality control. I'm going to return the product, hopefully for a full refund.
I will say this much: The shape does give lateral support so that your head is cradled by the side extension of the pillow. It would definitely keep my head from bobbing and nodding on a long flight. Unfortunately, the pillow has major flaws that are not acceptable. Too bad Rick Steves has affiliated himself with what seems to be an inferior product. I enjoy watching his PBS series and listening to his travel show on public radio.
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