The TETON Sports XL, costing $20, is a moderately priced compressible pillow. It features a fill of synthetic fiber contained in a polyester inner shell and a pillowcase made of brushed flannel. Despite having the largest packed size and highest weight of all pillows in this review, we like this pillow for car camping, as well as for daytime naps. When used in these applications, this pillow performs very well.
Performance Comparison
Campers young and old will enjoy the comfort the TETON Sports model brings to the campsite.
Comfort
This pillow is one of the most comfortable pillows in this review. Its large size gives your head plenty of surface area to move around at night. We also like the flannel pillow case, which was soft against our cheeks without getting too hot. The fill of this pillow is designed to maintain its loft, even after being compressed in its stuff sack, which worked well in our testing. The only drawback we found in this pillow's comfort was that the fill material bunches up in some areas over time, making the pillow slightly lumpy. The only model that is more comfortable is the Therm-a-Rest Compressible. Two comparable pillows we tested that rivaled the TETON for comfort are the Rumpl Stuffable Fleece and the Therm-a-Rest Down Pillow. Both pillows also offered more support and easily beat out the TETON for packed size.
Justin Williams takes a relaxing break from guiding a group on the rocks of Blue Mounds State Park in Minnesota.
Weight
The opposite of our Top Pick for Backpacking (the Sea to Summit Aeros), the TETON is the heaviest pillow in this review; it weighs in at ten ounces. If used for car camping, though, where you don't need to transport your gear more than several yards from your vehicle, this shouldn't factor into your purchase decision.
Ease of Use
This is the easiest pillow to use in our tests. Just unpack it from its sack, and it's ready to go. The stuff sack is large enough to make packing it back inside a breeze, too. It doesn't slide around on a sleeping pad and fills the hood space of most sleeping bags to prevent it from moving around in your sleep. Lastly, the flannel pillowcase is easily removed for machine or hand-washing.
This pillow was the most similar to a bed pillow. Having a removable pillow case, it was easy to remove, clean, and slide back over the inner pillow.
Packed Size
The TETON Sports pillow scored the poorest of all pillows we tested in this category, having a volume of 4.5 L when packed in its stuff sack. Again, this is a key aspect for backpackers, but not so much for folks overnighting at most park campgrounds.
Car camping in Wyoming goes well with this model from Teton. It's large packed size and heavy weight aren't an issue at drive-up campsites.
Support
The TETON pillow provides moderate support. It compresses under the weight of one's head, yet doesn't flatten out like the Sierra Designs DriDown Pillow. In this metric, it falls in the middle of the pack. The Exped REM took home top honors in this test metric with exceptional and adjustable support.
This pillow provides decent support, compressing but not flattening out.
Best Applications
The TETON Sports XL is ideal for car camping, which is where its substantial size, comfort, and sufficient support will be most appreciated. It's too heavy for multi-day backpacking trips.
Value
For the price of $20, the TETON Sports model is a good value, especially if you primarily car camp. It fell shy of our Best Buy Award, yet we were still impressed with the comfort, ease of use, and support it provides for its modest price.
Conclusion
The TETON pillow is a solid option. Sure, we wouldn't take it along on multi-day excursions. Yet, it serves its purpose very well at car-accessible campsites and even campsites with a short hike away from the parking lot.
Katie Heimer testing out the TETON on a weekend camping trip. This comfortable and affordable pillow is perfect for car camping.
