A Flight Attendant Designed This Oddly-shaped Travel Pillow to Help You Sleep, Even in the Middle Seat
Amazon reviewers say the J-Pillow “tops them all.”
Travel + Leisure / Marcus Millan
Like noise-canceling headphones and compression socks, a travel pillow is another one of those things you almost can’t survive a long-haul flight without. Leaving it behind means arriving at your destination tired, probably cranky, and with a sore neck that could linger throughout the first days of your trip. So, regardless of how decidedly uncool it might look dangling from your carry-on, the prospects of getting half-decent rest on the plane make the funny optics all worth it.
Even flight attendants agree. According to Amazon reviews, the stewards of the sky opt for this oddly shaped J-Pillow — one that they say “tops them all.”
J-Pillow Travel Neck Pillow
Amazon
$50
Buy on Amazon
While your typical neck pillow is shaped like a doughnut and wraps around the back of the neck, this one is made to sit higher up near the crown of your head. It has an extra hook-shaped “trunk” that curls around to support the neck and chin — that’s where the “J” in “J-Pillow” comes from — so you don’t succumb to any embarrassing head bobbing in public.
The cleverly engineered travel pillow was designed by a former Virgin Atlantic flight attendant, Gemma Jensen, who developed more than 200 prototypes before getting the J-Pillow just right. Her objective was to make the “world’s first chin-supporting neck pillow” so travelers always feel like they have a window to rest against, even when they don’t. In 2012, it won the British Invention of the Year award. Now, the pillow has a loyal flight attendant following and more than 15,000 ratings on Amazon, almost 9,000 of which are five stars.
“Skip the other pillows you see in the inflight magazines,” one says. This one “stays put and keeps [their] neck upright,” is “very comfortable and easy to pack,” and is just “by far the best,” they wrote. Another Amazon reviewer whose daughter is a flight attendant said they like that the pillow doesn't take up a lot of room. On Tiktok, the flight attendant xoblondevoyage also included it in a list of “travel must-haves,” along with a portable charger, hanging toiletry bag, Twelve South AirFly SE bluetooth transmitter, and selfie stick tripod.
Reviewers describe the pillow as squishy and velvety. It’s perfect not just for airplanes, but also for long car rides, train travel, and couch napping, too. It comes with a carrying case that protects it from airport germs and keeps it compact in your luggage. Lots of reviewers say gate agents didn’t count it as an extra personal item or mind that it was poking out of their carry-ons (it’s a little chunky).
The J-Pillow normally retails for $60, but it’s $50 at Amazon. It has thousands of positive reviews, including one that sums up the collective sentiment: “it was the bomb and you should buy one. Today. Now.” Shop more top-rated travel pillows, below.
More Top-rated Travel Pillows:
MLVOC Memory Foam Travel Pillow
Amazon
$25
Buy on Amazon
Dot&Dot Twist Memory Foam Travel Pillow
Amazon
$25
Buy on Amazon
BCOZZY Double-support Neck Pillow
Amazon
$46
Buy on Amazon
Cabeau Evolution S3 Travel Neck Pillow
Amazon
$40
Buy on Amazon
TALLGO Travel Pillow
Amazon
$15
Buy on Amazon
At the time of publishing, the price started at $50.
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