Is the Trtl Pillow Plus all it’s cracked up to be? Or just another weird neck pillow? We investigate in our Trtl Pillow Plus review. We also provide readers information about how to use the Trtl Pillow Plus and where to buy it.
Sit back, relax and enjoy another in-depth, unbiased and hands-on travel related product review from the CBoardingGroup.com.
Disclosure: After seeing this on an airplane, we actually reached out to Trtl and asked for a Trtl Pillow Plus so that we could review it. Trtl was gracious enough to provide us one, gratis. However, no guarantee on the nature of the review as asked for, offered or committed to. Thus, this Trtl Pillow Plus review is unbiased. As always, we call them like we see them.
Trtl Pillow Plus Review
In this Trtl Pillow Plus Review we examine this innovative and groundbreaking neck pillow from several different perspectives. Specifically, we will cover:
- What problem does the Trtl Pillow Plus solve?
- Background on how we reviewed the Trtl Pillow
- Comparison of the original Trtl Pillow vs Trtl Pillow Plus
- A detailed review of the Trtl Pillow Plus Review itself
- How to use the Trtl Pillow Plus
- Where to buy the Trtl Pillow Plus
- And, of course, our Buying Recommendation
And a buying recommendation is where we start first!
Buying Recommendation (should I buy the Trtl Pillow Plus?)
We are starting this Trtl Pillow Plus review at the end with a buying recommendation. We all know time is short and so for those with little time, let’s cut to the chase.
Should you buy the Trtl Pillow Plus? The answer is yes.
The Pillow Plus from Trtl solves a unique problem (more on this in a moment) for travelers regarding where to rest your head while sleeping upright. It’s well made, relatively affordable, and is the most unique travel pillow on the market today. Oh, and it works. You can actually sleep on a plane without a stiff neck.
So, yes, if you are looking for a quality travel pillow, the Trtl Pillow Plus not only fits the bill, it’s going to be best travel pillow you’ve ever owned (it has been for us).
Check the Price on the Trtl Pillow Plus
The Problem with Travel Pillows (and how the Trtl Pillow Plus Solves it!)
Travelers of all sorts have loathed the state of most travel pillow offerings. Two words: U-Shaped. Or maybe, a donut with a bite taken out of it.
Most travel pillows are nothing more than a large, puffy, u-shaped mess that is awkward to carry and doesn’t really do a lick of good when you actually need to sleep with it.
The problem with most travel pillows is that they don’t really address the core challenge of sleeping upright (which is, of course, what you do on a plane).
Traditional travel pillows never really support the back of your neck. No matter what you do, there’s still a small spot of uncomfortable-ness behind your neck that can easily stiffen, not to mention make it hard to get comfortable. Which, of course, makes it hard to get to sleep.
Where U-shaped Travel Pillows have tried (and largely failed) to solve this problem, the Trtl Pillow Plus aimed to correct this by simply allowing you to rest your head where it already is…upright. It does so by adding a padded exoskeleton in the form of a scarf-life product that you can rest your cheek on.
Some airlines have added wings to the headrests of seats that adjust so travelers can lean their head against them trying to address the neck-gap problem. While this is a step in the right direction, it’s imperfect.
The Original Trtl Travel Pillow was invented by two mechanical engineers, Michael Corrigan and David Kellock back in 2013.
During their studies they were traveling quite a bit and realized there was a big problem waiting to be solved. After 80+ prototypes and a tremendous amount of research the Original Trtl Travel Pillow (below) was born.
Later, after much success, Trtl released it’s second major product, the Trtl Pillow Plus, which is pictured below. This newer, more expensive version, expanded on the success of the original pillow and added some new features (which we get to in a moment).
Trtl Pillow Plus vs. the Original Trtl Neck Pillow (Trtl Pillow vs Trtl Pillow Plus)
We’ve compared the Trtl Pillow Plus and the Original Trtl Neck Pillow in the table below.
How we reviewed the Trtl Neck Pillow
It’s only fair that our readers get a glimpse into how we reviewed the Trtl Neck Pillow. Here’s the tale of the tape for our in depth Trtl Pillow Plus review.
- About Me
- I am tall (6’1″)
- Male
- In general, I have difficulty sleeping on a plane
- Getting comfortable enough to sleep is a challenge
- How we reviewed the Trtl Pillow Plus
- I took the Trtl on an early morning flight (5:30 am, to be precise)
- Southwest Airlines
- Window seat
- And I was tired…very tired
- Ordinarily, I’d have done a small takeoff nap and then slugged back some coffee and watched a movie
- What model we tested
- The Trtl Pillow Plus model was what we tested – their newest model
- Note: the box we received contained compression socks. These were not reviewed.
Here are some pics of packaging the Trtl Pillow Plus came in:
Did it work?
We were surprisingly happy with the Trtl Plus. Given my difficulty sleeping on planes I didn’t expect this to make much of a difference.
However, being able to rest my head in more of an upright position not only made my neck more comfortable, but also allowed me to get to sleep.
The comfort of the pillow was also superb. No unnecessary padding, but just enough.
Curious where to find those hotel pillows from your last stay? Check out our Guide to Finding the Best Hotel Pillows.
What I liked about the Trtl Pillow Plus
- I loved the vertical neck / head support
- I loved that it is adjustable (I am taller and so I was able to dip the back of the pillow a notch and find the perfect position for my head)
- I like sleep! Something that almost never happens for me on a plane
What I didn’t like about the Trtl Pillow Plus
- Wrapping the pillow around my neck while seated next to someone on a plane was a little tight (although not too bad). Not a huge issue but it wasn’t quite the wide sweeping image you see (later, below) in Trtl instructions.
- I felt (although did not confirm) that your neck might get a little hot after extended wear. The material is breathable.
A note: My wife made an observation when I first showed her the pillow – “Oh women’s makeup will smear on that” – I’ve no idea if that’s true, but it was an interesting observation.
After we arrived out our destination, I toyed with the Trtl a bit more including testing it in the couch in our hotel room. I decided to take a little vertical power nap on the couch of my hotel. It came through for us. I even attempted to sleep upright on my hotel bed. Again, it was did the trick.
Overall Unbiased Review Trtl Pillow Plus (our opinion)
I liked the Trtl Pillow Plus a lot. It’s the best travel pillow I’ve ever used. And now the only one I will bring with me on my trips.
How to use the Trtl Pillow Plus
The Plus Pillow (as some travelers call it) is very easy to use. Simply remove it from it’s waterproof travel bag and wrap it around your neck like a scarf. If you can tie a scarf you can use this pillow.
There are two buttons (see image below) on the Plus Pillow that allow you to raise or lower the front or back part of the exoskeleton for maximum comfort and fit.
The video below further demonstrates how to use and adjust the Trtl Travel Pillow.
It took me a minute or two to figure out how to turn them (I wanted to twist them, but you actually have to push them a bit and then twist).
But, the buttons allow the Plus Pillow to adjusted to fit taller or shorter neck or adjusted to compensate for any unique seat back adjustments that need made (e.g. reclining your seat slightly versus it’s complete and upright position). This is a very handy feature that recognizes the diverse body structures present around the world.
Short people, tall people and everyone in between will rejoice because this pillow can easily be adjusted to accommodate your shape. And that means more sleeping and less shifting!
Where to buy the Trtl Pillow Plus
The Trtl Travel Pillow (both plus and original) is sold at a variety of different locations including many prominent retailers. Of course, Amazon.com sells the Trtl Pillow Plus (click to see price).
- Walmart sells the Trtl, but at the time of this article’s publishing it was currently out of stock.
- Best we can tell, Target does not currently offer the travel pillow in their current inventory.
- The Trtl can be purchased on ebay as well as from Brookstone (also out of stock at time of publishing).
- Buyers can also source the Trtl directly from Trtl themselves.
Should I buy the Trtl Travel Pillow?
As we noted earlier, we are big fans of the Trtl Neck Pillow (Plus model). It checks all the boxes for comfort, functionality and affordability. It’s easily stored during transport, is easy to use, and most importantly, it does it’s job, which makes it one of the few travel pillows to actually get that done!
Our recommendation is the Trtl Travel Pillow is a solid buy!
Check the Price on the Trtl Pillow Plus
Check out our Top Travel Pillows Post
Speaking of travel pillows, if the Trtl Travel Pillow Plus isn’t for your, we’ve analysed several different travel pillows beyond just the Trtl Pillow Plus and captured our thoughts in this post.
Here you will find a comparison and contrast of key features, price points, etc as well as information about what makes a great travel pillow.
Final Thoughts on the Trtl Pillow Plus
That concludes are exhaustive and unbiased Trtl Pillow Plus review. As a reminder we’ve covered a lot of ground including:
- What problem does the Trtl Pillow Plus solve?
- Background on how we reviewed the Trtl Pillow
- Comparison of the original Trtl Pillow vs Trtl Pillow Plus
- A detailed review of the Trtl Pillow Plus Review itself
- How to use the Trtl Pillow Plus
- Where to buy the Trtl Pillow Plus
- Buying Recommendation
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And, of course, if you are interested in more travel tips and travel advice, you might like these great articles:
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- Ttrl Pillow Plus Review
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All Images are sourced directly from Trtl with their permission.
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2 comments
I have the original and am not a fan. Way too hot with the fleece-type material wrapped around my neck. I much prefer a standard U-shaped memory foam.
The material used in the Pillow Plus is different than the older model. Is lighter and more breathable. But, I could see how that might be problem. I’ve never been able to find a good U-shaped pillow to work for me though. The neck gap is always an issue and I just end up with a stiff neck.