HikeBikeDale Monkey Pillow Case

The monkey pillow is a stuffable ultralight pillowcase for camping. Elastic straps hold it to your sleep pad.

This is a review of the Monkey Pillow that can be found on etsy-dot-com, sold by HikeBikeDale.

The monkey pillow is a stuffable, affordable, ultralight pillowcase for camping. It was developed by an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker who was looking for a comfortable way to sleep on the trail. One side the fabric is a lightweight fleece, comfortable against your skin, and the other side is a lightweight nylon, which you could have against your skin if you prefer.

The original design featured a pattern of monkeys on the fleece side, looks something like kids' pajamas, very kitchy if that's what you like. There also are some solid colors that have been offered.

You just stuff the monkey pillow with whatever you want -- extra clothes, an inflatable pillow, sit pad, any combination that makes you comfortable. As a side sleeper I particularly need to support my head high enough to keep my spine in alignment, many camping pillows are too short/flat, but it's easy to keep my head at the right angle with the monkey pillow and enough stuffing.

Elastic straps go around your sleeping pad to hold it in place.

I got the large. It is about the largest camping pillowcase I have run across (covers the full width of my large-size NeoAir Xlite) and weighs about 2oz. There also is at least one smaller size (and lighter weight) available.

Even if you only use an inflatable pillow the monkey pillow will help hold it in place and give you soft material to rest your face against.

When carrying it in my backpack I use the monkey pillow as a stuff sack for my sleep baselayers.