NEMO Fillo Elite Wide Ultralight Pillow Review
Camping pillows are the bane of my life. They are either too small, really uncomfy or sound ‘crunchy’. Most have a blow up core that your head rolls off if you blow it to capacity, or you sink into, and get smothered, if you take some air out.
I have a mighty collection, gathered over years of tent life, and I usually take at least two with me to try and get the support I want, so when I went to Fantasy Forest for three days of very hot camping I decided I would give this Fillo pillow a good go.
What makes this any different to every other camping pillow?
Well for starters, the size. As the Fillo Elite Wide name suggests, this pillow is wide. Blown up it measures 53 x 29 x 8 cm - a lovely 53cms of head space, so there is plenty of pillow to move around on without falling off the side, and you won’t end up losing your pillow down your sleeping bag. You don’t have to trade off packability for all that lovely width because it packs down to 13 x 7 cm, which is about the size of a pop can, and has a weight of just 112g which is great if you like to do a bit of backpacking and want a compact and lightweight packing option.
Next is the sound. What do I mean?
Many pillows have a noisy plastic inner air bladder or a covering that makes a truly annoying crunchy sound as you move about, so they don’t actually work that well at providing a peaceful sleep. This one does have an air bladder, but the baffled air core with recycled Zerofiber™ insulation means any noise is kept to a minimum. Apart from another pillow I have, that is made of foam (which is very bulky), this is the quietest pillow I’ve tested.
Comfort
In the past I have used towels or even jumpers as a pillow, because I hate rolling off camping pillows, but the Fillo’s width is a bit of a game changer as it is wide enough that I didn’t roll.
It has a adjustable inflation valve which is pretty simple to use…
To inflate: Twist the valve counterclockwise and pull it open, then blow into it to fill the pillow. It took me just seven breaths to inflate it to maximum.
To fine-tune firmness: Press lightly on the valve to let out small bursts of air if you wish to adjust the height until it feels comfy.
To lock and close: Push the valve cap all the way down and twist it clockwise to seal the air inside.
Adjusting the air definitely made it more of a pillow that can cradle your head, rather than one that your head sits on top of, though even at full expansion your head doesn’t roll off the side because of its width. It also fit snuggly into the top of my contoured hood sleeping bag.
Many of my previous pillows do not have removable covers, and I have used a neck tube as a makeshift pillowcase so that I can wash away any dirt, sweat, and grime, which can add up quickly when camping. I don’t have to do this with the Fillo; the cover on the pillow is polyester jersey that has a very pleasant soft feel , and is removable and machine‑washable - bonus! There is also a handy loop in case you want to hang it up to dry.
They’ve thought about this….
I don’t know about you, but I’m not the tidiest when camping. I just want to get the tent up and get all the gubbins inside as quickly as possible, which means all the bags that everything comes in get flung into a big pile, then chucked into the back of the car.
This means that when packing up, frustratingly I can’t always find the small pillow bag (though it does usually turn up in some mysterious place when I sort out my gear a few days later). This doesn’t happen with the Fillo Elite Wide as it has its own integrated stuff sack; so nothing to lose - double bonus!
Any Drawbacks?
If you like a lot of height in your pillow, you may find the 8cm depth a little low, and you can’t rotate the pillow each night as you can only use one side because of the stuff sack material and protruding valve (which I thought may be an issue, but I never felt it at all) on the back side. It doesn’t have a loop to attach it to a shaped sleeping mat like some have, so that could be an issue to some.
My Verdict
I have been impressed with the quality of Nemo products in the past, and this pillow will not buck that trend. The Fillo Elite Wide does not feel like a typical camping pillow, and that, believe me, is a great thing.
Also available in a regular width too.
Price: RRP £59.99
more at » www.nemoequipment.eu