TRTL Travel Pillow Review - Travel Tip Tuesday

Have you considered buying a TRTL travel pillow? Meggan shares her opinion after using it on her flight to and from Iceland!

TRTL website

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We are travel enthusiasts who do not claim to be professionals! Instead, we are two Halifax, NS natives with travel blogs who somehow found one another on the internet and now, we have a podcast!!

Join us every week as we talk about our favourite destinations, travel tips, travel fails and all things travel!

We have a big passion for travelling and talking about travel so we hope you will listen and join the conversation.

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Disclaimer - all episodes are our opinions/experiences, always do your research and make travel plans based on your budget and comfort levels.

Transcript

Meggan: 0:00

Hey everyone, and welcome back to Travel Tip Tuesday with the Travel Mug podcast. How are you doing, Jenn?

Jenn: 0:06

I am doing well. I'm getting close to booking my next trip. So that is always exciting.

Meggan: 0:14

Are you revealing? Are we staying tuned?

Jenn: 0:17

I'll reveal for the people who listen to Travel Tip Tuesday. I have not booked the flights yet, but I am intending to visit atlanta for the first time, so

Meggan: 0:30

What time of year? That

Jenn: 0:32

It will be in October.

Meggan: 0:34

would be nice. That would be nice. Good, good planning. We might escape some of the degrees of heat.

Jenn: 0:40

Oh, yes, yes. It won't be too hot, but hopefully not too cold either. Hopefully I got it just right. So Meggan, let's talk about the highly anticipated review of the TRTL Travel pillow a lot of our instagram followers are very interested in this review. So i'm excited to hear it as well

Meggan: 1:04

Excellent. So, I mean, as we know, I recently went to Iceland. Check out our latest episode in regards to that road trip. But I was given the TRTL travel pillow for my birthday this past March, and this was my first chance to use it. So, let's start with its carrying pouch. So, it has a clip on the outside so you could attach it to your backpack and have it flop around on the outside of your being if you wish. So that's nice. I personally just packed it right as in my backpack. I don't bring carry on luggage that needs to go in the overhead bin. So I don't play that game. So I have all my things with me. I don't like to stand up mid flight. So it fit neatly in. Now the carrying pouch itself is made of nice, well made material. But my biggest beef with it is there isn't a zipper.

Jenn: 1:56

Okay,

Meggan: 1:56

close and you open the pouch via the world's loudest strip of Velcro that I've ever encountered. When I tell you it is the loudest, most heavy duty Velcro, I mean, I know they don't want it to fall out. But heavens be, I am sure, too, that we can all relate to times in life when you try to do something quietly and the more you try to be quiet, the louder it seems, and then it just becomes funny and louder. And this is that. Like, I have no idea why they used this instead of a zipper. And like, hopefully they have switched it up since or in future iterations, because that Velcro is a terrible idea, especially if someone wants to use it partway through the night on a plane, you will become enemy number one.

Jenn: 2:47

Yeah, no one wants to become enemy number one on a flight, especially an overnight flight.

Meggan: 2:52

No. Oh my, it was Ridiculous. The pouch itself is fine. The Velcro is not. All right. So now the pillow itself. So you can use it on either side of your neck. or on the front as well. It is essentially a piece of plastic covered for comfort, of course, and attached to it is like a small scarf of hypoallergenic fabric that you wrap around your neck and you attach it back to that curved piece that's in your neck hole there. And what is it secure with? Of course, it's Velcro. But it's not as loud, thankfully. Now, the fabric is really nice and soft. I do want to mention if you run hot as a human, like your temperature is always a little bit higher or you get hot easily, keep that in mind because your neck is going to be completely wrapped up. So this is something to consider. I didn't have any issues with it or feel too warm. But if you're sort of that kind of person, you should consider that piece of it. So the actual use of it. I did use it on our flight overnight to Iceland. However, I honestly wasn't that sleepy. I don't know what was wrong. I did put it on and it was comfortable to rest my head on, but I did not sleep. So I can't really give you the best, you know, answer for that. However, on the way back, I was way more tired. Thankfully, I put it on and I have to say it was better than your average travel pillow.

Jenn: 4:22

Okay.

Meggan: 4:22

My head felt more secure, held in place as compared to the usual head bobbing or side to side and up and down discomfort. I am someone who has neck pain and it's, I'm very fussy with pillows, so I have to say it isn't the perfect solution because I'm not sure what that would be but it was definitely better. I do have to mention it did hurt my ear a little bit because your head is laying directly on the curved piece of plastic, or it was for me. So it did take a bit of rearranging to find a comfy spot, and I ended up using it on my left side, which meant As I fell asleep, my head still fell a little bit forward, but at least it was more secure. I did, however, get a bit of sleep, and next time I'll try it in the front, but this time I just tried it on the side. So my overall feelings, I have to say, I do feel at a price tag of $64. 99 Canadian plus tax. It is about 15 to 20 too much. I feel personally. It's definitely new and innovative in the travel pillow space, and I'm sure they'll come up with other iterations, collaborations, and other products to allow the brand to grow. I, of course, have used the traditional travel pillow in the past with memory foam and also those little stuffing balls that have the filling, and I do have to say this is getting closer to actual comfort sleeping while sitting up. You know what I mean?

Jenn: 5:55

Yes.

Meggan: 5:56

And some people can sleep anywhere under any circumstances and you're truly blessed. Sadly that isn't me and this did allow me to get some more comfortable shut eye and the most comfortable way I have found yet. So for what it is, I liked it and I'm glad to have it. Those are just some points, though, I wanted to mention in terms of a little bit of ear discomfort, the price, the heat. It really depends on the individual for those things, but overall, I'm glad I own the TRTL. Have you ever considered it, Jenn?

Jenn: 6:30

I have not, I didn't, I had never heard of it until you got one. I own one travel pillow that was a gift and I used it maybe once. I don't sleep on planes, like, at all, basically, which is unfortunate because obviously one day I do want to do, you know, a trip to, like, australia, and that is quite far, and I'm going to have to learn how to sleep. So maybe I'll have to try the TRTL for that type of trip, but I think the perfect solution is actually just to book a lay down seat, like a bed, you know, but like the TRTL much more affordable in that type of way.

Meggan: 7:15

If we're going to compare prices, the TRTL on that is going to have to be the way to go. But I don't disagree with you. Go first class and we won't have to worry.

Jenn: 7:23

Exactly. But yeah, I would definitely considered it. And especially if someone, you know, gave it to me as a gift, I would try it out for sure.

Meggan: 7:31

Right? Get in touch with us, TRTL. Well that is it for this week's Travel Tip Tuesday. Hopefully this is info that will be helpful for you to make your own decision on buying a TRTL or not. And if you have any additional questions, I didn't cover something that is a concern for you. Be sure to reach out on social media at travel mug podcast, and I would be happy to chat more about it. I did want to mention, of course, this review is in no way sponsored. And you can also find us on our website at travelmugpodcast. com. And if you like what we're doing here, we'd love it. If you left us a review on Spotify or Apple and share the show with a travel loving pal. We'd love to entertain your friends and family until next time. Bye everyone.

Jenn: 8:15

Bye