HEST Camp Pillow Review | CleverHiker

Bottom Line

The HEST Camp Pillow is the plushest camp pillow we’ve tested. Gear Analyst Jory Brass literally moaned the first time his head sunk into its soft, compressible foam – it’s that comfortable. Sadly, this luxury camp pillow is too heavy and bulky to carry into the backcountry. However, it’s our favorite comfort splurge and glamping pick for car campers, travelers, overlanders, and yurt-dwellers who crave the ultimate comfort in a camp pillow – and don’t mind paying a premium for it. 

In our most recent cycle of testing, our gear analyst alternated the HEST Camp Pillow with the 12 other pillows in our guide to the best camping pillows to evaluate its comfort, packability, support, and ease of use. This pillow isn’t made for backpacking, so it scored near the bottom in weight and packability. However, the HEST pillow’s soft yet supportive memory foam helped this pillow earn our top comfort score. Although this pillow is expensive by camp pillow standards, we consider it splurge-worthy if you’re camping in or near your vehicle.

How We Tested

During multiple camping missions across New Mexico, CleverHiker gear analyst Jory Brass put this pillow to the test alongside top competitors. He not only tested the HEST pillow on its own at a roadside campsite in the Gila Wilderness but also played musical pillows one night at the foot of the Organ Mountains to figure out his favorites. To round out his field notes, he compared findings with other CleverHiker testers who’ve bedded down with this luxury camp pillow.

Comfort

The HEST Camp Pillow had the most memorable feel of the thirteen pillows we tested. HEST’s blend of shredded memory foam and polyester mimics the comfort of our pillows at home. We love the feel of our head sinking into that plush foam, yet it’s also dense enough to provide moderate support. If you want to personalize this pillow’s softness and support, you can also unzip it to add or remove foam following these straightforward steps.

The HEST Pillow is available in multiple sizes. We recommend the medium or large for a home-like sleeping experience. The small size we tested had just enough loft for our gear analyst to feel comfortable sleeping on his side. He paired the small HEST camp pillow with his ExPed Mega Duo Sleeping Pad for a premium sleeping setup in New Mexico’s Organ Mountains and Gila Wilderness. The words “luxury” and “camping” usually don’t go hand-in-hand, but this was indeed a luxurious setup that was uber-comfortable by anyone’s sleeping standards.  

The HEST Pillow’s stretchy nylon cover feels similar to denim. That provides durability and stain resistance, but it’s not nearly as soft, smooth, or fleecy as several camp pillows in our review. That’s about the only feature that lowers this pillow’s comfort score. Overall, this was the most comfortable pillow our gear analysts reviewed in our most recent round of comparative testing. Some luxury pillows aren’t worth the price, but this splurge is a worthy investment if you’re dreaming about the most comfortable camp pillow.

Weight & Packability

As a luxury pillow, the HEST Camp Pillow isn’t designed for weight savings or packability. Mostly filled with dense memory foam, it’s made for comfort. In our previous review, CleverHiker Senior Gear Analyst Casey Handley tested the regular-sized HEST Pillow, which weighed a whopping 2 lb. 3.2 oz. For our latest review, Gear Analyst Jory Brass tested the small-sized HEST Pillow in hopes that its weight and packability might dip down into the backpacking range. In spite of its compact, 10 x 8 inch size, the small HEST pillow still weighs 1.2 pounds – more than twice the weight of the heaviest pillow we recommend for backpacking. 

This is a camp pillow for an RV, Sprinter Van, yurt, or campground tent pad – not your backpack. Sure, a few brave souls might lug the smallest HEST pillow into the backcountry. After all, many backpackers will carry a 1-2 pound backpacking chair for comfort, so why not clip a 1-2 pound pillow to your pack? However, that’s not the best use for a luxury pillow that scored near the bottom for weight and packability in our side-by-side pillow testing.

Support

The HEST Camp Pillow provides enough support for the average camper. This pillow may be plush and soft, yet it still provides moderate support, thanks to the density of its memory foam and polyester fill. It’s just resilient enough to prop up our heads and necks as they sink into luxury. 

However, it’s not as supportive as the inflatable pillows we tested or the other memory foam pillow in our review, the Weekender Pillow. In our testing, the HEST Pillow scored in the bottom half for support. Even so, stomach sleepers and back sleepers should feel plenty supported by the compressible foam. The small HEST pillow had just enough loft for our gear analyst to feel some support while sleeping on his side; however, his head and neck clearly sunk closer to the ground in comparison to the air pillows we tested.

Ease of Use

The HEST Camp Pillow has more points of adjustment than several camp pillows we tested, but our gear analysts found them fairly intuitive. The pillow comes packed inside its own integrated pouch. You access the pillow by opening this integrated stuff sack with the top, purse-style zipper. Pull out the pillow and reverse it to expose the slightly softer pillowcase fabric and then rezip it. To repack the pillow into its integrated stuff sack, reverse that process – open the zipper, expose the stuff sack side, and stuff the pillow back into the larger zippered compartment. 

The second smaller zipper gives you access to adjust the memory foam. Open that zipper and unzip the white pillow case to expose the foam stuffing. You can tear out foam if you want a flatter, less supportive pillow. Then stuff the pillow back into its casing, rezip the smaller zipper to enclose the pillow case, and rezip the larger zipper to restore the normal pillow shape. The nylon pillowcase/stuff sack is stain-resistant and machine-washable.

Should You Buy the HEST Camp Pillow?

The HEST Pillow comes at a prohibitive price for a humble camp pillow. If we’re going to pay a premium, we want to see a stand-out feature. In this case, the HEST Camp pillow’s comfort stands out so much that it may be worth the splurge. If you’re a glamper, weekend camper, or van-lifer with the space for a plush camp pillow, the HEST is our top pick.

What Other Camping Pillows Should You Consider?

The HEST Pillow may be our top pick for comfort, but it hasn’t totally cornered the market on comfort. Our complete guide to the best camping pillows features several comfortable pillows for the campground or backcountry.

Therm-a-Rest Compressible Pillow Review: For another comfort splurge, we really like the Therm-a-Rest Compressible. It’s significantly less expensive than the HEST camp pillow and a more packable alternative for backpackers who don’t mind carrying additional weight and bulk for extra comfort.

Weekender Gel Memory Foam Pillow Review: Another memory foam pillow at a budget-friendly price point, the Weekender isn’t as soft as the HEST, but it’s an extremely supportive pillow for RVs, campgrounds, and glamping adventures. 

ExPed Mega Pillow Review: The ExPed Mega Pillow is another luxury pick – a soft, insulated air pillow that’s significantly lighter than the HEST Camp Pillow and much more packable for backpackers.