Wise Owl The Snoozy Camping Pillow Review

Bottom Line

The most affordable camping pillow we tested and reviewed is also one of the most comfortable. That’s why Wise Owl’s The Snoozy is the best budget buy on our list of the best camping pillows.

The Snoozy isn’t as plush as the luxury camp pillows we recommend, but it’s close. Our gear analysts found it soft yet supportive when we tested ours at several campgrounds across Colorado and New Mexico. 

The trade-off to all that comfort – and its bargain price – is weight and packability. The Wise Owl pillow weighs more than a pound and takes up as much pack space as our cheap, summer-weight sleeping bag. Unless you’ve got a ginormous backpack and don’t count ounces, this is a campground pillow – not a backpacking pillow. 

But it’s hard to beat The Snoozy’s price, comfort, and ease of use. It’s baller for car camping – ranking a notch below our favorite campground comfort splurge, the HEST Camp Pillow. If you camp in the frontcountry, you figuratively shouldn’t sleep on the Wise Owl The Snoozy.

How We Tested

For months, CleverHiker Editor and Gear Analyst Jory Brass has been toting 20 different camping pillows around New Mexico for side-by-side testing. For this review, he field-tested the Wise Owl The Snoozy at campgrounds in the Gila Wilderness and outside White Sands National Park to evaluate its comfort and support.

We also weighed it and compared it with other campground and backpacking pillows to tease out important differences in comfort, weight, packability, support, and ease of use. Our rankings consider this testing data alongside historical testing notes from other gear analysts who have used the Wise Owl long-term.

Comfort

The two main reasons to buy the Wise Owl The Snoozy Pillow are price and comfort. It tied for second place in comfort among the 13 camping pillows we recently tested and reviewed. One of our gear analysts owned the Wise Owl pillow for years – and loved it – until accidentally leaving it at camp. He’s still not over it. 

Wise Owl stuffed The Snoozy pillow with memory foam. Memory foam pillows sleep softer than inflatable pillows, which is why most of the CleverHiker team prefers them for campgrounds (where weight and packed size don’t matter much). We found the small chunks of memory foam in the Wise Owl pillow more comfortable – and less cheap and chunky – than other budget camping pillows we’ve tested and reviewed. The microsuede cover also felt soft against our skin, earning the pillow more comfort points.

After weeks of side-by-side testing, we ranked the Wise Owl The Snoozy just below the HEST Camp Pillow for comfort. This is impressive since the HEST Pillow costs significantly more. We also ranked its comfort a notch above its main competitor in the budget camp pillow category: the Therm-a-Rest Compressible Pillow Cinch.

At the same time, campers should consider how their sleeping style influences their perception of comfort. Since it’s so soft, the Wise Owl pillow smushes down more than most pillows we tested. If you sleep on your stomach or back, this can be a good thing. If you sleep on your side, however, you may prefer a thicker, more resilient pillow to prop up your neck in a more comfortable position. Our side-sleeping tester got by on The Snoozy, but he prefers bulkier pillows to fill that space where the neck and shoulders meet. 

Overall, though, this pillow’s comfort is above average. We’ve found it balances cushiness and firmness well enough to satisfy most sleepers. We didn’t moan with pleasure when we slept on The Snoozy (like we did when we tested the HEST pillow), but it scored near the top in our comfort tests. 

Weight & Packability

On the flip side, the Wise Owl The Snoozy scored near the bottom for weight and packability when we compared it to a dozen other camping pillows. This doesn’t matter if you’re car camping, but it does if you’re backpacking. 

The Snoozy pillow weighed in at 1 pound 1 ounce on our scale – almost a half-pound heavier than its 11-ounce claimed weight on Wise Owl’s website. This is more than most backpackers would consider carrying. Adding more than a pound to your sleep system – on top of your sleeping bag and sleeping pad – isn’t a recipe for happy backpacking, much less ultralight backpacking.

The pillow’s packed size is also prohibitive for backpackers. Our pillow measured 11.5 inches long with a 6-inch circumference, taking up about 5 liters of pack space. That’s actually bigger than some summer-weight sleeping bags we’ve owned – and similar in weight and packed size to winter-grade sleeping pads. We don’t think our pillow should weigh more than our “bed” in the backcountry.

If you’re pulling up to a campsite in your vehicle – even a Prius – the Wise Owl’s weight and packed size are irrelevant. But few backpackers would want to haul this budget camp pillow into the backcountry – unless they have a massive backpack and don’t pay any attention to their packed weight. 

Support

After testing it several times over three months, we determined the Wise Owl The Snoozy pillow is supportive enough for most sleepers. 

Wise Owl packed the Snoozy with plenty of memory foam, making it less prone to packing out than some compressible foam pillows we’ve tested. Our side-sleeping tester appreciated this foam density while testing the Wise Owl at campsites outside of Santa Fe and the Gila Cliff Dwellings. This pillow supported his neck more than he expected considering its size and price.

Overall, though, foam pillows don’t provide as much support as inflatable camping pillows. Plus, the Wise Owl isn’t quite as supportive as the other budget camp pillow we recommend, the Therm-a-Rest Compressible Cinch. As its name suggests, the Compressible Cinch can be cinched down to form a thicker, more supportive platform than the Wise Owl.

If support is your priority in a camping pillow, we’d steer you towards an air pillow (or perhaps the budget-friendly Compressible Cinch). However, the Snoozy’s support should be good enough for those who sleep on their backs or stomachs – and many (but not all) side sleepers. 

Ease of Use

The Wise Owl The Snoozy pillow is easy to use, even by camping pillow standards. It’s basically a miniature home pillow, so you simply need to pull it out of its stuff sack and give it a few minutes to loft before sleeping on it. No assembly required, no valves, no nothing. 

This pillow’s microsuede cover is also machine-washable. Just look for the tiny zipper to remove the cover, which you can wash with your regular laundry.

Should You Buy the Wise Owl The Snoozy Pillow?

If you’re looking for an Amazon pillow that’s worth buying for the campground, we recommend The Snoozy. Thanks to this pillow’s cushy memory foam fill and microsuede cover, it’s super comfortable and supportive enough for most sleeping styles. Just don’t buy the Wise Owl pillow for backpacking – it’s heavier and bulkier than all but a couple camp pillows on our list. 

It’s not quite as indulgent as the luxury camping pillows we recommend, but you’ll score more Zs per dollar with the Wise Owl The Snoozy than with any other camping pillow on our list. That’s why it earned our endorsement as the Best Budget Campground Pillow.

What Other Camping Pillows Should You Consider?

See our full guide to the best camping pillows for a dozen alternatives, or browse these three reviews of similar pillows:

Therm-a-Rest Compressible Cinch Review: If you want to compare this pillow with another budget pillow, check out the Compressible Cinch. It’s also a good buy – and slightly more packable and supportive than The Snoozy.

Trekology Aluft Pro Review: If you’re a budget-oriented backpacker, check out the Aluft Pro. It’s lighter and more packable than The Snoozy with a similar price. 

HEST Camp Pillow Review: If you want the most comfortable camping pillow we tested – and don’t mind spending more – the HEST is our go-to comfort splurge for frontcountry campers.