Cabeau’s Evolution S3 Travel Pillow claims to be the world’s best. I’ve tried a few travel pillows in my time but resolved a few years ago that none of them work and regardless of whether they inflate, are filled with beans or memory foam, they’re a design failure. Despite my doubts, I splurged on an Evolution S3 just before a trip from Winnipeg to Barcelona in a last-ditch try to get some shut-eye on an overnight flight.
The problem with sleeping on a plane
I CANNOT sleep on a plane. It’s just impossible. I see people in deep REM on a long-haul flight, and I want to punch them (not literally, of course). I just can’t get into a comfortable position to make sleeping possible. Invariably, after a flight where I’ve tried to sleep, my neck and back hurt and I deplane bleary-eyed with various kinks and in a surly mood. Not a good way to arrive at one’s destination.
The only time I have a blissful sleep that leaves me refreshed after a long-haul flight is when I’m lucky enough to score business class tickets and can lie flat. That’s happened twice.
Even though it seems obvious now, I could never pinpoint the problem. Steve manages to sleep sitting up relatively well as does my brother. So do countless others I observe sitting around me while I’m wide awake on a flight.
Turns out it’s my heavy head!
Why I gave the Cabeau Evolution S3 Travel Pillow a chance
On a recent tag-along trip to Amsterdam, I was chatting with one of Steve’s colleagues about how difficult it is to sleep on a plane. She shared my problem but said that she discovered a great sleep mask that helped. A sleep mask? That wasn’t going to do it for me. She explained that the ZzzBand was different; it had straps on it that attached to the plane seat and prevented your head from falling forward.
That’s it! The moment Steve’s colleague mentioned the straps, I realized that was my problem—either I have a weighty head or feeble neck muscles. Maybe both. My bobbing head either wakes me up or slumps into an awkward position, making sleep very uncomfortable.
I googled the ZzzBand when I got home, and that started a trail that led me to the Evolution S3 Travel Pillow. When I examined the mask option more closely, I became skeptical that it would work for me. I wasn’t crazy about something being up against my face for hours. I know from sleeping with my traditional, loose-fitting mask at home, it doesn’t take much for me to acquire facial depression lines that leave me looking like I’ve endured some horrible accident resulting in scarring post reconstructive surgery. What would I look like after sleeping with a mask tight enough to hold my hefty head upright?
When I came across the Evolution S3 Travel Pillow, I was convinced this was a better option. I was excited to discover that my favourite travel store, U.N. Luggage carried the pillow and I rushed out to buy it the day before our recent Barcelona trip.
What I like about this travel pillow
From the images I saw online, the Evolution S3 Travel Pillow had a few unique features that held promise:
- It has straps that attach to the plane headrest with two different configurations to accommodate different body heights.
- The moulded upper ridge of the pillow seemed like it would provide side-of-head support if I wanted to lean left or right rather than remain rigidly face-forward.
- The toggle straps in the front cinch the pillow tightly under the chin for a secure fit
- Memory foam is comfortable and squishable. The pillow compresses to fit into a small case that you can attach to your luggage. When I see people in the airport carting their full-sized travel pillow, it looks like a hassle. Who needs it?
The verdict after my seven-hour overnight flight
I slept a total of five hours in relative comfort! At best, I usually get two hours of uncomfortable interrupted sleep, so this was a significant improvement. Best of all, I did not have a sore neck and upper back when I got off the plane and for days after as is usual. All of the features I thought would make it different panned out.
It’s not as good as lying flat, but I do not regret this purchase as I have with other travel pillows. One thing I’ll want to try is to adjust the straps into the configuration that would position it lower. I forgot to take the instructions with me on my flight for the inaugural use so just left it in the higher position. Any lower might be too low, but I’ll give it a try.
The Cabeau S3 Evolution Travel Pillow is the real deal. It’s better than any other pillow I’ve tried.
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I just bought this pillow and used it on our flight to London! I found the straps didn’t stay attached to the seat back, but that might have been operator error. It is by far the most comfortable pillow I’ve ever used and I love that it rolls up into a “cinnamon bun” during transport.
Good to hear that is works for you too. Do play around with the straps. It took me a couple of tries to get the right position. I also wonder if it depends on plane seat design. I was on an Air Canada flight.
I too have trouble sleeping on a plane and I have never found pillows particularly useful. The Cabeau S3 Evolution sounds like something I should try on my next long flight.
It’s definitely worth a try if head bobbing is an issue for you. The memory foam is super comfy too.