Trying Long-Haul Flight Products: Foot Hammock, Inflatable Pillow, Sleep Mask

• I’ve taken a few economy long-haul flights but never loved the traditional travel pillow.
• On recent flights, I tried a foot hammock, inflatable pillow, and viral sleep mask.
• I’m determined to find the accessories that actually work, and so far, the hammock is my favorite.

I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again: Long-haul flights suck. And long-haul flights in economy suck even more.

While it’s a privilege to travel and explore destinations around the world, getting there isn’t always easy.

I’m not the only one who thinks so. A quick search on Amazon shows over 10,000 results for travel pillows. The market for air-travel accessories has expanded beyond the traditional crescent-shaped neck pillow. Today, options include inflatables, foot hammocks, compression socks, eye masks, and more.

As someone who’s embarked on plenty of long-haul flights, my goal is to make the experience more bearable. To do that, I’m figuring out which of the tens of thousands of plane accessories actually make a trip more comfortable.

So far, I’ve tested three viral products: a foot hammock, an inflatable pillow, and a sleep mask that attaches to your plane seat. Here’s the one that is permanently on my packing list.

TikTok convinced me to ditch the typical travel pillow

I’ve had my fair share of issues with the circular travel pillow. The few I’ve tried never sat high enough on my shoulders, leaving me craning my neck and in pain.

For years, I booked window seats, bundled up jackets as pillows, and used plane walls as my support.

This led me to my first viral product: the foot hammock.

I often wanted to scrunch up into a ball in my window seat. I longed to press my knees against the seat in front of me or dig my feet into the seat pocket, but I also wanted to avoid annoying the person in front of me.

With the foot hammock, I could wrap a strap around my tray table and position the hammock so my knees hugged my chest. In this system, my weight pressed down onto the floor instead of against the seat in front of me.

I used the hammock on a 10-hour flight to Switzerland and loved it. It was easy enough to use, and I could put my feet on the ground because it didn’t take up much space. The one I bought off Amazon from the brand Zoklu cost just $9.

Now that I’d figured out comfort for the lower half of my body, I was ready to figure out a replacement for my bundled-up jacket.

Another viral product I’d eyed for years was a cube-shaped inflatable travel pillow.

Instead of leaning to the side, the traveler places the pillow in their lap or on a tray table and leans forward. I thought I’d prefer this sleeping position over craning my neck, so I went to Amazon and purchased the $21 Kimiandy inflatable travel pillow.

It was a purchase I regret. I used the pillow for 13- and 15-hour flights and found it too big.

When I tested the pillow, I was lucky to have empty middle seats. If someone were seated next to me, it would’ve been impossible not to bump them with the pillow.

After deciding to ditch the inflatable, I turned to another viral product: a $21 Sarisun sleep mask that attaches to a plane seat. I hoped this smaller option would be a home run for getting sleep on a 10-hour flight to Germany.

Unfortunately, I didn’t love the mask either. I strapped half of the product to the seat’s headrest and Velcroed the eye mask to the base of the product. This allowed me to lean forward and avoid the dreaded head bobbing that often happens when sleeping upright.

While it was easy to set up and saved me from packing both a pillow and a mask, it created too much pressure around the edges of the mask and my face. After a couple of hours, the result was a headache instead of deep sleep.

No passenger is the same

Reviews highlight why people like and dislike every product I’ve tested.

“It has completely changed flying for me,” one person wrote about the inflatable. “It is decently compact, inflates with about 4-5 breaths, feels durable, and supports my head/neck just right.”

“Best airplane sleep product yet!” someone else wrote about the sleep mask.

Meanwhile, some reviewers complained that the foot hammock wasn’t large enough for both feet and might not be the best product for taller people.

Each accessory has its positives and negatives, and I’m figuring out what I love and hate. I’ll try more flight accessories in the future, but my foot hammock will be on my packing list.

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