The Flextail Zero is an inflatable camping pillow, and its biggest advantage is how small it gets. Packed in its stuff sack it adds almost nothing to your load, and it goes back into the sack easily, so it lives at the back of the Titan drawers in our Prado as a backup pillow. Blown up, it has a contoured shape with a higher top and a soft velvet cover. We’ve used it on a few camping trips. I paid $50 for it.
What’s in the box
A grey inflatable pillow (it also comes in brown and cream) with a soft velvet cover, a FlextailGear valve with a flip cap, an elastic strap and a drawstring stuff sack. Blown up it’s about 42 × 30 cm, and it weighed 143 g on our scale, packed in its sack.
What we like
- Very compact, 143 g packed
- Packs back into its sack easily
- Contoured, with a higher top
- Good padding, soft velvet cover
- Strap keeps it on the mat
What we don’t
- Still an air pillow, less comfy
- Pricier than basic air pillows
Quick Specs
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | Flextail |
| Material | 50D velvet coverTPU bladder |
| Colour options | GreyBrown |
| Weight | 143 gwith the sack |
| Size | 42 × 30 cminflated |
| Packed size | 20 × 10 cm |
| Features | Contoured shapeTwo heightsMat strapRemovable cover |
Shape and comfort
Blown up, it has a contoured shape with a higher top that supports your neck, and the padding under the velvet cover is quite good, so it doesn’t feel like lying on a plastic balloon. Flip it over and you get a lower or higher side. Still, at the end of the day it remains an inflatable pillow, and that’s not the most comfortable pillow you can get. Because we car camp most of the time, we’d rather give up a little more space for a bigger, comfier pillow, and keep the Flextail for when space matters.
Velvet cover and mat strap
The cover is a soft 50D velvet, so you lie on fabric rather than sticky plastic, and it comes off for washing. Underneath it is a TPU air bladder. An elastic strap runs across the pillow and around your sleeping mat, which stops it sliding away during the night, a common problem with air pillows on smooth mats.
Blowing it up
The valve sits on one side under a flip cap. Blow it up through the valve and let a little air out to make it softer. To pack it away, open the valve fully, press the air out, then roll the pillow up and slide it back into its sack.
Packed size
This is where the Flextail Zero shines. Packed, it’s a small sack that doesn’t add any real weight or volume, and unlike a lot of inflatables it goes back into its sack easily after a night’s use. Ours lives at the back of the Titan drawers in the Prado, where it disappears among the gear, ready as a backup pillow when we need one. At 143 g on our scale, it suits hikers and anyone who counts the grams.
Flextail Zero or Zempire Chill-Pill?Flextail or Zempire?
For car camping we’d rather take a comfier pillow, like the Zempire Chill-Pill, a self-inflating foam pillow. It’s comfier and about the same price, but it weighs almost three times as much and packs much bigger. The Flextail is the one for a hike, a full car or a backup. It’s the backup pick in our camping pillows guide.
This one Flextail Zero Pillow | Foam Zempire Chill-Pill | |
|---|---|---|
| Contoured | Yes | No |
| Type | Inflatable | Self-inflating foam |
| Size | 42 × 30 cm | 38 × 28 × 10 cm |
| Packed size | 20 × 10 cm | 28 × 13 cm |
| Weight | 143 g | 405 g |
| Price paid | $50 | $55 |
| Our score | 8.8 | 9.0 |
Conclusion: Flextail Zero PillowConclusion
The Flextail Zero is a very compact inflatable pillow: 143 g in a small sack that it goes back into easily, so it disappears at the back of the drawers as a backup. Blown up, the contoured, higher top and good padding make it comfier than most air pillows, and the strap keeps it on the mat. It’s still an inflatable pillow, though, and at $50 it costs more than a basic one. For car camping we’d take a bigger pillow, but if you like your ultralight gear, it’s one to consider.
A very compact air pillow that makes a great backup.
It packs into a small sack at 143 g and lives at the back of our drawers, and its contoured, higher top and good padding make it comfier than most air pillows. It’s still an inflatable pillow, though, and pricier than a basic one.
- Hikers
- Backpackers
- Ultralight
If you like ultralight gear, yes. I paid $50, more than a basic air pillow, but it packs to almost nothing and is comfier than most. For car camping, a bigger pillow is comfier still.
