A comfortable place to lay your head

Here comes a new inflatable travel pillow. Big yawn, right? But wait, this pillow is more than a lot of hot (or cold) air. The folks at Pillowpackers inserted an inflatable inner pillow into an outer pillow filled with down feathers or downlike microfiber to create a soft snuggly high-rise, smoosh-down hybrid that weighs less than a pound. You get a choice of three fillings. For real feathers, opt for the-top-of-the-line Hutterite Goose Down or slightly less lofty Brome Duck Down. Those with feather allergies, an aversion to animal byproducts, or a tighter budget will find plenty of cushioning in the Hypoallergenic Microfiber Down-Alternative model. All three filling types are encased in a 100-percent cotton shell with a side zipper for accessing the inner pillow inflation valve (it requires only a few puffs) or removing the inner pillow. (The outer pillows all can be machine-washed and dried on gentle cycles). Each pillow comes with one percale cotton pillowcase, in a choice of eight colors, as well as a nylon stuff sack. At 19 inches by 14 inches by about three inches thick, a Pillowpacker is smaller than a standard bed pillow, but it's nearly as fat when inflated. Deflated and stashed in its sack, a Pillowpacker is about the size of a rolled hand towel. Or lay it out flat for minuscule space consumption. Sweet dreams.

Pillowpacker Inflatable Travel Pillow is $90 with Hypoallergenic Microfiber Down Alternative filling; $125 for Brome Duck Down; and $225 for Hutterite Goose Down; additional pillowcases are $15; at www.pillowpackers.com.