Outdoors & Fitness · Head-to-head
Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Pillow vs Klymit Pillow X Base
Which should you buy? Our verdict on both, pulled from our full The Best Camp Pillows: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) comparison.
The Aeros Premium delivers the most loft per gram in this comparison and adds a memory foam layer over the air chamber so it does not feel like a balloon. The Klymit is lighter still, with half an inch less under your head.
Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Pillow
Buy itFour inches of loft for 104 grams, which is the best loft per gram in this group.
- 4 inches of loft from a 104 gram packed weight, a ratio nothing else here matches.
- Memory foam top layer over the air chamber, so it does not have the drum-tight feel of a bare inflatable.
- Packs to 4 by 3 by 3 inches, small enough that carrying it is not really a decision.
- PillowLock patches secure it to a sleeping mat, which solves the pillow wandering off in the night.
- Still fundamentally an inflatable, so a puncture ends it and field repair is fiddly.
- Adjustable air chamber means you tune the firmness yourself, which takes a couple of nights to get right.
- Only the polyester knit top is the soft face; the base is plain nylon, so it only feels right one way up.
Klymit Pillow X Base
Buy itThe lightest thing here at 71 grams, and the least under your head at 3.5 inches.
- 71 grams is the lightest pillow in this comparison by about a third, and Klymit says it packs to the size of a lighter.
- Quick to inflate by mouth, so there is no pump sack and no pumping ritual.
- The X shape self-centres and stops your head sliding off the side, which is the usual complaint about flat inflatables.
- 75D polyester base against 30D on top, so the durable fabric is where the abrasion happens.
- 3.5 inches of loft is the least here, and side sleepers will notice the shoulder gap.
- Bare air with no foam layer, so it feels tight and squeaky in a way foam-topped pillows do not.
- A puncture leaves you with nothing, and there is no redundancy in a single-chamber design.
Side by side
The 9 criteria below are the ones our full comparison judged every product on, narrowed to these two.
| Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Pillow Our pick | Klymit Pillow X Base | |
|---|---|---|
| Our verdict | Buy | Buy |
| Best for | Backpackers who want real loft without carrying a foam brick. | Gram counters and anyone who already sleeps on their back without much under their head. |
| Price tier | $$ · mid-range | $ · budget |
| Fill type | Air chamber with memory foam top | Air only |
| Loft / thickness | 4 in / 11 cm | 3.5 in |
| Packed weight | 104 g / 3.7 oz | 71 g / 2.5 oz |
| Packed size | 4 x 3 x 3 in | Not published (lighter-sized) |
| Inflation needed | Yes, adjustable chamber | Yes, by mouth |
| Loft per 100 g | About 3.8 in | About 4.9 in |
| Mat attachment | PillowLock patches | Not published |
| Washable cover | Not published | Not published |
| Firmness adjustment | Adjustable air chamber | Adjustable air |
Which one is right for you?
Pick the Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Pillow if
backpackers who want real loft without carrying a foam brick.
Know before buying: still fundamentally an inflatable, so a puncture ends it and field repair is fiddly.
Pick the Klymit Pillow X Base if
gram counters and anyone who already sleeps on their back without much under their head.
Know before buying: 3.5 inches of loft is the least here, and side sleepers will notice the shoulder gap.
The bottom line
Our overall pick is the Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Pillow - Four inches of loft for 104 grams, which is the best loft per gram in this group. Choose the Klymit Pillow X Base instead if gram counters and anyone who already sleeps on their back without much under their head.
Want the full picture, including the other options we compared and the popular one we'd skip? Read the complete The Best Camp Pillows: 4 Compared (and One to Skip).