There are two types of fliers: those who pass out with ease before the wheels come up and those, like me, who struggle to find a restful position the whole way through. While the market for travel sleep gear has exploded in recent years thanks to a proliferation of travel pillows, sleep masks, and packable blankets meant to help both camps get more rest, in-flight sleep can still feel elusive. But what if I told you that you could ditch the piecemeal packing for a single item that finally lets you sleep like those gifted slumberers next to you?
When I tested the AirSlyng on a six-hour flight from New York to Calgary, my needs were high but my expectations were low. As a travel writer, I clock a lot of air miles. In my quest for sleep at 35,000 feet, I’ve tried everything, from your run-of-the-mill neck pillow to more complicated products like this inflatable behemoth, but the former could never win against the inevitable head lull, and the latter proved too bulky to squeeze into the ever-shrinking economy seat (and forget it if the person in front of you reclined). And so my quest for the perfect pillow continued.
How the AirSlyng works
An hour into my flight to Calgary, when I started to feel adequately sleepy, I took a deep breath, crossed my heart, and unzipped the AirSlyng from its compact case that took up about as much carry-on space as a reusable water bottle. Inside, I found a Velcro sleep mask and a blanket sling. While it did admittedly take me a second to figure out how to put it all together, it was quickly intuitive which was a relief for someone with a visceral aversion to complex instruction manuals and IKEA-style furniture assembly.
The cushioned case functions as your pillow, attaching to your seat’s headrest and serving as an anchor point for the eye mask, which fastens across your face and attaches to the pillow, blocking out light and gently keeping your head from rolling forward. The sling slips around your neck, allowing you to tuck in your arms and pull the blanket snugly around your chest until you’re enveloped in a perfect cocoon-like embrace. I’ve watched a swaddled baby drift peacefully to sleep in a dark nursery, and I imagine this is the closest to that experience an adult can get.