Suze, I am not a germ freak and I am not concerned about all of those other things you mentioned (except for hotel breadspreads, which were once scientifically proven to be the nasty things around, next to seats in a movie theater). But as I said in an earlier post, I don't have to put my bare face in those things for 8 hours a night. My feeling from reading these posts is that most people (including myself) who bring their own pillows do so not because of hygiene issues but because of comfort and familiarity. People who find it difficult to sleep in a strange location just seem to do better with their own pillows from home. If this is not a problem for you, fine. You're fortunate.

SeaUrchin, usually when I see people walking around the airport or hotel with their own pillows, I don't laugh at them or embarrass them. Mostly what I think to myself is, "Yes, I know what they're doing and why. Wish I had thought of that myself!" That's why I threw this post up, just to give travelers a chance to share their personal feelings on this very personal subject. Thanks to all who have responded and have helped me feel a little less "odd" because I have had this concern.

BTW, my new best-friend pillow when I fly is one of those tubular squooshy (sp?) things covered in a colorful, stretchy, silky fabric--with all of those tiny microbeads inside. I now see many travelers with them and will admit that they seem to be more socially acceptable. The new, grown-up lovie for adults, right? Next to having my cat Baci on my lap in the plane, this little pillow helps me to relax and snooze a little. To each his own.

I don't travel with my own pillow, although I do hate the pillows offered at most hotels. I like to have a more firm pillow, and the pillows in hotels in Europe are all too lumpy and thin for my liking. I usually bring a small travel pillow for the flight that I end up using in addition to the hotel pillows, but I decided recently that its not worth the trouble of trying to pack it so I'll just have to make due with rolling up some of my clothes to put under the hotel pillows.

Tracy

Well jgarvey... actually I am a terrible sleeper, but still it wouldn't be worth the trouble to me carrying a bed pillow around Europe.

Ha, it hasn't stopped me from taking my pillow, I just don't walk through a lobby carrying it any more.

I always take my own pillow for comfort, I like to snuggle my head in my down pillow.

Nothing like my own bankie and pidow.

As per Christina:

"I dislike almost all hotel pillows, though, because they are too thick. I can't sleep on them because my pillow at home is a very thin pure goosedown pillow, and anything very thick gives me a crick in my neck. Only about 10 pct of the hotels I stay in have a pillow I can use because they are all too thick. And many of them are foam rubber, which I really detest, so I'm surprised someone else said they can't get those in hotels as I seem to find them a lot because they are a lot cheaper than a real pillow."

I stay in hotels frequently, both in the U.S. and Europe, and have never once found a latex foam pillow. They retail for as little as $30, but you can easily find premium ones for well over $100 each. Maybe we're staying at very different sorts of hotels.

What I particularly dislike about hotel pillows is precisely what you mention, the fact that they're simply too thick for me. Latex foam pillows are often thinner to begin with, and if you choose the softer sort (you can pick them according to the density) they are thinner still. Nice neck support and soft surface, and no tilting your head at an awkward angle.

And as I mentioned upthread the pillow is very compressible, so compressible that I fit it on top of an already fully packed carry-on (fully packed with a week's worth of everything) and just close the suitcase: it smashes down to the thickness of a shirt.

In the end it's what we're used to, and those of us who are used to sleeping on certain sorts of pillows often have trouble with any other sort. I'm just glad my version is easy to pack.

While never taking one from home, I will admit on occasion having gone out and purchased a pillow cheap (ok this was mexico not europe, but still...).

Best $2 I ever spent!