A Neck Pillow Built by a Silicon Valley CEO — Is the Vesta Loop the Perfect Answer?

Good news for everyone still searching for a neck pillow that works: here’s one that’s sure to fit however you sleep. Its developer, Tani Shinu (Vesta’s founder, who spent years in robotics R&D in Silicon Valley), flies a lot and always struggled to rest on planes. So he figured, “I’ll just make my ideal neck pillow myself!” — and the result is the Vesta Loop. Since it was born from real frustration, its practicality is top-notch.

I love it too and use it a lot, even while working.

For my articles, I sometimes receive products on loan or as samples from companies, within the bounds of Yahoo! News’ rules. However, if a product doesn’t meet my standards for writing about it after actually using it, or if its downsides significantly outweigh its good points, I return it and don’t write about it. I don’t receive any payment from companies.

A shape-shifting neck pillow

Unlike other neck pillows, the Vesta Loop can support your chin, the side of your face, and more. It fits all kinds of situations — different sleeping styles, different vehicles, different settings.

My favorite is this sideways position. It’s really comfortable for resting in the car too. I usually wrap it around my neck during office work, and only after using it did I realize how tired my neck gets even when I’m sitting up straight. Recommended for support beyond sleeping too.

## Features no neck pillow had before

There are lots of features that make you think, “Yep, the CEO built this because he wanted to use it.”

The fabric is reversible, with a cooling material on one side, so it’s comfortable year-round. The cover comes off for washing (hand wash), so you don’t have to worry about it getting dirty.

The filling is memory foam, not air, so it holds you really well. Inflatable neck pillows are great for portability, but in practice they’re far from comfortable.

Even members of Kevin’s English Room, a well-known YouTube channel in Japan, said, “I took one to the US but it wasn’t comfy, so I threw it out there and came home (lol).”

Speaking of which, as a student I flew 15 hours each way between Japan and Boston, and neck pillows never really worked for me. But I like the Vesta Loop more than any of them.

Ever see your kid sleeping in a crazy position?

Kids falling asleep in the car is common, but around age 5, when car seats get simpler, don’t they sometimes end up in some wild positions?

The Vesta Loop is great for that too. You do need to be careful how you wrap it (so it isn’t uncomfortable), but my 5-year-old daughter seems to love it.

Sometimes she sleeps with her neck bent at a crazy angle, so it’s reassuring when she uses this to lean against the window.

## Vesta is a company that takes sleep seriously

Vesta makes products built around sleep. The 100% silk comforter I reviewed before works year-round and is really comfortable.

Being developed by a specialist like this makes it more trustworthy, and when they asked me to review it, I said yes because the comforter had been so good.

The only weakness: washing the pillow itself?

Being able to hand-wash the cover is nice, but you can’t wash the pillow itself. That might be its only weakness. You could probably keep it fairly clean with something like a carpet spot cleaner.

If you’re worried about dirt or sweat soaking into the pillow, not just the cover, that might be worth doing.

One more downside compared to inflatable neck pillows: it’s fairly big.

That might just be the trade-off for comfort, but personally, at this size, I’d choose comfort.

You might even use it on the Narita Express or in the car to Haneda. If you think of it as something you’re always using, the size might not bother you much.

A great product built for real use

There are lots of products with fun concepts, but the weakness of quirky gadgets like this is that they often aren’t very practical.

The Vesta Loop, though, is really well thought out for practical use. It’s a simple product, but I was impressed. If you travel by bullet train a lot, working while wearing the Vesta Loop would make things way easier.

It’s great to find an excellent product even among fabric gadgets with no power supply. This one is going to blend right into my life.

Official site: Vesta Product site: Vesta Loop

This story was originally published (in Japanese) on Yahoo! News Japan Expert.