Best: Overall

Unbelievably compact for the level of comfort it provides, this inflatable, neck-supporting pillow is our new favourite for long bus, train and plane journeys. The familiar wraparound shape has a few nice twists, like a lower profile at the back and sloped profile on the arms that effectively stopped our heads from flopping forwards or feeling uncomfortably stretched on either side.

The classic Sea to Summit valve locks air in, and we loved the ability to make micro-adjustments with the fine tune button. The surface fabric is seriously soft and feels lovely against your skin.

Best: For ultimate comfort

Neat, beautiful and comfortable, sleep experts Simba’s compact travel pillow is the best looking travel pillow we tested. Given the support, stability and comfort you get from its fill (Simba’s special cooling open-cell foam), it’s amazing how well it packs up – just wrap it into a cylinder and stow it in the smart matching stuff sack. It feels just like a real pillow, which makes it the perfect small luxury for layovers, or anywhere you might get a chance to sleep lying down.

Best: For cold conditions

The ultimate lightweight travel pillow, this rectangular inflatable pillow packs down to smaller than pocket-size, and weighs just 95g (we tested the large). It is very firm when fully inflated, but the dual valve means you can make micro adjustments if you need to squish it into a plane seat.

We loved the luxurious down layer, which felt as warm and soft as a proper pillow, and reduced the crinkle factor you get with most inflatable pillows. Overall it is better suited to a window seat, car or bus journey or anywhere you’re planning to nap lying down – at the terminal, for example – because it doesn’t have the wrap-around support of a neck pillow. Ideal for camping.

Best: For nodding off

A clever twist on a standard neck pillow, this plush and malleable pillow is perfect for sleeping in a middle seat, or anywhere that your head might drop forward. It has the best front support that we tested, because you can wrap the arms right underneath your chin, and folds up nicely to make a great pillow for a window seat.

If you’re taller or shorter, though, you might find that the skinnier arms of the pillow don’t provide quite enough support on both sides of your neck.

Best: For travelling light

The soft-touch, knit-feel cover of this inflatable made it stand out among the many velour pillows we tested. Extremely light and packable, because it’s air-filled, it’s absolutely ideal for stowing in the top pocket of your pack for backpacking and camping trips.

Because of the shape and size it’s best for times you’re sleeping on your back – in an airport on a layover or while camping. If you leave it slightly under-inflated, we found it worked a treat in a window seat as well.

Best: For bus rides

Sublimely comfortable, with all the responsive fit of a full-sized memory foam pillow. Tiny micro beads, separated into three rows by deep dimples, make this small rectangular pillow really malleable – we particularly loved it for window seats, or anywhere you can fold it against a wall although our tallest tester found it a little thin for his neck size.

The soft cover is comfortable and properly pillow-like, and the synthetic filling feels warm and snug. There’s a little rustle from the beads when you move your head, but barely noticeable – like the noise a bean bag makes.

Best: For something different

A bit of a Marmite pillow, in that some of our testers loved it and others didn’t get on with it at all. Like the basic Trtl (£24.99, Trtltravel.com, the pillow is designed around a long scarf with a soft, height-adjustable support panel to rest your head against. It is endlessly customisable, and the height-adjustable Plus fixes some of the problems we found with the original Turtl, making it ideal for taller or shorter people who don’t fit a standard neck pillow.

It is really good at stopping your head falling forwards when you’re dozing, but the (admittedly very snuggly) fleecy scarf won’t stop your head falling to the unsupported side, so this pillow is better for people who aren’t prone to serious neck pain.

Best: For sleeping anywhere

​After a solid year of use this scarf-like pillow still goes everywhere with our reviewer. A long, stuffed loop of soft bamboo, you can loop it a few times around your neck like a big scarf to support your head on a flight or car drive, or loop it anywhere else for a nap on the go.

It’s invaluable for long flights with layovers, where you can use it like a normal pillow if you find a patch of floor to sleep on, or wrap it over your eyes like an eye mask. There is something oddly comforting about being able to entwine yourself in it like a blanket, and it’s a nice extra luxury on camping trips. It’s a little hard to pack down: you can wear it around your neck, but this gets quite hot.

Best: For the middle seat

The perfect travel pillow. Ideal for flights or long car journeys, it takes the traditional C-shaped pillow and offers some small but brilliant improvements, like a flat back that’s angled to rest against a seat head. It’s also incredibly soft, with moulded memory foam that supports and compresses in all the right places. Best of all, it packs down well – about the size of a coffee cup – and fit into the side pocket of our larger backpacks.

The velcro fastener is basic but does the job, and the price is excellent. Our reviewer loved it so much she started wearing it for long afternoons in front of the laptop while working from home – it raised some eyebrows on Zoom calls.