Dropping off to sleep when anywhere but your bed, or perhaps whilst questionably sitting, is usually uncomfortable. Well, a product has been dreamt up to allow everyone to sleep nearly anywhere in comfort within a cocoon and this is called the Ostrich Pillow. The company behind it shares an equally wacky name as their sleep enabling product does: Studio Banana Things. The Ostrich Pillow is a padded pull-over hat of sorts that resembles that of an ostrich in appearance when worn. Previously, with the first original release, its size was intended to be used by adults, but due to its popularity Studio Banana have reduced the size to allow children to join this sleeping 'revolution', whilst also implementing a few design tweaks.

Design & Quality

One of these design tweaks is a new padding filling, which feels like the filling that's used within a bean bag. There's a helpful serving of this synthetic filling within the individually stitched compartments of the Ostrich Pillow which make sure that all the filling doesn't roll to one region of the pillow, so 360 degree softness is always achieved. The build quality of this Spanish made pillow is high, we saw no stitching come loose or fabric rip throughout our testing. But one major downside is that it's not machine washable, it's designed to be dry cleaned. The grey exterior material is currently the only exterior colour available, but the interior colour of the Junior edition is available in a dreamy waves (blue) and a berry snooze (red). Each retails for $75 within the USA and £50 within the UK.

Comfort

The Ostrich Pillow Junior is specified as being suitable for children aged 6+. Our little tester was aged five and some of his friends who tried it on were younger than him and also fitted into it perfectly all right. Our little tester didn't have any reservations in wearing the Ostrich Pillow Junior due to its soft interior, which doesn't irritate skin when worn for long durations, and the light and soft design. They nodded off quickly with it on and loved the design! Actually the tester frequently wore the pillow when they didn't even need to nod off to dreamland, they just enjoyed the feel of it on their head and would watch TV and play with toys whilst still wearing the ostrich.

Is It Just A Weird Way To Sleep?

Of course, the appearance of this pillow will provoke the attention of strangers whilst your child wears it in any public scenario. Although the fact is it's more likely to be passed off as 'cute' when a child is wearing the pillow, than when a thirty year old grown up is fast asleep wearing an adult Ostrich Pillow on a train. Actually we found that the ideal situation to wear this pillow when away from home is nearly always whilst on some form of transport, it's a fantastic way to get a child to head into dreamland whilst their head and neck are safely protected from harsh uncomfortable surfaces and germs. The pillow does a good job at blocking out light and sound too, and for total darkness you can slide the front of the Ostrich Pillow's opening along the front side of the Junior downwards over the eyes. Also the two opening holes at either side of the pillow let a child place their hands and arms within it to keep them toasty warm. It's most comfortable to do this whilst lying on a flat surface.

Ostrich Pillow Junior Relaxing on Sofa.jpg

Overall

The whole philosophy of the Ostrich Pillow Junior is eccentric, mad and weird. But many products which share these characteristics grow on people and before you know it they're the next cronut or onesie. And yes, this is definitely a product that has grown on us, and something that once looked absurd now blends in as another piece of clothing. It's a big instant hit with children that don't have preconceived ideas about things, due to its comfort and isolation which let's them enjoy some peaceful Zzzzzz.