Forclaz MT500 Inflatable Pillow Review

Overview

The Forclaz MT500 is Decathlon’s entry-level inflatable camp pillow — a two-piece design with a separate TPU/polyester air bladder and a removable Tencel (Lyocell) cover. At 135g and roughly $15-25 depending on region, it’s aimed at backpackers, thru-hikers, and travelers who are tired of stuffing a puffy jacket into a stuff sack and calling it a pillow, but who don’t want to spend $40-60 on a Sea to Summit or Nemo equivalent.

Key Specs

Spec	Value
Weight	135 g
Inflated dimensions	34 x 23 x 9 cm
Packed volume	0.6 L
Cover material	Tencel (Lyocell)
Bladder material	TPU / Polyester
Cover	Removable, machine washable
Price	~$15-25

Performance

Comfort. This is where the MT500 surprises people. The cover has a small padded foam zone — a soft Tencel fabric cover lined with foam, paired with an inflatable inner chamber with adjustable air pressure — which softens the “balloon under your head” feeling that plagues cheaper inflatable pillows. One long-term user who wasn’t expecting much reported the pillow was way more comfortable than what I was expecting considering it’s inflatable, and found the trick was not blowing it up the whole way, but leaving a bit of softness, which made it work well for moving around to different positions in the night. That matches my own experience with similar half-fill inflatable pillows — max pressure is almost always the wrong call for side sleepers.

Inflation. It’s genuinely quick to set up. Reviewers note the whole process takes removing the red valve cap and breathing into it, with 2-3 breaths enough for a comfortable pressure. One reviewer initially over-inflated it before dialing back, eventually settling on 1.5 to 2 breaths as the perfect amount after learning that pumping it up as hard as possible was way too firm. The valve has a non-return function, though be warned: air will rush back at you between breaths, which catches first-time users off guard.

Durability & care. The two-piece cover/bladder design is a real strength — you can wash the Tencel cover without risking the air chamber, and swap the bladder alone if it ever fails. A four-year owner called it a pillow that, thanks to its durability and comfort, provided a reliable and pleasant sleeping experience over four-plus years. Decathlon’s own review base backs this up — the pillow sits at 4.5-4.7 stars across thousands of reviews, with one user noting it was an amazing difference in sleep quality, pretty light and compact, easy to clean, and surprisingly tough.

Quirks. A few recurring complaints show up across reviews. First, repacking it into its stuff sack is fiddly — several users mentioned it’s tricky to get back into its pouch and simply stopped bothering. Second, because it’s a single air chamber rather than baffled, some testers noted that when your head moves on the pillow, air gets pushed to one side and it deforms, making it less stable than a traditional pillow. Third, the smooth fabric can be slippery on certain sleeping pad surfaces — one reviewer found it slippy on their Forclaz MT500 Air trekking mattress, causing it to fall off the mat and wake them during the night, eventually solving it by tucking the pillow inside their sleeping bag hood. Fourth, the rectangular shape isn’t a perfect match for hooded mummy bags — the rectangular shape may not be perfect in hooded sleeping bags, though this is a minor gripe rather than a dealbreaker.

Compared to the pricier competition, this isn’t going to out-plush a Nemo Fillo or Sea to Summit Aeros. But given the sub-$25 price and sub-5-ounce weight, expectations should be calibrated accordingly — and by most accounts, it clears that bar comfortably.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Genuinely comfortable for an inflatable pillow, thanks to the foam-padded cover
• Removable, machine-washable Tencel cover — a nice hygiene upgrade over sewn-in covers
• Quick 2-3 breath inflation with adjustable firmness
• Very light (135g) and packs down to 0.6L
• Excellent value — a fraction of the cost of premium competitors
• Reports of multi-year durability from long-term owners

Cons:

• Fiddly to repack into its included stuff sack
• Single air chamber can feel unstable/shifty compared to baffled designs
• Slippery cover can slide off some sleeping pad fabrics
• Rectangular shape doesn’t tuck neatly into hooded mummy bags
• Not as plush as pricier baffled/foam-hybrid pillows

Who Should Buy This

This is the right pillow for budget-conscious backpackers, thru-hikers counting ounces, and travelers who want a step up from a stuffed jacket without spending premium-pillow money. If you’re a restless side sleeper who needs a pillow that stays put and holds its shape all night, you may want to look at a baffled or contoured design instead — or plan to tuck this one inside your sleeping bag hood as a workaround.

Verdict

The Forclaz MT500 delivers outsized comfort and durability for its weight and price, with the washable two-piece design being a genuinely thoughtful touch rarely seen at this cost. It’s not the most stable pillow on the market and packing it away takes a bit of practice, but for the money, it’s hard to beat. I’d rate it a 7.5/10 — a smart budget pick that doesn’t feel like a compromise.