@Reeve
Thanks, I did not realize how much larger these are than the standard neck pillow. Someone in this thread who has used a normal travel pillow said he/she took the cover off and stuffed it with clothes. It sounds as though that would pass the gate check, though it may hold fewer clothes.
Airlines are cracking down on this. American Airlines usually won’t let you on with that unless you only have one other item. They will ask you to consolidate so that you are only carrying two items. I fly frequently and have seen this happen several times over the last 6 months or so. You might get lucky, but you really need to plan to consolidate that third item into one of your others.
So, yes, your pillow is very likely going to count as one of your carry-on bags.
Sure, you can also use the zip-off cover of a neck pillow you already own, like a Cabeau. I can fit cosy soft XL fleece trousers and an XL fleece top, spare underwear, a t-shirt, and a large thin towel in mine! Basically a complete change of clothes.
@Ren
I have never carried a neck pillow before and didn’t know they had zip-off covers, but that’s brilliant. It’s always good to have easy access to a change of clothes. You never know when a flight delay is going to strike.
We use ours for our jackets and other stuff we don’t want to pack. Works perfectly especially since you can adjust the padding to your comfort zone and they fold down to nothing when you’re done with them. Best travel invention since the noise-canceling headphones.
@Teo
Make sure it will fit in your personal bag, though, if asked. They are cracking down on these and counting them as separate personal items.
@Teo
Yes, indeed. I almost passed them by, but am so glad I didn’t. When we travel by plane, I have to manage my husband’s bags and my own, and this will be a huge help in condensing how many we need between the two of us. He carries his lap bag while he is in a wheelchair in the terminal, but now he can carry his own t-shirts and underwear, too.
I put all my underwear, 2 normal shirts, 1 hot weather shirt, 2 pants, 1 pair of shorts, and my bathing suit in (if applicable). An airline lost my luggage for 4 of my 6 weeks, so it’s nice to have enough to function without any luggage whatsoever and it’s great for lumbar support.
@Lian
Wow! If you have access to laundry, you can travel forever with all of that.
One of the selling factors when I first started researching these was seeing that some passenger had specifically mentioned how nice they are for lumbar support.
We travel with a backpack and an underseat bag if we are going to be changing planes, but I thought it must be safe to check luggage on a nonstop flight. Apparently not, as I have heard horror stories from folks who said the airlines managed to lose their luggage, even on a nonstop flight.
That’s interesting. I sewed a similar thing a few years ago; I’ve never seen a ‘bought’ one. I generally don’t need to save clothes space, so I stuff with my packable down jacket. It makes a super comfortable pillow.
Wait till you discover the ‘Gimmicked Jackets’ with hidden pockets 
Haru said:
Wait till you discover the ‘Gimmicked Jackets’ with hidden pockets
The travelers’ vests will be the next item the airlines will charge extra for!
This sounds awesome! Going to investigate—thanks for sharing! As someone else pointed out, they charge for everything these days! If they could charge for oxygen, the airlines surely would.
That’s interesting! Could you post a link to what you purchased?