If you’ve ever taken a long-haul or overnight flight, you’ll know that staying comfortable is essential to spending hours fly by (see what I did there?). But if, like me, you’re still trying to find the best travel deal, you’re probably stuck in seat 43F instead of 1A.

Fortunately, wise Amazon Buyers seems to have found a solution – and it’s less than $20. Reviewers call it $16 floating footrest for airplane a “godsend” for air travel. It has over 1,400 reviews and an average rating of 3.9 stars, and hundreds of Yahoo readers bought it this yearAlso.

But does it really meet expectations? I recently tested the plane’s footrest on two 9-hour transatlantic flights, including one at night. Read on for all the details on this gadget, plus my honest review.

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This $16 airplane footrest from Amazon has over 1,400 reviews.

Benefits

• Easy to set up
• Folds into a small pouch for travel
• Relieves certain discomforts and agitations

Disadvantages

• Does not work well in small spaces
• Feels a little fragile

$16 on Amazon

Details and how it works

The Floating Airplane Footrest is a simple, foldable piece of padded fabric that essentially creates a hammock for your feet. To use it, simply hook its straps to the support of your open or closed tray table and place your feet in them until they are stretched and slightly suspended. The airplane footrest has a lock to reinforce the strap and can be adjusted to fit your height.

It folds into a small pouch and can easily be stored in your hand luggage. And it’s not just for planes: it can be used anywhere you need a little relief, including on a train, bus or plane.

While the adjustable strap makes it usable in most situations, it’s worth noting that the gadget may not be compatible with all airline seats.

What I liked

It doesn’t take up space in your bag: The airplane footrest comes in a soft pouch measuring approximately 8.5 x 2.5 x 2 inches, meaning it can be easily folded into carry-on luggage. or even your backpack.

It’s easy to configure and adjust: Installing the footrest takes about 2 seconds: simply slide it onto your tray and adjust it to your chosen height.

Provided (a little) comfort: Has this changed my life? No. And this had some drawbacks, which I’ll address below. That said, it was a simple and affordable way to alleviate the discomfort that usually accompanies a long-haul flight – I found myself alternating between resting one or both feet and adjusting the height to different moments of the flight to avoid restless legs.

Opportunity for improvement

It’s a bit fragile: For $16, I wasn’t expecting much, but I wish the footrest had a little more padding.

This doesn’t really work if a passenger reclines their seat in front of you: That was probably my biggest problem. I installed the footrest about an hour into a night flight and everything was fine. Then the person in front of me reclined their seat. Even if I reclined my seat as far as it would go, I found that I simply didn’t have enough room to do much with the gadget. I tried adjusting it several different ways, but found nothing to be comfortable. This may not be the experience on board every plane, but it’s something to keep in mind, especially if you plan to use it for some sleep. It’s worth noting that on my return flight it worked a little better when the person in front of me reclined normally instead of putting their seat on my lap. Can you tell I’m bitter?

What other buyers are saying

3.9/5 stars

1,400+ reviews

“Make long-haul flights in economy class bearable”

“This product saved my life,” said one Amazon shopper, who added that flying for more than 8 hours was “brutal,” especially “on an economy flight.” The reviewer said the footrest “helped keep my legs rested and maintained blood circulation” and added that it was “convenient and comfortable.”

Another shopper said the footstool helped him so much that he saved “over $1,000” by staying thrifty and “used that money to spend in Europe.”

Another reviewer said using the footrest left them with “less lower back pain and less leg and calf fatigue.”

However, some buyers warned that “in a real-world application” they were not actually able to use the plane’s footrest as designed, because “the spacing between economy class seats was insufficient so I can lift my legs enough.”

It’s a “great idea,” they continued, “but is not functional in many economy class situations.”

The judgment

An Amazon buyer reported using the floating footrest for airplane for a 15 hour direct flight, and it “helped a little, but not as much as I expected”, which I think is a fair summary. If you’re looking for an affordable way to make your flight a little more comfortable, give it a try – but personally I think unless you’re travel On an airline with plenty of legroom, claims that it’s a “lifesaver” are exaggerated.

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Meet the shopping expert

Hilary Hagerman is the editor-in-chief of Lifestyle & Commerce at Lifestyle Yahoo Canada. It helps Canadians understand what items are worth buying since 2019. She’s provided main coverage for every Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday, Cyber ​​Monday and Boxing Day for the past 5 years – so you can be sure she knows which offers are worth it (and which you should ignore).

The reviews cited above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.

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