BevLedge? Ostrich Pillow? We Tried Out 5 of the Weirdest Travel Accessories

There's no shortage of travel accessories and gadgets making the rounds on social media, promising to make your trip through the airport smoother and your plane ride better. They range from the genuinely useful … to the downright ridiculous.
Case in point: 
 

 
We're all willing to try anything to make a long flight or layover a little more bearable, so our team at Thrifty Traveler put a handful of these items to the test on our recent trips. From the gadgets we'd pack again to those we'd never let take up valuable space in our suitcases, these are our official unofficial rankings of the weirdest travel accessories money can buy. 
 
Another Place to Keep Your Drinks
We'll start with the best, or maybe the most obvious. 
BevLedge is pretty self-explanatory: It's a ledge, for your beverages. What more is there to say? 
 

 
Officially, it's more than a drink holder: The BevLedge markets itself as an inflight window organization station. So I recently put the BevLedge to the test on the short hop from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Denver (DEN) and it worked exactly as promised.
The BevLedge unfolds easily to become a three dimensional drink holder that slides right into the airplane window. It was surprisingly lightweight and yet still plenty sturdy, with the ability to hold two drinks as well as a slot for a cell phone, too. And it solved a problem for me: There's not enough room for my drinks and devices on the tiny tray table back in economy. And it kept me from worrying about spilling my drinks, too – something that always seems to happen to me whenever the passenger in front of me reclines their seat, or if we hit some turbulence. 
Like some of the others on this list, I'm not sure if this accessory is explicitly allowed on planes. But the flight attendant who handed me my drink saw it, laughed, and said nothing  … make of that what you will. That said, you probably shouldn't have it up during takeoff or landing.
And whether or not this accessory actually works on your flight may hinge on what kind of plane you're on. The BevLedge may not fit inside all types of windows.
 

 
When not in use, the BevLedge folds down flat and can be easily stored in the seatback pocket or slipped back into your personal item. It's not overly bulky and doesn't take up a ton of space in your luggage or backpack.
 
BevLedge size compared to a 13-inch laptop
 
There's one big drawback to the BevLedge I'd be remiss not to mention: Your travel companion might suffer from secondhand embarrassment when you whip out this bad boy, maybe or maybe pretending not to know you for the rest of the flight. Just speaking from experience here. 
Would I pack it for my next flight? Yes, 100%. The BevLedge is something I didn't know I needed, and now I'm not sure if I can endure another flight without it. I'm only mostly kidding.
Sure, it's a little gimmicky, but it actually worked for me. And the $20 price tag isn't too bad either. Especially for a long flight or a flight where I needed to get some work done, having the extra space on the tray table for my laptop while not having to worry about knocking over my beverage was a luxury I enjoyed. 
– Senior Editor Allie Johnson
 
A Drink Carrier For Your Carry-On Bag
I've lost track of how many times I've struggled juggling a scalding cup of coffee in the airport – especially while trying to pull up a digital boarding pass on my phone at the gate. I need that coffee, darn it, but it comes at the cost of not looking like a total idiot in the boarding queue. 
So the “ Luggage Travel Cup Holder Free Hand Drink Carrier ” struck me as worth a shot. You quickly loop this handy trolley partner around the handles of your carry-on bag using velcro and you've suddenly got a cupholder on your bag – plus a spot for a smartphone and a few other goodies.
 

 
Let's be clear, this isn't perfect.
It was slightly too wide for the handles of my Away carry-on bag – and the velcro wasn't adjustable, either, meaning it slid to rest on the top of my bag rather than suspending in mid-air like the product advertises. That still works … but I certainly wouldn't want to risk putting a full-to-the-brim cup of coffee in here, lest a bump on the walk to the gate sends hot coffee flying.
More importantly, though: What happens when you actually board the plane? You have to grab your coffee, take this caddy off your carry-on, put the handle down, and shove your bag into an overhead bin – all with even more things in your hands. It adds another step at exactly the worst time.
 

 
Would I pack this for my next flight? This drink carrier is a good idea in theory. But in practice, I'll probably leave this at home and keep up my awkward juggling dance at the gate, hot coffee in hand. 
– Executive Editor Kyle Potter
 
A Better Seatback Pocket?
The folks at Airplane Pockets sought to solve a problem I and many other travelers have when flying: A lack of available storage space for your things in economy airplane seats. 
Their solution is this tray table cover that doubles as an alternative to the seat back pocket on airplane seats. 
 

 
I tested out the Airplane Pocket, which sells for $29.99 on Amazon and at airplanepockets.com , on a flight from Amsterdam (AMS) to Stockholm, Sweden (ARN) earlier this year. 
The pocket itself was easy to slip on. You just bring down your tray table, slide the open end over the table itself, and then re-secure it. I couldn't figure out whether this accessory was explicitly allowed, but no flight attendants said anything to me during the two-hour flight. 
 

 
The pocket does a good job of keeping sleeker items stored. It has a single big pocket, and then another row of smaller pockets for smartphones, glasses, water bottles, and more. It also covers the top side of the tray table if you're concerned about bacteria and germs. The whole thing folds down into about half the size and weight of a t-shirt. 
 

 
When you start to add bigger items, like my full water bottle, the biggest issue of this product arises: Things get a little … saggy. 
 

 
Generally, the weight of the items I was storing kept causing the pocket to droop into my lap, which felt less like I was storing my items neatly and more like I was just holding them in my lap, eating into my previous legroom. The pocket might have been more taut and more useful on a different airline where the tray table was bigger, perhaps. 
In the image above, I deliberately over-packed the pocket just to see how it held up…and it didn't really. If I were to use it again, I just keep headphones, a smartphone, and other small essentials in there instead.
Would I pack this for my next flight? Probably not. I really wanted to like the Airplane Pocket. In theory, it solves the annoying storage problem for me when flying. But the pocket sagged into my personal space too much, cutting away my already scarce legroom. 
– Travel Reporter & Flight Deal Analyst Gunnar Olson
 
Foot Hammock 
We're all willing to try almost anything to make a long flight, especially in a cramped economy seat, a little more comfortable. That's where the foot hammock comes in … kind of.
It's simple enough to set up: Simply slip the strap over your tray table and fold it back up – the foot hammock will hover just a few inches above the floor. Adjustable straps allow you to change the height to your liking. But actually getting your feet into it in a comfortable enough position to maximize its use? That was another story. 
 

 
It required quite a bit of maneuvering to get both my feet into the sling, and I definitely jostled my seatmate (who was luckily my fiancé and not a total stranger) in the process. If you've got a personal item stored under the seat like I did, that makes it even more difficult.
 

 
Once my feet were situated, I couldn't extend my legs fully, which sort of negated the purpose of the foot hammock for me. No amount of raising and lowering the hammock made it more comfortable. I'm only five-foot-four, but I can't imagine this product would work for somebody taller than me. 
Would I pack this for another flight? Sadly, no.
On paper, the foot hammock seemed like a slam dunk with how easy it was to pack and set up. In practice, it was more trouble than it was worth, and probably wouldn't work for most travelers. You're better off just reclining your seat and extending your legs as far as possible.
– Senior Editor Allie Johnson
 
A Unique Airplane ‘Pillow'
Let's end this with a whimper, moving onto the really weird stuff. There are tons of airplane neck pillows out there, but we're willing to bet you've never seen or even heard of the Ostrich Pillow . We certainly hadn't. 
I had the “pleasure” of testing the Ostrich Pillow on a recent flight. At first glance, it looks like it would be more comfortable than an ordinary neck pillow. You pull it over your head and can use it as a pillow while reclining in your seat. It doubles as a face mask to block out light on the plane. 
 

 
….or by pulling out your tray table and resting your pillowed head on it. The holes on either side are to rest your hands in. 
 

 
Want to see the Ostrich Pillow in action? Check out our review on Instagram!  
After trying this out myself, let's just say I had concerns. 
For starters, the Ostrich Pillow is large, making it hard to pack in a bag. And unlike the typical U-shaped travel pillows, you can't exactly walk to your gate with this pulled over your head. Or you shouldn't anyway. 
I also got incredibly warm when wearing it, to the point that it was uncomfortable. And speaking of comfort: To be honest … it just wasn't comfortable. At all.
We had to try this travel pillow out for the laughs, and laughs were certainly had. It's nothing if not funny to look at. As I told my coworkers: “I kind of felt like Admiral Ackbar flying a Delta spacecraft.” This pillow is a trap.
Unfortunately, those laughs come at a high price: The Ostrich Pillow costs a whopping $100.  That's way too much money to pay for a novelty travel pillow that hardly serves its purpose: You know, to be a pillow.
Would I pack this for another flight? Definitely not. It's too bulky and wasn't nearly comfortable enough to justify taking up so much space in my suitcase on any future trips. And at $100, almost any other travel pillow will be cheaper – and better. 
– Chief Flight Deal Analyst Jon Shallbetter
 
Bottom Line
Travel accessories you can use to improve your airport or inflight experience are a dime a dozen these days. You could easily go down a rabbit hole on Amazon or social media – the deeper you go, the weirder they get. 
We went all the way down the rabbit hole and picked up some of the weirdest. In what should be a surprise to no one, many of the items on this turned out to be more of a gimmick than useful. Yet we were also surprised there were a few we'd consider packing for our next trips.