Holiday travel: This $16 airplane footrest is a 'godsend' for long flights, Amazon shoppers say — I put it to the test on a 9-hour red eye

Holiday travel is on the horizon — and if you've ever flown on a long-haul or overnight flight, you'll know that staying comfortable is key to making the hours fly by (see what I did there?). But if you, like me, are always trying to score the best travel deal, you're likely stuck in seat 43F instead of 1A.

Luckily, savvy Amazon shoppers seem to have found a solution — and it's under $20. Reviewers have been calling this $16 floating airplane footrest a "godsend" for airplane travel. It has more than 1,400 reviews and an average 3.9-star rating, and hundreds of Yahoo readers have bought it this year, too.

But does it actually meet expectations? I recently put the airplane footrest to the test on two 9-hour transatlantic flights — one of which was overnight. Read on for all the details on this gadget, plus my honest review.

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75100Expert Score

Airplane Foot Rest

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

Pros

• Easy to set up
• Folds into small pouch for travel
• Alleviates some discomfort and restlessness

Cons

• Doesn't work well in small spaces
• Feels a bit flimsy

$16 at Amazon

The details & how it works

The floating airplane footrest is a simple, foldable piece of padded fabric that basically creates a hammock for your feet. To use, simply hook its straps to the bracket of your open or closed tray table and put your feet in it until they're stretched out and slightly suspended. The airplane footrest has a lock to reinforce the strap and can be adjusted to fit your height.

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

While the adjustable strap makes it workable for most situations, it's worth noting that the gadget may not be compatible with all airline seats.

What I liked about it

It takes up no room in your bag: The airplane footrest comes in a soft pouch that measures about 8.5x2.5x2 inches — which means it can be folded easily into a carry-on or even your backpack.

It's easy to set up and adjust: Setting up the footrest takes about 2 seconds — just slide it over your tray table and adjust to your chosen height.

Provided (some) comfort: Did this change my life? No. And it had some drawbacks, which I'll get into below. That said, it was an easy and affordable way to alleviate the discomfort that typically comes with a long-haul flight — I found myself switching between resting one or both of my feet and also adjusting the height at various times during the flight to stave off restless legs.

Room for improvement

It's kind of flimsy: For $16, I didn't expect much — but I do wish the footrest had a bit more cushioning.

Doesn't really work if a passenger reclines their seat in front of you: This was probably my biggest issue. I set up the footrest about an hour into an overnight flight, and everything was going great. 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 just didn't have enough room to do much with the gadget. I tried adjusting it in several different ways, but I found that nothing was comfortable. This might not be the experience on every plane, but something to keep in mind, especially if you're planning to use it to catch some shut-eye. It's worth noting that on my flight home, it did work a bit better when the person in front of me reclined a normal amount instead of putting their seat in my lap. Can you tell I'm bitter?

What other shoppers are saying

⭐️ 3.9/5 stars

💬 1,400+ reviews

🏆 "Making long haul flight in economy bearable"

"This product saved my life," said one Amazon shopper, who added that flying for 8+ hours is "brutal," especially "on an economy flight." The reviewer said the footrest "helped keep my legs rested and keep the blood flowing" and added that it's "convenient and comfortable."

Another shopper said the footrest helped so much, they saved "over $1,000" by staying in economy, and "used that money to spend in Europe."

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

However, some shoppers cautioned that "in a real life application," they weren't actually able to use the airplane footrest as designed — because the "spacing between seats in economy class was insufficient for me to raise my legs enough."

It's a "great idea," they continued, "but not functional in many economy class situations."

The verdict

One Amazon shopper said they used the floating airplane footrest it 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 bit more comfortable, give this a try — but personally, I think that unless you're travelling on an airline with a lot of leg room, claims that it's a "lifesaver" are overstated.

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Meet the shopping expert

Hilary Hagerman is the Lifestyle & Commerce managing editor at Yahoo Canada Lifestyle. She has been helping Canadians figure out what items are worth buying since 2019. She has lead coverage of every Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day for the past 5 years — so you can trust she knows which deals are worth it (and which you should skip).

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

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