Sleep Tight, Little One: KidStyleFile’s Travel Cot Picks
Posted: April 21st, 2010Today’s post written by Miki
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Chances are, if you have a baby you either own or need a travel cot. Whether it be an intrepid camping expedition, a couple of weeks in Europe, or an overnight at Grandma’s, travel cots make life with a baby so much easier.
If you’re in the market for one, here’s a brief list of the key features to look for:
- It should be lightweight enough for you to easily carry – and if you’re going to be flying with it, the lighter it is, the more room you have for shopping at your destination!
- It should collapse down to be as compact as possible – you don’t want it to take up the entire boot of your car.
- It should be easy to assemble and dissemble – make sure that one person on their own can easily do it.
- It should come with a comfy mattress, but not a bulky one. There’s a fine line here!
Below are four travel cots that we at KidStyleFile can wholeheartedly recommend, and that tick all the above boxes.
1. The Phil&Teds Traveller: Yes, it’s lightweight (2.5kgs excluding the mattress), and yes it’s portable (all packed up, it will fit in the parcel tray of your P&T buggy or an overhead baggage locker). It goes together a bit like a tent, so if you can assemble a basic tent then you’ll find this a piece of cake. The top of the cot can be enclosed by zipping up the mesh cover, and the side mesh panel can be unzipped so that you can access the baby that way. The mattress is self-inflating and thermally insulating – although it’s thin, it’s actually very comfy. The cot is 130cms long, so you’ll get several years of use out of it.
2. KinderKot makes an excellent little travel cot. It weighs 3kgs including the mattress and it packs down to be only 45cms x 15cms making it the most compact of the four. It also has a self-inflating mattress, zippable mesh panels, a ‘windscreen’ and comes complete with a washable sleeping bag. The fabric of the cot is 50% UV resistant and fire retardant, and at 136cms long the cot can fit children up to four years old.
3. Baby Björn Travel Cot Light weighs in at 5kgs and has an extraordinarily easy set up – just one movement! The fabric is soft and cosy, the mattress is thick and cotton, and the mattress cover and cot fabric is all machine washable. The mattress cover and all the bits that come into contact with the child are Oeko-Tex approved, so you can be sure of no nasty substances in there. The cot is about 110cms long so it will take children up to about three years old.
4. It hasn’t landed in Australia yet, but keep an eye out for it soon. The Samsonite Sun & Sleep Pop-Up Travel Bubble Cot is a new product on the European market and it’s proving to be extremely popular. The smallest and lightest of all the cots featured today, it weighs less than 3kgs including the padded mattress, and at 110cms long it claims to be suitable for children aged 6-24 months. The breathable fabric panels offer 93% UVA and UVB sun protection, and the zip-up blackout panels make daytime napping easier.
From top to bottom:
- Phil&Teds Traveller $199.95 $184.95 at Minimee
- KinderKot $159.00 at Urban Baby
- BabyBjörn Travel Cot Light $395.00 at Babies Galore
- Samonsonite Bubble Travel Cot – currently not available within Australia. Retailing in the UK for £75.00 (approx. AUD$150.00) – we’ll let you know as soon as it hits our shores.
Please check individual stores for postage and delivery information. Also be sure to check the KidStyleFile Current Offers page, and the KidStyleFile Weekly Newsletter for discount codes to make sure you get the best possible deal – if you’re not a subscriber already then you can sign up here – it’s free!
