Samsonite Pop-up Bubble Travel Cot

...product follows on from the Samsonite Pop-Up Travel Cot (which I have also reviewed). It is a brilliant, innovative product and was one of the first of its kind on the market. It has won various awards including the Baby Gear Gold Award 2005 and the Mother & Baby Gold Award Best Travel Item 2005/6, which it fully deserves.

When our daughter became too large for the Samsonite Pop-Up Travel Cot (she was just over 8 months), our first ...
...the Samsonite Pop-Up Bubble Travel Cot (suitable from 6 to 18 months, although some sites say from 0 to 18 months). We had found the Travel Cot so useful and convenient while she was a small baby that it made sense to look at the next product in the Samsonite range.

We were keen to avoid conventional/traditional travel cots as they a) tend to be bulky to store and/or put in the car boot when travelling (even those so called 'compact' ... more

This product follows on from the Samsonite Pop-Up Travel Cot (which I have also reviewed). It is a brilliant, innovative product and was one of the first of its kind on the market. It has won various awards including the Baby Gear Gold Award 2005 and the Mother & Baby Gold Award Best Travel Item 2005/6, which it fully deserves.

When our daughter became too large for the Samsonite Pop-Up Travel Cot (she was just over 8 months), our first port of call, when looking to 'up-grade' , was the Samsonite Pop-Up Bubble Travel Cot (suitable from 6 to 18 months, although some sites say from 0 to 18 months). We had found the Travel Cot so useful and convenient while she was a small baby that it made sense to look at the next product in the Samsonite range.

We were keen to avoid conventional/traditional travel cots as they a) tend to be bulky to store and/or put in the car boot when travelling (even those so called 'compact' ones which are still the size of a large golf bag when folded down), b) take up a lot of room when assembled and c) have sides which are too high so cause difficulty when bending over to place a sleeping child in the bed - this is a big problem for me being somewhat vertically challenged (5 foot nothing!).

The Samsonite Pop Up Bubble Travel Cot provides solutions to all of these problems and more! It is extremely slim line and compact when folded down measuring approximately 33cm x 61cm x 10cm and it weights just 3 kilos which is considerably less than traditional travel cots (approximately a third the weight). It is so compact and light weight that you can easily consider taking it with you when you don't have the benefit of a car to travel.

When it is assembled it is also smaller than traditional travel cots whilst still giving your child room to sleep comfortably. It is approximately 96 cm long by 60 cm wide by 82 cm high. With regards to my difficulty in leaning over traditional cot sides, this cot solves that by having a side entrance panel which is far more convenient. In addition to these benefits, the whole unit zips shut using an integral mosquito net - which great when on holiday ensuring your child can sleep in a mosquito free zone (the mosquito net can tucked away in an integral pocket if not needed).

It is very simple to put up - the main body literally pops up and you just place the base in the bottom and two support rods in the top - and, once you have mastered the skill, it is equally easy to put away! Finally, it is made from 50% cotton and 50% nylon - your child only sleeps on cotton covered areas, the nylon bits are the mosquito net.

The only problems we found were:

1) if you want to put a sheet on the base, rather than use one of the baby sleeping bags that are the latest thing in baby bedding, you can't tuck it under the base properly as it uses Velcro to attach it to the main body of the cot. We got around this by not using a sheet as a) the cotton cover of the base is very soft against the skin, so no rubbing and b) you can sponge off any dribble stains (we did not have the pleasure of any more offending stains to deal with so can't comment on how well these would come off!).

2) the cot sits directly on the floor - that is, there is no gap between the base and the floor - which isn't really a problem unless the floor is cold. We got around this by putting a blanket on the floor first and then the cot on the top if we thought it was going to be cold.

All in all this is a wonderful product which has had loads of use in our family when away over night, for the weekend and even two weeks in Greece and I would strongly recommend to any parent but especially those of you with limited storage space.

You can buy the Samsonite Pop Up Bubble Travel Cot from

www.travellingwithchildren.co.uk for £44.99

www.urchin.co.uk for £49.99

www.boots.com for £49.99

On a final note, my daughter recently grew out of Samsonite Pop Up Bubble Travel Cot, aged just over two years old, so we have now bought the 'My First Ready Bed' which I hope to review shortly.

You may think that by buying three different travel cots/beds for my daughter I am spending a fortune and taking up more space than if I had just bought one travel cot. However, you would be mistaken! The cost of the three cots/beds put together is the same or just under that of the average price of a travel cot and, even when placed together, they still take up less space!

 

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