Advantages: Reasonable Price
Disadvantages: Rather large if backpacking

...Last summer I embarked on a 100 mile highland hike, carrying my equipment in a 75ltre capacity rucksack. We aimed to complete the expedition in 5 days. I felt that my current carry-mat was unsuitable as it was farily large and made from foam. I was recommended a thermarest by my friends, and tried theres before purchasing my own. I was impressed by the thermarest brand. They make really good quality equipment. I was faced with the choice of whether to go for the "ProLite" mattress from the "fast and light series" or the "Expedition" from "the trek and travel" series. I decided, that as I was on a student budet to go for the "Expedition". I bought the full length version as I am around 6ft. Perhaps going for regular would have been more advantageuous but if you really want to save on weight and size- chose "Prolite... Read review

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Advantages: Many uses & convenient
Disadvantages: Expensive

...I like to try new products and thought I would give these a go. The care mats are quite a good size and have a soft top layer with a waterproof backing (with a teddy print all over). They are very lightweight and easy to add a couple to your babies changing bag as an alternative changing mat. I initially used them to lay my baby on for some "nappy off" time happy in the knowledge that my carpets would not be soiled in the event of any accidents! I usually just put down an old towel but the care mats would save on that little bit of extra washing as they are disposable. It was when I began potty training my toddler I decided to use them to line her car seat with one in case of any accidents whilst travelling. They worked fairly well for this and I could just keep a pack in the car to instantly replace any wet ones. I... Read review

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Advantages: Very few of the problems you get with dance mats.
Disadvantages: Have to press much harder on the pads.

...This review is for a solid plastic Playstation dance controller. ** COMPARISONS ** I recently reviewed Logic3's PRO dance mat which I had before I bought this one too (having liked Logic3's approach to the dance mat). So have a look at that review if you want any more detail about some of the comparisons I may draw: http://www.ciao.co.uk/Logic3PRODanceMatReview5425756 ** GENERAL POINTS ** This mat retails for £41.99 from http://specialreserve.com/ and others for a similar sort of price. I got mine off www.ebay.co.uk for a bit less. Keep in mind that delivery can be quite high since the mat weighs 8 kg (9 kg boxed) - SpecialReserve members get free delivery on this item which could be worth looking into and could make it effectively a cheaper option that other shops. I've seen another brand of hard dance mat on e... Read review

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Advantages: Looks great (different to other mats), Responsive, Durable, Less sliding, Comfortable, Cheaper than arcades in long-run, Play at home, Practice
Disadvantages: Requires space to play, More difficult to store, Less of an arcade feel

...Intro. • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ This is a review of the Logic3 PRO dance mat, a better and ‘meaner’ version of the Logic3 dance mat. A dance mat is a video game controller made specifically for dance games such as Dancing Stage (UK version of Dance Dance Revolution), although they can be used with regular games. Dance games can be found for the PC, XBox, Playstation, PS2, some connect directly to the TV, and maybe some for some other games consoles, but the Logic3 Pro mat I am reviewing is for the Playstation (PSX) or Playstation 2 (PS2). I’ve only got a PSX so have used the mat on that. You can use a regular joypad/joystick with dance games but that would be no fun. You can also use the dance mat as the controller for regular games, which would probably make them quite interesting and a lot more challenging. Would be a bit... Read review

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Advantages: Quality and looks.
Disadvantages: Can move around a bit.

...------------------------- I'd just like to say that I've also just bought Logic3's hard plastic dance stage and will be reviewing that soon, so stay tuned! Also if either mat starts to suffer from any premature problems, I'll come back and update these reviews. UPDATED: I've written the review for the Hard Plastic one now so take a look at that too: http://www.ciao.co.uk/Logic3HardPlasticDanceMatPS424Review5427102 ------------------------- This Playstation mat retails at £17.99 over at http://specialreserve.com/ (not sure about delivery as I paid £7.50 membership to get free delivery on all orders and choose a playstation controller for a free gift - expect delivery to be about £4 if you don't join (as I recall) since dance mats are pretty heavy items to post!). I think simply.co.uk had it a few quid cheaper... Read review

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Advantages: Disposable, protects my bed when changing baby
Disadvantages: expensive

...Previously called Care Mats, Pampers Change Mats are disposable absorbant waterproof mats with a white soft top and a lilac coloured plasticy underside. The Change Mats are 60 x 60 cm and come in packs of 12. The current cost is £5.99 per pack (checked with both Boots and Tesco). They are designed mainly to put under your baby when changing napppies but can also be used for putting under a potty when potty training, to protect your furniture when your child is playing or eating, when your child is playing without its clothes and also as a protection for your clothes when burping the baby and for protecting the bed overnight for older babies. There is a warning on the side of the package that says they should not be used for children under 12 months on a soft surface where they are unsupervised such as a cot, bed or playpen... Read review

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Advantages: educational, nice to be able to visit people, see new places, have a break away from home
Disadvantages: stressful, noisy, plenty to forget to pack!

...I last went abroad in 1989. I had my first child in 1990. I haven’t been abroad since. Yes, there’s a correlation here somewhere – taking kids with you means more money, more hassle, possible difficulties with buying the usual baby supplies and worries about local healthcare. Being someone who follows the ‘anything for a quiet life’ philosophy, it is often easier to just avoid travelling long distances with young children, if you can. But of course, that’s pretty impossible. So we try to restrict it to a couple of long journeys a year, including the annual visit 180 miles north to see my relatives. I have four children. They are aged five, eight, nine and ten, so we have finally got over that wonderful baby/toddler stage where your car is filled with nappies, baby wipes, changing mat, toys et al... Read review

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Advantages: Prevents night-time accidents soiling your child's mattress
Disadvantages: Quite pricey

...My son is dry throughout the day, and is virtually dry all the way through the night, but we still have the odd “accident”. He’s coming up to five and has decided that the pyjama pants or “nappy knickers” as he calls them, are too babyish for him and now refuses to wear them. So looking around for a solution to the odd night-time accident led me to Pampers Bed Mats. Pampers have two similar sorts of products here – Change Mats and Bed Mats. The main difference is the size – the Change Mats are small enough to be put in your bag (square 60cm x 60cm) and carried around for baby changes. The Bed Mats are that much larger and have “bed wings” to allow you to secure the mat on the bed. These were what we were after. The reason we opted for this type of product was that I didn’t particularly want to use a rubber mattress protector... Read review

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Advantages: Ease of use - Good accessories -easy to fold down - confy for baby or toddler
Disadvantages: expensive ( but worth it for accessories)!

...We already had a pram/travel system (a second hand one off friends)! But we went to babies r us for an autobase for the car and came out £229.99 down! Purely because we saw this travel system and fell in love with it! The lovely lady in babies r us showed us all the special funky little moves this travel system makes! First (and most importantly for anyone who knows what a struggle it can be putting a buggy down when getting on a bus etc) this travel system needs only one (yes one) hand to do it! It takes a quick click and twist and the travel system is down! BRILLIANT! Although I say this is handy for public transport due to the size of the buggy it is very heavy compared to other buggys so you could srtuggle lifting it onto a bus or train (unless you have friendly drivers)! Next is the one click autobase that comes free... Read review

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Advantages: Versatile, easy to carry and store
Disadvantages: none

...I first bought these when I had my son 4 years ago, yes I hated the thought of putting my precious bundle down on any unsterile surface, I was simply not prepared to risk it! I have since had a baby girl aswell and still use them as I found they are not just for the paranoid mother who thinks that everything is unclean but they are in fact very useful pieces of kit. The obvious use for these is when you go to use baby changing facilities (many of which do not look very clean!) you simply lay one out on the existing mat and you can be sure that your baby is laid on something clean and also that your baby wont dirty the mat for the next baby who uses it! I also think they are great for when you are visiting people as i'm sure they dont want baby mess on their floor/sofa/units etc. When my children were first born I used to let... Read review

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