Review: Samsonite Pop-Up Bubble Travel Cot Deluxe34.99
Natalie writes…
I have a thing about travel cots - they annoy me. The word ‘travel’ is clearly supposed to be a ‘loose’ term because their quite cumbersome and take up a lot of space in the boot. And then along comes a product like the Samsonite Pop-Up Bubble.
The concept: A travel cot in a large moses basket format. The whole travel cot mallarky is made easier by Samsonite creating a compact, carry-in-a-bag-smaller-than-my-own-handbag travel cot.
Age: 6-18 months.
Set-Up: It is actually quite straightforward but…I wasn’t overtly keen on the instructions. It’s also a bit silly to tape the ’struts’ to the instruction with sticky tape because part of the page comes away them… It refers to ’struts’ in the plural for the canopy when there is only one needed which means you could, like me, waste a few minutes looking for the other entry… Very fast to setup overall.
In-Use: The bambino slept in this fine. She had no complaints and if she did, we’d have known about it. I would say that the mattress is a bit on the thin side but it does state not to place the cot on a hard surface so I’m thinking chunky rug, decent carpet, not hardwood floors! But the mattress is still a bit thin so personally I put an extra blanket underneath her. It’s a decent size, it’s got a zip mosquito net which serves the double purpose of stopping an overactive bambino from making a run for it, although I do suggest taking your bambino out of it once they are awake if they are mobile.
Any negatives: The mattress. The bambino is not in a position to say much so who knows what she thought of it, but I like a bit of padding in my mattress but I guess a thick mattress would affect its compactness. That said, stay away from hard surfaces and I think it’s great.
Folding away took 8 attempts the first time, 3 attempts the next, and 2 the next. In the overall scheme of things, it’s a doddle in comparison to traditional travel cots…however, there is a ‘knack’ that’s not quite conveyed in the instructions. It takes practice and I suggest doing it before you travel.
Overall: I do think that these are a brilliant idea, especially if you’re flying somewhere. It’s a travel cot, not a deluxe double bed, and after wanting to throw a travel cot out the window in the US after fannying around with it for 30 minutes, I recognise how invaluable the Samsonite Pop-Up Bubble is.
Suggestions: Not keen at all on the baby pink or baby blue. It is available in Cafe Creme and I hope they hear my pleas to go with black, or even a sulphur green.
Price: RRP is £34.99 and it’s £29.97 at Kiddicare. There does seem to be a more expensive version available also.
My rating: 4/5 This could be a 3.5 out of 5, but it’s practicality at the end of the day far outweighs my vanity.
I have tried the Samsonite, but far preferred the Nscessity pop-up travel tent, which we got from Amazon (via thebabycatalogue.com), which is equally as quick to assemble and put away, but has a much better mattress (it’s like a thermarest, for those who know what that is). It’s in two sizes, the larger of which was fine for Babyzilla when she was 6 months and will allegedly still serve as a travel cot when she’s 4. This site (http://www.safetots.co.uk/UV-Sun-Protection-Pop-Up-Tents_30.htm) does them in lots of colours, none of which were in stock when I needed them. Also has UV filter and can be a handy sun tent in the garden - win-win, I reckon.
Hi Ellie
Thanks for your comment and the tip off. I will check it out and make sure it gets a mention on the blog - we rely on recommendations from readers to steer us in the right direction. Ooh, a sun tent! I like it!