Customer Reviews

DEX Products Grab N Go Bottle Warmer BWC-01

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

I own two of these and have found that they are very nice to have when out and about with baby. This bottle warmer can chill and warm a bottle! Although the instructions don't mention this, I have found that you can chill the gel packs (in their liquid state) in the refrigerator. When you are ready to head out, you can wrap the cold gel pack around a chilled bottle and then place in the blue insulated cover. This bottle warmer works slower than the one you use at home, so plan on warming the bottle 5 to 10 minutes ahead of a feeding. This is so much better than feeding your baby an "icy" or not chilling your bottle and worrying about the milk going bad. Once used, these gel packs are in a hardened state and must be boiled to get them back to the reusable liquid state. I have found that you cannot skimp on the boiling time and that you must be gentle with the gel packs while they are cooling. If they get handled too roughly or bumped while cooling, the gel packs will harden up again. I think that this must start the chemical process working the same way clicking the metal disk does. While this warmer is not perfect, what else are you going to do with a cold bottle while at the doctors office, on a plane or at the mall? (I don't know about you, but I don't trust a stranger to warm my babies bottle for me.) I don't really understand the science behind this warmer, but I think it is so cool.

This isn't even worth the low price of $9.99. It never worked for me. I returned it to the store for a refund. I purchased a soup container for $2.99 and put boiling water in it. The water stays HOT for up to seven hours so I just warm my bottles in that. Works great! Don't waste for money on this.

If your bottles or the water you use is not cold or frozen, and you are able to prepare your bottles just before heating, this gadget may work for you. However, due to the nature of the cans our formula comes in, we have to premake and store our bottles in a thermal container with ice packs. During our recent air travel, we gave up on this thing and finally asked the steward for some hot water (which heated the bottle in 5 min). This warmer simply takes too long and didn't heat up bottles as warm as our son prefers them - which created bottle battles...not fun when you're traveling during Thanksgiving:-(

I bought this based upon the good reviews this has had, but it is a terrible product! The first time I put this product into boiled water for 10 minutes to enable me to use it again, it split, leaking the crystals all over my counter top. It ruined the pan that I had it in, and meant a lot of cleaning up - who knows if they are toxic or not? I returned it to Babies R Us for a refund and the woman at the desk said she can't believe the store still stocks them as they are ALWAYS being returned by people! Don't waste your money!

How It Works:
The Dex Bottle Warmer Grab 'N Go comes in 2 parts: the insulating bag and the warmer itself. The warmer warms by way of a chemical reaction, therefore it does not need any electricity. To use the warmer you simply curl the warmer into a circle shape and slide it into the insulating bag, then slip the bottle into the center of that. You then double click the starter disc (a small metal disc in the warmer) and wait for the warmer to warm the bottle. That's it.

After you have used the Dex Grab 'N Go you will need to remove the warmer from the insulating bag and boil it in water for 10-15 minutes before it can be used again. I ultimately bought 2 Dex Grab 'N Go's so that I could warm at least 2 meals before needing to find a stove.

My Dex Grab 'N Go's are now about 5 years old (purchased Aug 2005 & Jan 2006) and were used frequently for both my eldest and second child (so about 4yrs of using them several times a week). Unfortunately, when I pulled them from storage 6 mths ago to use for my third child, I discovered they no longer worked correctly. I've tried a few times, but no matter how long I boil them or how carefully I handle them now, they activate and begin to crystallize even while still cooling on the counter, rendering them useless. But again this was only after 4 years of frequent use and about 12mths in storage.

As I recall, it took around 5-15 minutes to warm a bottle depending on whether I was starting with a room temperature or chilled bottle and depending on how much liquid was in the bottle. For example, a room temperature 4oz bottle of breastmilk would take 5 minutes or less to heat while a 9oz bottle of chilled formula would take 15. (Yes, I am working from memory here, but I used it quite often and despite some reviewers statements that it takes longer, I can confidently say that I would not have put up with something that took longer than 15 minutes as I was always a feed-on-demand mother which meant baby was often crying during the warming process.) Whether it heats the liquid "sufficiently" is subject to the opinion of both mothers and babies. I can tell you that it IS possible to grossly overheat smaller portions (chilled or not) while a 9oz chilled bottle can only be brought to room temperature.

Pro's:

*To use this bottle warmer you do not need any source of electricity (no battery, no car lighter, no wall outlet). This means that whether you're in the middle of the zoo, the mall, or a swap meet, you don't have to hike it back to the car, plug in your warmer and wait 15-30 minutes like so many of the other travel bottle warmers require. (Which can be a huge relief when you're right smack in the middle of Christmas shopping, with a cart full of unpaid for items, and baby suddenly decides he's hungry 45 minutes earlier than usual.) It also means you can take this thing camping and hiking (okay so with kids it's probably more of a nature walk but the point is the same) and be completely at liberty to do as you please without worry about being near the car or a campfire.

*The warmer insert gets hot. And I mean HOT! Which is exactly what you want for a faster warming time. Just be careful handling it once you've clicked the starter disc. Make sure to keep it in the insulating bag until it's cooled down enough to handle safely.

*It wraps the bottle in 360 degrees of heat. Again, this is exactly what you want for a faster and more even warming time. Not all bottle warmers do this.

*No additional water is required. Many travel warmers still require you to have extra water from some source in order to warm the bottle. Then you have to dump that water somewhere once you've used it. The Dex Grab 'N Go eliminates those added hassles.

*Fits most bottles: bent, straight, fat, or skinny. In fact, I haven't found a bottle yet that doesn't fit. Admittedly it heats the skinnier bottles more quickly than the fat ones my kiddos ultimately preferred, but that seems to be universal with all bottle warmers as it is simply a matter of scientific fact that fatter things just take longer to warm. Also, the taller bottles do stick out the top of the warmer a bit more and may need a little shaking to even out the warmth.

*Because of its design it doesn't click off like electric warmers and continues to be warm for some time after it's reached maximum heat. This makes it good for keeping a bottle warm once it's been warmed up. (You know babies like to change their minds occasionally, or you might go to get them out of the car seat for a feeding and realize they've decided to have their first BM in 2 days and WOW you've got to do some cleaning before you can even think of feeding him. In which case keeping the bottle warm a little longer than originally expected can be very helpful.)

*Unlike the plug-in The First Years: Quick Serve Bottle Warmer I have at home (not recommended btw), the warmer itself doesn't decide how hot my bottle gets - I do. Many electric warmers shut off automatically making it impossible to warm the bottle beyond the preset limits. Whereas this warmer allows me to leave the bottle in the hot warmer for as long or as little as I please. This allows you to adjust the temperature to suit baby's tastes.


Cons:

*You can only use it once before it needs to be boiled again. (Again, I solved this dilemma by buying 2 & found that was all I needed.)

*The taller bottles do stick out the top of the warmer a bit more and may need a little shaking to even out the warmth.

*Very large portions (i.e. 9oz) don't get as warm as smaller portions (i.e. 4oz).

*They don't last forever. As I mentioned before, my Dex Grab 'N Go's appear to have stopped working sometime during their 12mths in storage after 4 years of frequent use. Still, at $10 a piece for 4 years of use, that works out to about $2.50/yr per warmer. Not bad at all in my opinion. And let me tell you, there were at least a handful of times that I thought to myself, "This one time alone is worth the $10. I can't imagine not having this!"


Tips:

*It can help speed up the warming process a bit (especially with large portions) to give a little shake/swirl to the bottle every couple minutes. (Think of it like stirring food cooked in a microwave.)

*When removing the warmer from boiling, handle with care so as not to accidentally set off the starter disc. They are most sensitive at this point. (Though this was a very infrequent problem for me. It maybe happened once in every 20 boilings.)

*After boiling, lay the warmer on a heat safe, flat surface to allow the liquid to distribute evenly in the warmer as it cools. This helps ensure even heating and makes inserting the bottle easier. I like to lay mine on a clean cookie sheet, although a solid trivet, large hot pad, or tile counter top would work as well.

Regarding other reviews:

With 2 young children my diaper bag was always stuffed to the gills, yet I frequently carried my unused warmer in it and, in 4 years of use, only once had it be accidentally set off in the bag.

Conclusion:
Not only do I recommend it, I'm going out tomorrow to buy a new one!

I tried a lot of bottle warmers out there and hated them all. They all took too long to heat up! I have read the reviews about this bottle warmer not being able to warm chilled bottles very quickly and I am offering my suggestions below. I even used to use this method for night-time feedings instead of the electric warmer, stove, or microwave. It's much quicker and easier in my opinion and you don't have to worry about keeping prepared formula cold to avoid spoilage. Also, the bottles I used were the hard kind, not disposable.

1.) For on the go travel: I either used the mini-packets of formula that come in those little sleeves OR I poured my pre-measured formula into those divided travel formula containers.

2.) Before leaving, I pre-warmed a baby bottle of water in the microwave (or your preferred heating method) with the correct amount of water inside just very slightly warmer than what the baby would drink.

3.) I then activated the warmer sleeve and wrapped it around the water bottle.

4.) I packed the diaper bag and then when the baby got hungry, the water was at the perfect temperature because the warmer had kept the bottle of water nice and warm and I just poured in my formula, shook, tested, and fed. There was no waiting for the bottle to warm up and I didn't have to listen to the baby scream while he was waiting for a chilled bottle to get warm!

NOTE: For night time feedings, it was easier to put the correct amount of formula into the bottle I was going to feed the baby (but do not add water). I then pre-heated a different bottle with water inside (I didn't put a nipple on this bottle, only the collar with a sealing disk over the hole [AVENT]) then wrapped the sleeve around it to keep it warm. Then when baby woke to be fed, I poured the warm water directly into the bottle that had the formula already in it, screwed the top back on, shook, tested temp, and fed the baby more quickly than an electric bottle warmer could heat up a chilled bottle.

I know it may seem like the above steps are time consuming but it really only takes a few minutes to prepare compared to waiting for 10 minutes for a chilled bottle to warm up in a bottle warmer and listening to the baby scream. If you are going to be gone on longer trips, I suggest buying more than 1 warmer.

I LOVE this bottle warmer! What a godsend! My husband sent me to Babies R Us to buy a better insulated container for our daughter's bottles and bought this (though, admittedly, I was VERY skeptical). It works exactly the way it has been described, and I have had no problems whatsoever in getting it to reliquify or warm up again. This is great if you are a busy mom, out running errands for the day, or just going to the park or mall for a couple hours to get some exercise.

I'm going to buy another as a spare and this will definitely be a gift I will give to every new mom to be.

I was looking for a way to warm bottles on the go. The options are very limited. I didn't want to have one that required electricity or a car plug in. I saw this item online and decided to take a chance. None of the reviews I read prior to buying told me how it worked. Essentially, there is a pack that you wrap around the bottle. You "activate" a warming chemical reaction by pushing a button. Then, the liquid changes to a solid while simultaneously warming the bottle. It works great! I used it 3 times last week and it worked perfectly!

I'm 50/50 on this one. I've used it w/ success, but it requires planning. I always activate it 30-40 minutes before I need it. The (bmilk) bottles warm well under these conditions. It took me a while to figure out how to handle w/ out triggering. I usually gently lay it across the top of my bag until I need it. I have 2 so I can rotate them if needed.

This is my theory, "you get what you pay for". It's $9.99. You get about that much quality and value. I'm satisfied, but they aren't as great as I'd like them to be.

I own one of these things and have used it once. To be perfectly honest, it is rather a pain. Yeah, it's cool that it heats up and all, but boiling the thing for 10 mins to get it back to its gel state sucks. It is also not very lightweight. I don't know about you, but with the amount of stuff I have in the diaper bag, the last thing I need is this thing weighing me down. I have found that keeping a clean bottle, a bottle of water at room temp and some powder formula (save your scoops) work the best for feedings on the road. And if you are at a resturant, it is far easier to just ask for some warm water. Then you don't have to come home and remember to boil this stupid thing. I wouldn't buy it again.