Customer Reviews

KidCo Peapod Portable Travel Bed

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I purchased my Peapod at the beginning of August to use while I was visiting two family members in the Northeast who both have very small apartments. I was traveling with my own two children ages 7 years and 15 months so the ability to transport myself, my children and luggage was important (I could not have managed a pack-and-play!). Traveling with the Peapod was great! It was small enough that I was not overwhelmed with another huge bag. My 15 month old daughter is very busy so having a bed that contains her during nap and bed time was essential. The first time that she used the peapod was on the trip, and she liked it just fine. I was initially very concerned with her size (as she is tall - 80 percentile for height) being compatible with the bed, but it has not been a problem. I figure I will be able to use this bed on trips until she is about 2 years old.

I noticed comments about heat being an issue. I have not had that problem. One of the places I stayed had no A/C and it did get warm at night, but my daughter didn't seem uncomfortable. To solve the pad that slips around I just put the inflatable mattress fuzzy side up inside the peapod (and not in it's little zipper pocket) and then I put a pack-and-play sheet on it. Works great! The sheet doesn't slip, and I can use the "pad" as a blanket (if necessary).

As for folding it up, I haven't had a problem. I folded it the first time out of the box without a hitch. Look at the Kidco internet site for instructions that work. You shouldn't have to use brute strength or force it. I am small and consider myself weaker than many, and I have not had any problems folding it. You might practice folding it a few times before you travel with it if you are concerned.

We have used the Peapod several times since I bought it (August and early September was vacation time for us). My daughter loves it now, and when we are traveling and she is tired, she will go lie down in it by herself (which is saying a lot!)

I would highly recommend this product to anyone with a baby or young toddler. I look forward to using it with my next child on day trips, weekend trips, and extended vacations. This travel bed is much easier to transport than a pack-and-play!

I bought this item as a replacement for my (big and heavy) pack & play for when we travel overseas. It looked pretty good online but some of the reviews gave me cause for concern i.e. difficulty in folding away and the mattress pad being loose and a possible hazard. Still, having thought about it I ordered it anyway thinking I could always return it if it really was that bad.

When it arrived the box was pretty battered but everything inside looked ok. On opening the bed it opened so fast I didn't see how it was folded and I thought "now, that's it, I'm never going to get this shut again". I read the folding instructions and started. 10 seconds later it was completely folded with it's holding band firmly secured. No problems there then!

Next I inflated the mattress in about 1 minute (by mouth as the hand pump really is worse than useless as reviewed previously - cuts down on travel weight) and slotted it inside the zippered section. So far so good!

With the 'loose' mattress pad in place I put my sleepy 5 month old inside...no complaints. 5 minutes later she was sleeping soundly (without the pad wrapped around her head I might add, the pad wasn't even ruffled. I may add a bit of Velcro to ensure the pad stays in place should my daughter have a particularly restless night at some point in the future.

So the moral of the story is, read the reviews but take them with a pinch of salt and try it out for yourself before you condemn a product.

I'm really happy with this little travel bed, it's small, light, easy to put up and down and my daughter fell asleep in it minutes after I'd set it up - a mother's dream!

Update now that baby is 14 months: We still use the Peapod in the tent and outdoors when camping. It still works great - my baby will go inside, I zip it up and keep an eye on her so she doesn't "roll" the Peapod over, but she just hangs out inside and goes to sleep on her own. She seems to like watching everyone, and I like not worrying about her rollling off of a Thermarest and getting hypothermia at night. It's also nice to have a "bed" that we can bring along when hiking and use when hanging out for the afternoon. We just returned from a 10-day trip to Yellowstone, where it was in the 30s / low 40s every night, and she was toasty warm. I didn't think we'd use the Peapod this year, but it's working great!

Original review: I purchased the Peapod to take a 7-week old camping in a tent with 4 other people and a dog. I wanted something to keep her from harm's way and we didn't have room for the pack 'n play.

My daughter loves sleeping in the Peapod, and it was great to take with us to hang out at another campsite, and at the beach. It's very portable and easy to transport.

I didn't have any problems folding it. You do need to follow the instructions on the box, but after a few tries it's easy to do. I also recommend practicing folding it up at home to get the hang of it.

I have no complaints about this product other than that I wish it had a sheet rather than a sleeping pad, for safety's sake with a young infant. I plan to make a sheet or try a pillowcase over the pad when I have time.

I highly recommend this product when space and portability are essential. But it wouldn't constrain an active older baby if that's what you need. It works great as a hang out or a bed, and would probably fit a sleeping child up to about 2 years.

I wish they had this when my other 2 children (5 & 3) were babies.

We got this when we traveled to visit family when our second child was about 4 months old. It is certainly a compact bed that is easy to set up and take with you, and is about the size of a large diaper bag. The only reason I didn't like it was because of the pad it comes with. It is fairly thick, which is nice, but it does not firmly attach to the inflatable matress, which could be a suffocation hazard for small babies. For waterproof-ness, you could put a waterproof changing pad on top of the air mattress, as the mattress fits into a pocket and the baby does not actually touch the mattress. Then you could just spot-clean the actual bed as needed. We ended up using it for our toddler, who was about 20 months at the time. It took her about two times sleeping in it before she fell asleep easily, and it would be wise to discern whether your child has a problem being confined. For our 20 month old, she could sit up and move around but definitely not stand. Overall, a good product but there are issues that may not be suitable for all families or all situations.

I bought this product for travel, and really like how compactly it folds up, etc. I have one additional comment (note to the manufacturers)--this travel bed has a removable pad that lies on the bottom of the bed; the pad has nylon fabric on one side and a thicker padded cotton on the other side. I presume the pad is removable so the user can wash it, but because my son wriggles around a lot, the pad ends up in a wad in the corner, making it useless for protecting the bottom of the bed from accidents or spills. I would have liked to have seen some way to remove and re-attach the pad to the bottom of the bed, perhaps with velcro. Also, in response to the person who thought the Pea Pod might have made her child too warm, I also thought it made my son hot, but I thought maybe it was because of the same removable pad--it is padded like a thin comforter, which I think probably makes him warm when he lies next to it. All in all, a good product, but it could be improved.

I have used this bed extensively and have recommended it to others who have purchased and enjoy this item. But read the reviews to see if it is a match for you. FOLDING-no problem, but if you have trouble folding sunshades for your car, don't buy this bed. PORTABILITY-small, lightweight, easy to set up, and easy to move out of the way (I put it on top of my bed during the day-try doing that with a play yard!) MATTRESS PAD-bunches up. I'm not a fan of velcro, but if you are, add some. I think I'd like to see loops and snaps, like my play yard has. AIR PUMP-not so good. But the mattress is small and easy to inflate by mouth. RED VERSION-wasn't available when I bought this one. It has extra framework to prevent the head and foot from "caving in" as mine (and all the tents we've used for any length of time) has.

After reading several reviews and finding that the most common complaint was in getting it folded after opening it, I felt up to the challenge b/c everything else sounded perfect for our upcoming travels.

First, when we received the product, the company (Baby Age) from which it came did not bother to box it in anything other than it's own manufacturer's box. Apparently from their warehouse to my home was a rough journey. It was so mangled I had to send it back for a new one. I requested that they package it properly for round two. It too arrived the same way without a box but b/c we were so pressed to have a place to put our 8 month for our trip two days later we opened the mangled box in hopes it was not damaged.

It appeared to be functional. We opened it slowly (if you don't then it will pop open and potentially perplex anyone who may have to fold it back up). We then folded it with no problem at all. Then we decided to do a dry run to see if our 8 month old would find comfort in it. About 1 minute after I put him in there, I watched him move around (as infants often do) and his face ended up pressed against the non-breathable solid nylon material that is the perimeter of the tent. I put my nose and mouth against this material and could not breath at all.

I am truly sorry to say that I could not imagine allowing my baby to sleep in this potential SIDS tent. He could simply roll over, fall into a deep sleep with his face against the side and that would be that. Also, when you unzip the mesh "windows", the fabric, even when rolled up and stowed, does not prevent the solid nylon walls from falling down over the bed. HORRIFYING.

The designer/manufacturer would have been wise to make the walls of this product ALL mesh.

Needless to say, we sent this one back too, for both mishandling and money NOT well spent. It is probably clear that I would not recommend this to anyone for any reason. It is simply scary. Our baby ended up in a borrowed hotel crib at our travel destination.

This is the most incredible item (bed/shelter) we have eve taken camping for use with an infant!

My sister, who works in a pediatric ER called me to warn me about these beds. She is still shaken up over the death of an infant last Friday. The baby was staying with it's grandparents and they bought it a Peapod Portable Travel bed, however the infant got trapped and suffocated in this bed. Perhaps it's safe for older toddlers but DO NOT put children under a year old in these beds!

We bought this travel bed for our 10 month old daughter for a 5 week trip to Europe. Our daughter is very particular and wants only her own crib. We knew that we'd have to find something that she'd like and that would make her feel secure even though we'd be traveling around the continent. We were so nervous about how she'd sleep in it. Well, it turned out better than we'd ever dreamed!!!!!! She napped in it well during the day anywhere we went and slept in it all night long. She felt secure in it because it was comfortable, zipped up, and we would throw a blanket over the top to block out sunlight if we were in a park or something. It was so light and easy to pack up - we never had a problem with folding it up. Everyone that saw it wanted one for their kids. We were especially thankful when we went to a park and we found ticks everywhere but she was safely napping in her travel bed. It keeps out all bugs! We can't rave enough about this bed, it was perfect for us, sturdy and comfortable and really easy to use. Most of all our daughter gave it 5 stars which is what really counts. She is now 13 months and we still use it occasionally if we are out all day at the beach or a park.

It's worth every penny (and more)!