Customer Reviews

Kidco Peapod Travel Bed in Red

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We ordered 2 of these from different sellers for our 18 month old and 3 year old. We are on the road a lot and they worked great in our RV and hotel rooms instead of lugging a bigger (heavier) pack and play around. Plus, they fold up very easily. I like that this one came with a washable sleeping pad. The mattress is like a swimming pool float that you blow up (there is a pump included, but blowing it up is just as easy). I guess they've never had any problems before, but ours unfortunately developed a hole quickly. Thankfully, Kidco replaced our mattress with no problem. The other version we got (the P102) is a slightly newer model and has a self-inflatable mattress like a camping sleeping pad. I love the peapod but would recommend getting the P102 for travel instead. It's easier to inflate and the mattress is just more substantial. I also learned later that there is actually a larger model - about 5-6 inches bigger in every axis, so you might want to consider that depending on your travel needs and the size of your child. These littler ones have worked great for us and our kids are on the tall side.

We use this for our four month old grandchild when she comes to visit so she has a place to nap during the day downstairs in our den or living room. We also use it on vacation so she has someplace to sleep on the beach and poolside. However, to decide if this is right for you, keep the following in mind:

1. This is extremely lightweight and portable, folds up easily (if you follow the directions) and compactly (it can fit in a large suitcase). You can easily move it from room to room in a house or into your backyard, and can also easily travel with it by plane, bus, or train, which does not permit you to take as much stuff as when traveling by car.

2. The inflatable mattress is sufficient, and does not take long to inflate with the included air pump. However, this is not a high quality inflatable, and therefore does not have a "tongue" that opens when you pump air into the intake nozzle and closes when you stop pumping to keep the air already in from leaking out. As a result, in order to finish inflating this, I had to blow it up by mouth (not a big deal) because using the pump (which is also not high quality) did not get air in quickly enough to keep it fully inflated toward the very end.

3. The unit says on it that it does not provide complete sun protection, which is very true. For use outdoors at the beach, poolside, or in your yard you need to put this under a beach umbrella or portable tent (I bought the Quick Shelter at Costco) or in the shade of a tree to protect your child from the sun.

4. I have read reviews that say this is much easier to bring than the Pack n Play (which I have reviewed on Amazon). True, but if traveling by car, as we plan to do, it is not that hard to transport the Pack n Play, which I much prefer my grandchild to sleep in during the night, especially since it has an attached changing table.

Bottom line: I brought both this unit and a Pack n Play on a recent beach vacation for a week. The Pack n Play is much too cumbersome to use on the beach or poolside, but is a great temporary substitute for a crib inside the bedroom of a condo. By contrast, this unit provides a very convenient way to have instant sleeping quarters for my grandchild indoors and outdoors in all different locations, but is not my choice to use at night because my grandchild seems much more comfortable in the Pack n Play, which is a lot more spacious (this unit is only 47"L x 30"W x 19"H). Also my grandchild is restless when she sleeps, and has already rolled partially out of this when sleeping on my living room carpet. That is not an issue when I am keeping an eye on her during the day, but at night I don't want that to happen, and it can't happen with the Pack n Play.

We used this every day for my four month old grandchild on the beach and at the pool during our week long vacation. This was easy to transport, and under an umbrella at the beach or with a towel on top at the pool, kept my grandchild comfortable while sleeping and out of the sun. The beach was very windy some days, but zippered closed this offered some wind protection, and withstood the wind very well. However, this definitely would not have worked well for sleeping at night since it is relatively small and my grandchild is restless. Therefore for sleeping at night time we used the Pack N Play.

Great for travel. I used for my daughter at 7 months and 1 year. I made some modifications to the pod. I added velcro to the inside cover. The air mattress made noise when my daughter moved around. I added a small blanket to go between the air mattress and the tent. There are some models that already have these changes for the same price. Check the specifications to make sure you purchase the one with these updates.

Great idea. Travel necessity. We used it with our daughter who won't sleep any were but in a crib, for naps when we are out. it is small enough to keep in the trunk and hardly take up any space.

Also great for travel. Would have saved us over $100 in airplane baggage fees if we had found it before taking the pack'n play with us on flights to visit family that didn't have a crib. Haven't flown with it yet, but we checked that it fits in our luggage with plenty of room to spare. Practice with it at home for naps before you use it out though.

Word of warning. Closing it is a little confusing. You will probably get the hang of it within a few tries, but if you expect someone else (babysitter, grandparent) to close it be sure to teach them and/or include the instructions. A friend who was watching our daughter couldn't close it, so she couldn't bring it with her when she dropped our daughter off. My husband went to her house later to get it, but really didn't know either. He was a little too forceful and bent it forcing it in the bag. Needless to say it wouldn't work after that, so we had to buy a new one. It is worth it though, because I haven't found anything that works as well. Just know that it doesn't take a lot of force to close it, but it does to break it :-) .

We were vacationing out of town and staying at a relatives house. They had limited space and we needed a safe place for our 1 year old to sleep. The pod was perfect! It's light and compact for travelling purposes and our 1 year old was unable to get out of it and slept in it without a fuss. I would highly recommend it to anyone. And... now that we're back home my 4 year old likes to sleep in it instead of his bed. It's like camping out in his own room :) Great quality product!

I am in a condo, and have a spanking brand new godson... He is 8 months and spends the night periodically. I got this and what a blessing! It collapses into nothing in no time and fits on the closet shelf. Marshall loves it and slept like a baby last night ... He seemed to innately know that this was his space. The bed is now collapsed and on my closet shelf!

I took one star off for the lack of creativity with the inside "blanket... I am not a big fan! It slips and slides around even when i put another of his blankets over it. With a little velcrose and some creativity this could have been done so much better. Definitely not a deal breaker but worth 1 star!

we wanted a travel bed for our infant that didn't take up too much space in the car, didn't weigh a ton, and would last for years as he grows and this one has been the perfect fit for us!

my favorite parts about it are...
- the compact size when it's folded up
- setup takes 5 seconds and most of that is unzipping the bag, then you just give the tent a toss and it pops right open
- folding it up takes some patience the first few times but if you follow the instructions included it's not that hard
- we can use it anywhere - in the bedroom, at the pool, camping, or anywhere he needs a nap when we're out

the only negatives i can find are...
- the pump it comes with is just a cheap inflatable pump and broke the third time we blew up the mattress. this is easily solveable by purchasing a better pump.
- the zipper is a little lound if you use it when the baby is sleeping - you have to go very very slow for it not to wake them up (i actually don't bother zipping him in there)
- the same complaint most have is the blanket issue. i solved this for us by making a fitted sheet for the mattress and instead of putting the mattress in the pocket just put it on the floor of the tent for the baby to sleep on, we don't even bother with the "blanket" that it came with. this way he doesn't need a blanket that will slide around and when he drools or spits up on it all i have to do is throw it in the washer.

this tent has been the right choice for us and i would recommend it to others over a big clunky pack and play

We ordered this crib because it was smaller than the bjorn and we liked that it zipped close since we're traveling somewhere buggy. But it is not well made at all. The pump arrived broken, so we blew up the mattress by mouth. Once it is inflated, it is virtually impossible to get all of the air out of the mattress to fold it back up. The sleeping pad is not only bigger than the floor of the tent, but it is not secured by anything, so there is nothing keeping baby from covering her head with it, which seemed like a major suffocation hazard to me. Plus, the sleeping pad marterial didn't feel comfortable to me and there is horizontal stitching across it. I can't imagine it's comfortable to sleep on. There is also no way to use sheets, so you're in trouble if baby has an accident while you're traveling. We sent it back and went with the bjorn.

Family and friends love this travel bed. It's lightweight, easy to set-up, and put away. My 10 month old twin boys love playing in it as well as sleeping in it and my 3 year old niece really enjoys sleeping in it too. I'm so glad this one comes with a pump... and for the price compared to the others with a pump... you can't go wrong.

this is awesome. i use it for travel or going over to family or friends house and my daughter has a place to sleep. it folds up into the small bag so its easy to tote around. very happy with it.