Kidco Peadpod
Retail price: Around $60
Specs per manufacturer:
KidCo’s PeaPod™ the travel bed that does it all for the on-the-go parent! The inflatable air mattress helps protect baby from cold, damp floors while providing a comforting place to sleep. Great for outdoors because of its UV protection and wind screens. Zippered panels allow parents quick and easy access to baby from virtually any angle. The slick, easy to fold design makes it ideal for storage and use anytime. Weighs 4.75 lbs.
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Open Dimensions: |
47″L x 30″W x 19″H |
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Storage Bag Dimensions: |
14″L x 5″W x 14″H |
Findings: What a fun, useful item! I originally bought this little bitty fold-up tent to use in on vacation as a travel bed and on the beach as a place for my son to nap. It worked great for both purposes. It has plenty of mesh for breathability, and I would drape something over part of it to provide more shade when necessary. Now that we’re back from vacation, I take it outside with us, and my son naps in it in our back yard. It’s much easier than bringing a pack & play outdoors – and it keeps the bugs off.
The Peapod comes with a travel bag, an inflatable mattress, a sleeping blanket/pad, and a pump for the mattress. The travel bag is very handy, and the mattress fits into a sleeve on the bottom of the tent, so there isn’t a safety issue. Both the pump and the sleeping pad are of lower quality than the tent. The pump isn’t really necessary – you can blow it up by mouth. Given the widespread disapproval of using blankets with infants, I’m not sure why the sleeping blanket is even included. I’ve never used it. The floor of the Peapod is a bit slippery, and would probably be better if it were a no-slip fabric, but this really hasn’t caused my son any problems while sleeping. The Peapod also has four exterior loops so you could stake the tent down if there were a breeze. If your child is used to sleeping in a dark room, but it will be light at bedtime while car camping, I could see bringing this tent along and setting it up inside the bigger family tent. A lightweight fabric could be draped over part of it to reduce light.
Folding up the circular “pop up” design was a bit tricky the first few times, but is now easy. However, whenever I unfold it, it pops out with such force that it actually makes me cautious. I always hold it away from me when I open it.
The Peapod is made by Kidco, and comes in two sizes. I have the smaller of the two, and at 31” long, my son 10 month-old still has plenty of growing room left in it.