Review: Samsonite (Koo-di) pop up cot

samsonite bubble cot

One of the lightest travel cots on the market

The Samsonite bubble is something of a cult baby product. It was the first bubble shaped travel crib to appear on the market back in the early noughties and was groundbreaking for its ultra-lightness, portability and ease of assembly.

In 2009 the Samsonite bubble was bought by and rebranded as Koo-di, but is still being searched for on Google as the ‘Samsonite bubble’, testament to its word of mouth stock. But apart from the name change, the current Koo-di bubble cot is exactly the same as the original Samsonite bubble.

The bubble revelation

The first time I came across the bubble cot my mind was blown. It was at a big gathering of the clan one Christmas at the in-laws. I had just left our bedroom having wrestled with our playard for half an hour trying to get it up and all the bits in place. I popped in to my sister’s room to blow off some steam. She was serenely erecting what at first looked like a tent, except it was shaped like an oblong bubble. I had to ask her what it was. Wide-eyed I watched as she removed something colorful from a long, flat bag and it immediately popped up in to this 3 dimensional bubble. She then inserted 2 skinny poles in to the roof and a mattress in the base and that was it, done. In like… a minute!

Here’s a short video showing how ridiculously easy it is:

Up to that point I had no idea that such a travel crib existed – a travel crib that was actually EASY to travel with, as opposed to a crib that was just POSSIBLE to travel with (i.e. you could fold it up). Of course the very first thing I did after Christmas was get me one of these puppies!

VIEW THE KOO-DI POP UP TRAVEL COT ON AMAZON

For me, the Samsonite bubble was a revelation because of three things:

1. Firstly, it’s a complete cinch to assemble. No instructions, no half an hour set aside, no effort, no cursing… nothing.

Koo Di Pop up travel bubble cot2. It’s so light!! It’s just under 5 lbs so was a quarter the weight of my “travel” playard.

3. Its simplicity. It recognized the fact that if you’re bedding down somewhere just for the night, you don’t care about bringing along all the bits. You don’t need the napper, changer, musical mobile, any of that, you don’t even need the option to use it as a playpen. You simply want somewhere safe you can place your baby to sleep.

In fact the bubble cot opened up a world of possibilities for us. Up to that point with our first baby, we had shied away from over-nights at friends or family mostly because of the headache of packing up and re-assembling the playard. The bubble changed all that.

The bubble bursts

But inevitably… the downsides. Yes, there’s a few.

Unfortunately the bubble won’t see your child through to the transition to a bed. It’s for small babies only. There’s 2 models: the bubble bassinet and the bubble cot, according to the manufacturer suitable from 0 – 6 months and 6 – 18 months respectively.
Koo-Di-Baby-Bubble-bassinet-cotThe frame is very light so you’ll not want a bigger or very active infant in this as they could topple it over or roll around the room in it like a hamster in a wheel. I know because this is exactly what our son did with his, though I have to say it didn’t do him any harm as the room was completely child-proofed, and he had an absolute riot. He was coming up on a year and a half at that stage and that was his last outing in the bubble.

Another thing is comfort. There’s no denying the mattress is extremely thin, so you will need to place it on a carpeted floor and/or supplement it with extra padding underneath. But if you’re going to friends or family or even a hotel this is no biggie, just lay down a folded blanket underneath and your baby will be snug as a bug.

Or you could get the Koo-di inflatable mattress to place inside the bubble. It also fits inside the carry bag with the pump once deflated. It will add to the weight a little though (bassinet mattress, 750g; bubble mattress, 1.2kg).

And admittedly it is a little trickier to put back in the bag than it is to assemble. I could never get the knack of folding the bubble back the right way and always had to ask my husband to do it. Though he would always roll his eyes and twist it down and in to the bag while still reading the newspaper, so I think this says more about me than the cot. Here’s the process illustrated. No this isn’t my husband 🙁 I found this image on the internet.

Samsonite bubble cot fold-up
What did bug me about this cot though was the sheet issue. If you buy a mattress, you get a sheet with it, but you can’t get one separately. Not surprisingly it was impossible to find a sheet for the unusually shaped mattress so I used the smallest fitted one I could find, but it bunched up awkwardly in the corners – not in any way that would bother a baby but it looked messy.

I did love my bubble though

Wow, a lot of negative points there once I started writing them out, but oh how I loved our bubble! Yes it only lasted a year and a half, but then we only paid $60 at the time (now it’s $85). Still, a helluva lot cheaper than some of the other light travel cots.

But for what we wanted it for – a travel cot that would make overnights with a small baby doable rather than more hassle than they were worth – it couldn’t be beaten. It was super light, packed up so small you could slip it in your suitcase and hardly notice it and of course it’s just ridiculously easy to assemble, even for a manually dexterous idiot like myself.

After the hamster wheel incident, we put the bubble out to pasture in the garden where my son used it as a play house. With a scarf draped over the mosquito net roof, it also worked as a shady little den when smaller babies were visiting. In fact, it is still part of our family – our daughters drag it out occasionally for tea parties with their dolls.

Bubble updates

samsonite-sun-and-sleepKoo-di have since added the new Koo-di Sleep & Sun Pop Up Travel Bassinette to their range which has an integrated zip-up black out / sun blind that blocks out 93% of harmful UVA and UVB rays. The only other update to the bubble cot is they’ve added velcro straps at each corner if you want to anchor it to bed legs or other furniture.
All models have a built-in mosquito net on the sides and top.

Vitals

Weight: 4.8 lbs (2.2kg)
Dimensions: 40 x 24 x 27 inches
Packed: 60 x 30 x 18 inches
Price: $85 – $92
Colour options: Café crème, aubergine & white, lemon & lime, polka dot

BUY IT ON AMAZON

Recommended for:

Super light travel cot for a small baby that’s easy to assemble and disassemble and folds up small. Perfect for car trips and air travel, will easily fit in checked luggage.

READ MORE ON THE KOO-DI TRAVEL CRIB WEB SITE
or
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE CONSUMER REVIEWS ON AMAZON

Alternatively, other cribs I recommend

Also brilliant for air travel but more stable and durable…phil and tedsPhil & Teds Traveller Crib
$150
Doesn’t pack up as small but is more comfortable and durable…Baby-Bjorn-Travel-light2-silver200Baby Bjorn Travel crib
$239.99
That’s bigger, has add-ons and can also work as a playard…pack-n-play-playard-with-newborn-napper200x149Any Graco Pack ‘n Play
$95-$200


13 Comments Add yours

  1. Cloda Ryan says:

    Hi, I’m due baby number two in a few weeks and have been frantically searching the web for reviews of baby products when I came across your site. Is there a way to subscribe to get updates on product reviews as you add details to your site?

    Thanks again it is really great to get honest review from a real Mum.

    1. Grainne says:

      Hi Cloda, wow exciting times for you.. Yes a subscription box is next on my To Do list, will try and get up later today. Thanks for your comments 🙂

  2. ivana says:

    Hi, thanks for the review, it has been given me a lot of help. Question: When it is open and baby sleeping inside, how steady is it to be carried to another place without waking up the baby? Appreciate your time and thanks.

    1. Grainne says:

      Hi Ivana, it’s not really designed to be picked up and carried, there is no handle or anything for this. If it was a small, light baby you could probably move it if you were very careful but with a heavier baby inside, I think this would be difficult. You’d be better off with one of the Gracos (they all have wheels) or some kind of moses basket with handles. Hope this helps GR

  3. Bernadine says:

    Hey

    Is this cot suitable for a 2 year old? He is too tall for the camping cot but is used to sleeping in a big wooden cot at home; which means we can’t travel anywhere anymore without sleep issues!

  4. Grainne says:

    Hi Bernadine, sorry for the delay replying, was back in Ireland for the holidays. Happy new year to you!!
    If he is used to a big wooden cot he would probably find the bubble cot restrictive if he is very tall and maybe a little claustrophobic. Also at 2 years old you probably wouldn’t get much mileage out of it.
    Would you think about a toddler bed? We have an almost 2 year old daughter, she is still quite small, but I am thinking for our next trip which will be in August we may put her on this http://travelcotsandcribs.com/shrunks-tuckaire-toddler-bed/ which we have from our last daughter. It’s really good, works really well for the cot to bed transition, has wings at the side so they don’t fall out and it’s pretty long so you’ll get a good few years out of it. Good luck!

  5. Niamh says:

    Just bought a Sophie the Giraffe on your recommendation and saw that you have reviewed the bubble cot so I just have to leave a comment here too. Our bubble cot has now gone through two boys. My second son – nearly 2 years old – has just grown out of it. I can’t say enough good stuff about this cot, we used it all the time… and still do as a playhouse. I have to agree with the rolling around but only when they’re older and it never seemed to bother them or even wake them up! It’s so handy to travel with, fits in a suitcase. This product was the one thing I was always recommending to my friends.

    Thanks for all the tips, keep them coming.

    1. Grainne says:

      Thanks for your comment Niamh. I know! when I discovered that bubble cot a whole new world dawned… of hassle-free nights away and light luggage. Let me know of any other amazing products I should try out (my children are 6, 4, and 2 now)

  6. Niki says:

    Hi, I know it says 6-18 months but do you think it would be OK for a newborn? A few people have said they have used it before the 6 months age… What do you think?

    1. Grainne says:

      Hi Niki, My daughter slept in this pop up without a problem from 2 months old. Just make sure you supplement the thin mattress with blankets or something underneath the cot. best wishes xx

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