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Is the Slumberpod Worth It? (NOT Sponsored Review)

Editor's Rating:
4.5

Is the Slumberpod worth it? You’ve likely seen it on social media and wondered, is this actually the godsend they say it is?

After some deliberation, I bought one and tested it so that we an answer the question once and for all: Will it help everyone get better sleep on vacation, and is it really worth $200?!

Here’s what you need to know before buying a Slumberpod (which I bought with my own money. This is not a sponsored post):

First, the Specs:

  • Weighs 5lbs
  • Assembled: 50 inches long, 36 inches wide, 56 inches tall. 
  • Disassembled: 17 inches long, 5 inches wide, 6 inches tall bag.
  • SlumberPod fits playards 39-40 inches long, 28-30 inches wide and 28-34 inches tall.
  • Safe to use for ages 4 months to 5 years old.
  • Approved for indoor use only.
  • Can use with or without fan (which Slumberpod makes).

The Idea Behind the Slumberpod

If you’ve ever been traveling with a baby and needed to share a room with them, chances are good you have sat in the dark, trying to be silent while they go to sleep a good hour or two before it’s your bedtime.

Or maybe the room is too bright, making nap time difficult.

Gone are the days of taping trash bags over the windows and praying they stick, friends!

The Slumberpod (use code bemytravelmuse$20 for $20 off) is basically a bottomless tent made out of blackout curtains. It’s a quick assembly situation with soft fabric, a pocket for a baby monitor, and two areas you can unzip for ventilation and a fan pocket. It doesn’t unzip all the way to the bottom or have zippers inside like a standard tent, so it’s safe from toddler fingers unzipping for fun.

It’s quite lightweight, and once assembled, you can easily lift it up and pop it over a pack and play, toddler bed, or in our case, the Guava Lotus Bassinet. It can also fit over some smaller hotel cribs.

Does the Slumberpod Work?

I admit, I was skeptical, and obviously every baby is different, but my son slept for almost 8 hours in the bassinet under the Slumberpod in the middle of a sleep regression.

The room was a very comfortable temperature – I could see it getting very stuffy in there if it were the summer, so be sure to use the fan in these conditions. I also used his usual white noise machine and had him in a sleep sack he loves. All of the other sleep cues we have at home remained the same.

There are a few things that make it a little tricky. If your baby needs frequent help from you, like putting a binky back in or if he wants to be fed in the middle of the night, bending over to give him a bottle can be quite a pain. If you have finally gotten your little one to sleep in the bassinet or crib, you’d better very careful and quiet zipping the Slumberpod closed.

Be sure that you also get the baby monitor in there before putting the baby down because moving it around just gives them something fun to look at when they should be sleeping, as I learned the hard way.

I’m also not sure if a baby or toddler might find it a bit disorienting to be put in a blackout tent if they are still awake, without some parental soothing, so it just depends on how you usually handle bedtime.

The Material

As someone who spends a lot of time outdoors, particularly in tents, I had to wonder if this was really going to be better than a standard camping tent.

The material is completely different. It’s stretchy, quiet (anyone who camps knows the sound of your campmate wrestling with a tent flap in the middle of the night), and soft. Also, unlike a tent, it’s meant to block out light.

It’s kind of a genius idea, to be honest.

Does it Travel Well?

I initially bought the Slumberpod only intending to use it on road trips with our baby. The trip that we planned to bring it on was initially meant to be a road trip, but some weather moved in and snowed on our route, so we had to fly instead. I still wanted to try out both the Guava Lotus and the Slumberpod, so we flew with both and it worked out fine. It’s pretty lightweight and compact.

Is it Safe?

Is the Slumberpod really safe to use?

According to Slumberpod’s FAQs, “SlumberPod passes all applicable juvenile product safety tests in the United States, Canada and Europe.

We submitted SlumberPod for an additional, voluntary assessment and expert opinion using advanced test methods. The evaluating doctor (selected by the independent, third-party lab – and not by the SlumberPod team) independently concluded that the product “presents a low hazard” for CO2 rebreathing.”

I wasn’t overly concerned, but even though I could have the vents open, I still didn’t completely, 100% zip the Slumberpod closed. It just felt to me like it could get stuffy in there, though I didn’t have the fan going and surely that would help. I also wanted the option to peek in periodically, too.

What Age is it For?

Slumberpod states that it can be used for infants four months and up, and with toddler beds all the way up to five years.

We used it with my son from when he was six months old, and I have a few friends who actually even use it at home all the time to create a truly dark sleep environment.

Which Cribs and Beds is it Compatible With?

We used the slumber pod with my Guava Lotus bassinet, and it fit perfectly. It is compatible with most pack and plays and mini cribs as well as toddler cots. You can check their website here for full compatibility.

If you’re unsure if it will work with a hotel crib, you can call the hotel to ask for the crib type or measurements and compare with the Slumberpod measurements, noted above in this post.

Is it Worth Bringing on a Flight?

I’d evaluate how much you’re going to be moving around, how difficult it’s going to be to cart everything, particularly if you encounter stairs, and what other gear is absolutely essential.

Obviously good sleep is important for everyone, but since we had to to carry our own gear all through train stations and stairs on a our trip to Japan with our baby, we left it at home.

When we travel without it, we just have to sit in the dark for a few hours if we’re in the same room. It’s much nicer to have the Slumberpod.

What I Don’t Like About the Slumberpod

When you’re putting the tent together, the two poles are incredibly long. Although it’s easy to put up with two people, be careful you don’t poke someone’s eye out.

On the other hand, it helps simplify things because there’s only two poles that cross like an X across the top.

I also wish there was an additional pocket to stick a sound machine into. I guess it doesn’t matter since you can always have one outside the tent, but I just like the idea of making it a little cocoon with sound inside so you don’t have to whisper.

Finally, the monitor pocket is useless with the wrong monitor. We first tried it with the Owlet, which didn’t work, but it did work with our cheap analog travel monitor. Here’s a list of compatible monitors.

We could still hear if there were any issues, but I like being able to look at my baby as well.

Is the Slumberpod Worth $200?

The answer to this question is going to come down to how easily your little one sleeps with noise or light. It also matters if they’re going to have their own room and how dark it is. But if you’re going to be sharing a bedroom, you might want to seriously consider how you’re going to keep it dark enough if you don’t want to go to sleep at 7:30.

You can purchase directly from Slumberpod (use code bemytravelmuse$20 for 5% off!) and then sell it when you’re done, which is exactly what I did.

Overall, I’m glad I had a chance to try the Slumberpod and Guava Lotus bassinet together. I genuinely don’t think I would’ve bought either one if it weren’t to test it so that I could write this review. But each item has turned out to be quite useful. I’d even consider using the Slumberpod for naps at home in the summertime when it’s bright.

Is it worth it? Since we travel a lot, I’m glad that I got one.

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*This is not a sponsored review, but some posts in this link are affiliate links that help me out at no extra cost whatsoever to you. Thanks for keeping our site going!

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