The Best Travel Cribs Review

Best Overall Travel Crib

BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light

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$299.00

at Amazon

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The BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light is easy to use, lightweight, and compact making it a super portable option great for travel. It uses materials free of flame retardants, and it has the most comfortable mattress in our tests with a soft and firm pad that has a soft cover. We like that the BabyBjorn is easy to set up and fold with a useful travel bag that the crib fits in nicely without a struggle.

While the price might make this option a no-go for some families, we think it's an excellent choice if your budget allows. This crib is a quality option that feels sturdy and has a higher-quality design.

Read review: BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light

Cool Side Open Crib

Lotus Everywhere

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$209.00

(16% off)
at Amazon

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The Lotus Everywhere by Guava is a stylish portable crib with a somewhat unique zippered side opening for snuggling with your napping baby. This eco-health option uses materials without flame retardants and has a soft mattress. It folds down into a compact and lightweight package with a unique backpack style bag with straps that leave your hands free. The Lotus is easy to set up but harder to close and fit in the bag than some of the competition.

While this option isn't as high quality as the BabyBjorn, it comes close and is just as comfortable for your baby with a lower price that can save you significantly. If lower cost and straightforward carry bag are high on you want list, then the Lotus is a crib to consider.

Read review: Lotus Everywhere

Best Portable Crib on a Budget

Graco Pack 'n Play On the Go

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$80.00

List Price
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The Graco Pack 'n Play On the Go is a budget-friendly portable crib/play yard that includes a bassinet for use with infants. This crib is average for ease of setup and folding, with a travel bag that is large enough to prevent frustration when packing it away.

This product potentially uses flame retardants, and it is heavier and larger than most of the top-ranked competition making it a no-go if your space is limited or you have difficulty lifting heavy things. Despite this, it is a good choice for families with a tight budget who want a multi-use option with above average performance. If you must have a travel crib or play yard and money is a factor, then this Graco can't be beaten.

Read review: Graco Pack 'n Play On the Go

Analysis and Test Results

For this crib review, we tested eight popular portable cribs using a rigorous testing process including in-house lab testing and real-world use to determine which features are the most important and which cribs have the best performance. Testing is designed to expose the details you need to find the right travel option for your family and wallet. Results from testing impact the metric and overall scores with an emphasis on ease of use and portability.

Award-winning cribs for travel are easy to set up and fold into their travel bags. They are lightweight, relatively compact, and easy to carry or fit in smaller spaces so you can quickly stow them on public transportation or in crowded trunk spaces.

Related: How to Protect your Infant from SIDS and other Causes of Sleep-related Deaths

Value

Because a travel crib isn't truly an essential piece of baby gear, you may want to keep your budget in mind when making a choice. However, there are options that perform well and come with a reasonable price tag, or there are options that are high-quality and can be used for more than one child thereby dispersing the price over a longer lifetime. The Graco On-The-Go Pack N Play is a versatile travel crib that works as a playpen and infant bassinet. Multiple functions build a value that goes beyond its low price. The Lotus Everywhere is more expensive, but the quality is evident, and the crib can also be used as a smaller playpen and bassinet increasing its overall use and extending its lifetime.

How easy it is to set up a crib can be the difference between fun with baby and a headache.

Ease of Use

Ease of use for traveling crib includes how quickly they set up, fold after use, and fit in the travel bag. Given the overall lack of features found in these cribs, there isn't a lot to compare side-by-side. We did not test ease of use for the accessories as these varied widely from crib to crib and were not comparable.

Set up time for these products varies widely between 3:10 minutes to over 27 minutes for the initial setup. This time decreased considerably after repeated attempts, but the harder cribs remained challenging. While you will get better at setup over time, you won't be able to make a convoluted process a simple one no matter how much experience you get.

The BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light earned the high score for ease of use with a 9 of 10 and an average setup time of 1:37 minutes after repeated tests. This crib requires you to unfold it, lock the legs (above left), and secure the mattress (above right). This short setup time means you'll have a sleepy baby resting soundly in no time flat after a long day of travel. The Phil and Teds Traveller, on the other hand, earned the lowest score with a 2. This crib takes an average of 8:34 minutes to set up even after significant practice. The Traveller requires complete assembly and dismantling every time you use it. By the time you get it set up, your baby could be wide awake and excessively crabby. This time seems excessive to us; it seems even worse when you realize that the second longest setup time is half that of the Traveller at 4:12 minutes for the KidCo TravelPod. Most of the competition is closer to 2 minutes as the Graco Pack 'n Play On the Go takes an average of 1:47 minutes and the Lotus Everywhere requires 2:13 minutes.

The Phil and Teds Traveller requires complete assembly each time you set up (parts on the left) while the BabyBjorn has only two parts and sets up quickly.

We also test ease of folding the products and fitting them into their travel bags. This experience varies and often corresponds to the ease of opening and setup, but other times it didn't. The BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light is easy to open and close and is the easiest to fit in its travel bag thanks to its smaller size and well-designed bag. Alternatively, the Lotus Everywhere is easy to set up but difficult to fold and fit into the bag. Sometimes we failed to fit it in the bag and had to open and refold it for it to work. The Phil and Teds Traveller is the hardest to open, close and fit into the bag. The crib parts need to be precisely arranged in the bag to ensure everything fits since it doesn't fold like the competition.

The Lotus Everywhere is the only product we tested that offered a hands-free carrying option like the backpack straps.

Portability

One of the main uses for these cribs is providing a safe sleeping space for baby when you are traveling. If a crib is too heavy to lift and carry or too large to stow in small spaces, then it isn't going to be a stress reliever but a stress creator. For this reason, we think portability is one of the most important features for cribs you use for travel. The smaller and lighter a crib, generally speaking, the better.

Depending on your fitness level or the kind of travel you plan to do, you may have some wiggle room in this metric. If you are a bodybuilder with an SUV and you are driving to your destination, then a more substantial option might work. If you are petite and traveling alone with your baby on a plane, then the weight and stow-ability will likely override most other considerations.

The Phil and Teds Traveller is very small and super easy to carry over long distances.

The Phil and Teds Traveller is the lightest product in this review with an in bag weight of 7.4 lbs. It also happens to be the smallest when folded/dismantled measuring 6.5"H x 27.2"L x 8.8"W. However, it didn't score well in other metrics and the setup time of over 8 minutes may negate the small size and lighter weight.

On the other hand, the BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light weighs 12.8 lbs, measures 19.5"H x 23.6"L x 6.6"W when folded and scored well in every metric earning the top overall score. The addition of 5 extra pounds may seem like a lot, but when you consider that the Joovy Room2 weighs 26.8 lbs it will seem feather light in comparison.

This side-by-side comparison of the largest folded crib (4moms) and the smallest folded option (Phil and Teds) shows the dramatic size difference between the portable crib options we tested.

The Phil and Teds Traveller earned a 10 of 10 for portability with the BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light and the Lotus Everywhere both earning 8s. The Joovy Room2 and the 4moms Breeze came in at the bottom of the pack with scores of 2. The 4moms Breeze is the largest folded option measuring 12.1"H x 30.7"L x 12.2"W in the bag.

Finding a comfortable crib is important to help ensure that your baby will sleep soundly while away from home. The Babybjorn Travel Crib Light has the most comfortable mattress in the group.

Comfort

You'd think that the different products would be similar in their level of relative comfort given the strict safety regulations governing this kind of baby gear. However, the materials used and the design of each mattress varies.

The majority of the competition has a soft mattress that ranges from dense and hard to depress to ultra-squishy and so soft that your baby is hitting the hard support bottom quickly.

The Phil and Teds Traveller (above left) has a unique self-inflating mattress that we struggle to inflate fully and was somewhat bowed even with the weight of the baby in place. Without full inflation, the pad is uncomfortable and provides no support (think poorly inflated air mattress that results in your baby sleeping more or less on the ground). The Fisher-Price Ultra-Lite Day & Night (above right) has the thinnest and hardest mattress in the group and it feels flimsy and cheap compared to the competition. The Fisher-Price Ultra-Lite Day & Night only earned a 2 of 10 for comfort tying the KidCo TravelPod which has a mattress so soft it has permanent indentations in it from being folded and we worry that after repeated use it will continue to lose its shape and ability to support a baby.

On the other end of the spectrum, the BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light (above left) and the Lotus Everywhere (above right) both earned 7s thanks to soft, thick cushions that support but didn't squash to a thin mattress under baby's weight. In a side-by-side comparison, it was easy to see the difference in the quality of materials and the design choices that helped one mattress earn higher scores than another.

The 4moms Breeze impresses with quality materials and construction.

Quality

The quality of the portable cribs is as wide as the materials and the attention to detail we observed in their construction. Some of the products are very sturdy with tightly woven mesh and durable fabric that is stitched evenly with no random threads. Other options are somewhat wobbly when we press on the top rails, and the mesh easily stretches.

The Joovy Room2 and the 4moms Breeze both earned top scores of 9 of 10. Both cribs have sturdy frames and tight mesh with attention to detail.

The lowest score for the group is 3 earned by the Fisher-Price Ultra-Light Day & Night with a frumpy look and feel and a stiff mattress. This crib has a frame that shakes when you press down on the top rails, loose mesh, and the product we purchased has loose threads. The BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light and the Lotus Everywhere earned an 8 and 7 respectively with higher-end materials and solid construction in simple designs that the manufacturers execute well.

Because your baby's face is so close to crib materials and deep breathing occurs during sleep it is important to consider the use of flame retardants prior to exposure.

Eco-health

In January 2014, 15 types of baby gear were found not to pose a fire safety risk and are exempt from meeting flammability standards. This exemption means the manufacturers of these types of baby products can make products free of harmful flame retardants. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean they all make an effort to do so.

Flame retardant chemicals are harmful to humans, and we feel that exposing little ones to these chemicals should be limited whenever possible. Only three products in this review list or make comments about what materials and chemicals they use (or don't use) in the production of their portable cribs. We think transparency is important and parents should demand more information from all companies before making buying decisions. The Center For Environmental Health (CEH) surveyed leading manufacturers of baby gear on their use of flame retardant chemicals. The CEH list the following survey questions on their website:

The manufacturer's responses to the survey were used to rank the companies based on their efforts to remove the harmful chemicals from their products. While not all manufacturers are listed, it is a good starting point for parents looking for additional information on what is in their baby's gear. The list also shows which companies offer transparency in what they use and an openness to divulge information to consumers.

This color-coded chart shows information for some brands and their use of flame retardants. Companies shown in green are free of flame retardants while companies shown in red either didn't respond or potentially use chemicals in their materials.

The BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light and Lotus Everywhere both earned 10 of 10 for eco-health. BabyBjorn states that their product is "free from harmful substances and approved according to Oeko-Tex Standard 100, Class 1 for baby products" they go on to say "materials do not contain any harmful or allergenic substances." The Guava Family company makes the following statement about the Lotus Everywhere, "The Lotus Everywhere Crib has been thoroughly tested for chemical emissions and is certified to the GREENGUARD GOLD standard, making it the only travel crib in the world to have received this rigorous certification." They go on to say that the Lotus is "… free of PVC, Lead, Phthalates, Formaldehyde, Heavy Metals (Cadmium, Arsenic, Mercury, etc.) and many others."

Related: Buying Advice for Travel Cribs

The majority of portable cribs in this review scored a 1 of 10 and failed to provide information about chemicals and flame retardants on their websites, owner's manuals, or to the CEH. Luckily, except for the Graco Pack 'n Play on the Go, the award-winning products in this review are free from harmful chemicals and impressed during testing of other metrics earning the top two overall scores.

With a side opening the Lotus Everywhere offers something not found on most of the competition. Knowing more about features and functionality can help you in deciding on what crib to buy.

Conclusion

While it is possible to travel without a portable crib or play yard, we don't think you'll want to as they can create a safe sleeping environment and a safe place to put baby when you need to a short break (ahem, going to the bathroom or taking a shower). Traveling with a baby can be stressful, and any gear that makes it less so is money well spent in our opinion. And gear that can help keep baby's sleep routine on track? Well, that is simply Priceless.

We purchased and tested each product in the review for a comparison and performance testing process to give you all the details you need to make a buying decision.

We believe there is a perfect crib for everyone even if that means something different for everyone. Our award winners include top performing cribs, in a broad range of prices, with unique features for different needs. The breakdown of test results is sure to help you find the right choice at the right price for your traveling baby even if the award winners don't have what you want.