Need to replace 2 1/2 yo's cot - cot or cot bed?

[toomuchtooold]

Hi everyone, I'd appreciate your advice on cot beds.

We've got the opportunity/problem of needing to buy new cots or cot beds for our 2 1/2 yo twins. (We're moving abroad and there will be a period when their cots are in storage/transit). They're still happy in cots and I wasn't planning on moving them to beds until I have no option (they wear sleeping bags and so luckily it's never occurred to them to try to climb out).

I could just buy cheapy ikea cots and give them away afterwards but as I'm forced to buy something, I was thinking about cot beds that you can take the side off of and make into a toddler bed.

My main question is, how long were you able to use them for? Is it possible to get ones that are same size as a full-sized child's bed? The full sized children's beds I've seen were 165cm but the biggest cot beds I could find (on John Lewis website) were up to 144cm Does anyone know of any bigger ones they would recommend?

My friend's dd was using a toddler bed til first year of school - so 5y.

My DD was out of cot before she was 3. We have a cot bed which is 140cm.
She fits it comfortably at the moment but I reckon we will move up to a single bed in a year or so as she will get too long for it.

I think the Ikea cots are quite small so personally I wouldn't bother as I doubt you'd get much use out of them.

Our daughter is 2 and is still in her cotbed (using it as a cot still) it says up to age 5 but I can lay in it and my feet touch the bottom, but I could sleep in it and I'm 5ft6 lol. Once she is able to not wriggle around at night we will take the sides off and continue to use it until she grows out of it. A normal bed with a side on maybe like a bed guard so they can keep it for years.