Am I a gear snob? Is the nomad travel cot worth the extra money or should I go for the littlelife Arc?

[littledibbersmum]

Off to Spain in a month with 5 month old DS. Will also be camping too in the Alps in July. DH is a bit of a Ray Mears so we need a practical, lightweight travel cot that packs down small, which could also be used as a sun shade. I have narrowed it down to these two but is it worth spending the extra money on the Nomad. It does look very cool though. Also very skint at the moment. Could I use a beach sun tent with a blow up mattress or are these not safe to use as travel cots. Any advice. Want to choose one that will last DS for a few years. Any advice appreciated.

Speaking only from personal experience - we had little success with lightweight travel cots. IME they are all much of a muchness really and not very stable once your baby can sit up or crawl. Once crawling they have a 'hamster in a wheel' effect - not ideal. They only really last whilst baby isn't able to sit and are suprisingly bulky if you are wanting to fly with them as luggage.

We gave up on them once DD was 6 months and either used a 'proper' travel cot in the UK or asked for one in accomodation (take your own sheet and a baby sleeping bag if you are worried about hygiene) and let DD sleep in with us if we making more ad hoc sleeping arrangements. She has slept happily that way on ferry crossings and sleeper trains across Europe as well as camping. Now in her own bed so much easier!

Forgot to add this link to the Which? reviews on lightweight travel cots.

Thanks 4 advice. Could see how tent style travel cots could end up being a bit useless. Thanks 4 the link. Useful

We went to England at this age with DS and he just slept on some cushions on the floor in our room for a week.

Seriously, if the baby is not rolling around or crawling, and you are not going to walk on them, why would you need a cot?

If you are taking a beach pop up tent thing, why not put down a couple of beach towels and put the baby to sleep on that?