Dropsided cot bed - yes or no?

[aledwasago]

I'm considering buying one for 10 mo dd, but money is tight and I would really value some real life opinions. I wonder how noisy are they when the side is dropped or raised? And how easy is a one-handed mechanism to use? Does anyone have any experiences to share, good or bad?

It was one of my key criteria when buying a cot when DD was 5 months. She's now 10 mths and have never dropped the side, always pick her up out of it with the side raised...

I really wish we'd splashed out the extra for one- sorry.
DS; now 21 mts and pretty chunky- I am 5ft nothing and a bit of a weed! Lowering him down onto the mattress and tucking him up either at bedtime or during (sometimes) multiple resettling during the wee hours is getting to be a bit of a killer. He is miles away from climbing out by himself so we dont need (or want) to go through the 'big boy bed hassles' yet but I suspect it will have to come sooner rather than later as my back is suffering....