2019 UPDATE: The BabyBjorn Travel Crib Easy Go is the latest release. Even though the names are different, the Easy Go Version and Travel Crib Light are essentially identical in terms of functionality and features. The ONLY difference is the colors. BabyBjorn Travel Crib Easy Go comes with a soft greige frame and light gray carrying case while the Light model comes with a black frame and black carrying case. 
The BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light is your much needed gear if you’re travelling with a baby or a young toddler.
While you do not need a travel crib to survive with young kids, your money will be well spent if your budget allows for one, and if you enjoy travelling.
It is no easy task to travel with young children from experience… There are many aspects to plan for and to coordinate – baby food, diapers and all the baby gears just to name a few. And it will be a nightmare if your little one can’t sleep well due to an unfamiliar or lack of suitable sleeping environment, or because of the disruption of usual sleeping routine.
You might have realized that not all hotels, cruises or friends and relatives’ homes have a suitable baby crib. Even in instances where the hotels do offer you a baby cot, you sometimes have to worry about its safety and cleanliness.
Hence, a travel cot such as Babybjorn, can really help because it is just so lightweight to bring along and easy to setup.
What To Look For In A Travel Crib?
A travel crib is more than just a portable pack and play. What’s revolutionary about this baby gear is that it is super lightweight, often weighing nearly half of the traditional portable pack n play’s 20 Ibs weight.
It’s designed to be very handy to bring along on trips, hence it is also compact, foldable and extremely easy to setup. Aside from convenience, a travel cot also provides as safe and comfortable environment for your child to nap or sleep through the night away from home. It can also serve as portable play yard to keep your baby safe outdoors, such as during a beach or camping trip. It can also easily be kept as an extra crib at home.
Let’s examine the details of the Baby Bjorn travel cot in depth to find out what makes it tick, as well as if it’s worth your investment or not.
I have to admit that I am full of praises for Baby Bjorn as it fares superbly based on the following criteria:
- Ease of transport – Compact and lightweight
- Ease of use – Setting up and dissembling
- Comfort
- Safety
- Washability
The only downside is that the Baby Bjorn travel cot light must be checked in on flights as the folded size exceeds the cabin luggage size.
What’s the Difference between BabyBjorn Travel Crib Easy GO vs Travel Light?
Both Easy Go and Travel Light models are essentially the same in terms of features and functions. The only difference lies in the color. BabyBjorn Travel Crib Easy Go comes with a soft greige frame and light gray carrying case while the Light model comes with a black frame and black carrying case.
What I love About The BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light and Easy GO?
- Ease of Transport – Light and Compact for Portability
Weighing just 13 Ibs, the Baby Bjorn travel crib is light enough to be easily carried around.
It folds into 19 x 24 x 6″ and comes with a convenient briefcase-like carry bag. There’s still sufficient space in the bag to fit in a blanket, mattress sheet and a few diapers.
The downside is that carrier bag is too big to be carried as a hand luggage for flights, which can be costly if you need to pay for checked in luggage. However, it will easily fit into the trunk of a car. You can also check in the carry case as the folded mattress in the bag serves as a protective cushion for the crib frame, or fit it into a bigger suitcase.
- Ease of Use – Super Easy To Set Up and Take Down
The Baby Bjorn travel crib is extremely easy and fast to set up and take down. It’s totally frustration-free! If you have the experience of fumbling around for hours to set up a pack and play before, you would really love this! 😁
There are no loose parts to attach, so you don’t have to worry about misplacing anything in your hectic rush.
It takes just minutes to have the BabyBjorn travel cot all set up. Simply unzip the bag, take the crib frame out, and flip it over. The legs will automatically pop open and you just need to make sure that the 4 legs are clicked locked. Insert the mattress and secure the hook-and-loop attachments on the mattress through the 4 corners of the mesh bottom onto the legs.
Be sure not to miss any of these steps as these are important safety features. The mattress has a built-in base plate that keeps the lightweight travel crib standing firmly and sturdily on the floor. The loop attachments also ensure that the mattress stays in place so that you don’t have to worry about your baby rolling into gaps between the mattress and crib.
Taking the travel crib apart is just as simple. First, take out the mattress, flip it over, fold the legs inwards and finally fold the frame into half. When placed in the carrier bag, the travel crib frame is packed in between the folded mattress so that the mattress form a protective cushion.
You can check out the video here to see how easy the assembly and disassembly is.
- Comfortable for the Baby/Toddler
The travel crib comes with a soft but firm mattress. The mattress is insulated and notably thicker than its competition. The mattress cover is also made of a breathable material so it’s more comfortable for the sleeping child.
The sides of the babybjorn travel crib are made of breathable mesh which improves the airflow and makes it more airy for the baby. The baby or toddler will not feel so ‘suffocated’ or confined in the small space.
The see-through mesh fabric not only allows you to keep an eye on your little one, but also helps him/her to feel more secure as they can see you too.
- Safety – Stable, Sturdy and Safe from Harmful Chemicals
The BABYBJÖRN travel cot light is highly stable as it is well-designed and well-constructed with high quality materials. It features a sturdy frame and the mattress has a built-in base plate to increase the stability.
The crib stands firmly on the floor and does not wobble, even if your baby/toddler is leaning on the sides or an older sibling is leaning on it from the outside. The base of the cot is wide while the legs are angled inwards at the top. This angled design makes the crib more stable and difficult to topple, despite the Travel Light’s lightweight and small footprint. There’s enough space for the baby/toddler to sleep at the base, but the top opening becomes smaller.
The fabric at the top are padded on all 4 sides of the crib so that it won’t hurt the baby if he/she is standing and leaning, or biting on the sides.
The fabrics used on the Travel Crib Light are tested and approved in accordance with the most stringent standards in the form of Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Class 1, which means that all the textiles are free from health-hazardous and allergenic substances.
The mattress foam used is also flame retardant free. Hence, you can be certain that your baby is sleeping in a safe environment free of harmful chemicals and you don’t have to worry about your baby chewing on the fabrics.
You also don’t have to worry if your baby’s face is close to the sides of the travel crib as the airy breathable mesh fabric allows the baby to breathe through it. The hook-and-loop attachments on the mattress ensure that the mattress stay in place so you don’t have to worry about your baby rolling under the mattress.
- Washability
It is inevitable that our little babies and toddlers make lots of mess, hence it’s important that the travel cot is easy to clean and maintain.
The mattress cover is water-proof so that simple spills are a breeze to clean.
Both the mattress cover and mesh fabric are easily removable and machine-washable. To remove the mesh fabric, it’s as easy as unzipping the sides at the top.
- Style and Color
I like the simple and minimalist look of the BabyBjorn travel crib.
- Age Range
This Babybjorn portable crib is suitable for babies from 0 to 3 years old, but it really depends on when your toddler outgrows it. When assembled, the crib stands at 32 x 44 x 24 inches deep, so it can be used until your toddler becomes tall enough to climb out of the crib on his own. There is no weight limit though.
Important Specifications Of BabyBjorn Travel Crib
- Weight (inclusive of the carry bag): 13 lbs
- Mattress Dimension: 23.5 x 41 x 1.2 inches
- Assembled Dimension: 32 x 44 x 24 inches
- Folded/Packed Dimension: 19 x 23.5 x 5.5 inches
- Age: Suitable for 0-3 years old (or till the toddler is tall enough to climb out)
BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light Fitted Sheet
Note that the travel crib comes with the mattress, but not the fitted sheet. You will need to purchase the BabyBjorn travel crib sheet separately. I would highly recommend it as this fitted sheet is made of organic cotton that is super soft and gentle on the skin. It is also tested and certified to be free of harmful chemicals and allergens. The sheet is easily fitted onto the mattress and can be removed easily to be machine-washed.
If you are considering pack n play sheets or crib sheets from other brands, it is IMPORTANT that you check the dimensions match as the fitted sheets NEED TO FIT SNUGLY to reduce the risk of suffocation.
Other Features That I’d Like BabyBjorn To Add To The Next Model?
I’m already loving the BabyBjorn Travel Cot with its current features, but if I were to suggest new features to perhaps improve on for the next model… there are 2 of them:
- Include a zip opening on 1 of the mesh sides, so that the mom/dad can put the baby into the cot without having to bend over the top. This would be useful if you need to soothe or nurse the baby to sleep. If your baby is old enough to crawl, you can also simply unzip the side to allow him/her to crawl out himself/herself.
- Include a longer cross-body strap (which can be detached if not needed) so that parents can keep their hands free. This would be really helpful for on-the-go moms who need to free up their hands to hold onto (or go after) their toddlers, or simply to carry more gears.
Guava Lotus Travel Crib vs Baby Bjorn
The Lotus Everywhere Travel Crib is another highly-rated travel crib by many parents. You can’t go too wrong with either of the choices.
Both are certified to be safe and free of flame retardants. The Lotus crib has also obtained GREENGUARD GOLD standard. Dimensions and footprint are also similar.
So what I’ll try to do here is to highlight their key differences.
Pros of Lotus Travel Crib
The Guava Family Lotus Crib comes with a backpack-style bag, which allows you to keep both hands free.
I also like that they have a zippered opening on one side of the mesh. This makes it possible for the parent to slide the baby into the crib without having to bend over the top. Now that you can effectively extend the crib out to the floor space, it’s easier to soothe or nurse the baby to sleep and it’s also possible to allow the child to crawl out.
The Guava Family also makes the Lotus Bassinet for newborns. With an additional purchase of a conversion kit, you can convert the bassinet to a travel crib or vice versa.
Cons of Lotus Travel Crib
Baby Bjorn travel crib is the winner in terms of ease of setting up and folding of the frame, as well as attaching the mattress. The Lotus travel crib mattress has 6 attachment points made of Velcro, compared to Baby Bjorn crib mattress’ 4 hook-and-loop attachments. Also for the lotus, you have to detach the portable crib mattress in order to change the crib sheet, which isn’t the case for Baby Bjorn.
Even though the backpack carrier bag is a thumbs-up, it is not so easy to fit the folded crib into the travel bag nicely.
Babybjorn also fares better when it comes to quality and stability. The frame of the Lotus travel crib feels more wriggly, but fret not, it still holds firm.
The mesh walls of the Baby Bjorn Travel Crib is slanted more inwards compared to Lotus. Bigger kids may feel more cramped as the opening is smaller. It may not make a big difference if used as a sleeping space, but the Lotus Everywhere Crib may feel more spacious if used as a portable playpen. On the flip side, I do feel that the angled walls probably also contributed to the better stability of the Baby bjorn travel cot.
Lotus Everywhere Travel Crib Dimension
1. Weight (inclusive of the carry bag): 13 Ibs
2. Mattress Dimension: 24” W x 42” H
3. Assembled Dimension: 32” W x 45” L x 25” H
4. Folded/Packed Dimension: 7” x 11” x 24:
My Verdict
The Babybjorn travel cot is pricier than its competition. However, you can be assured that your baby will be sleeping in a safe and comfortable sleeping environment.
The materials used are of top-notch quality and the textiles used are all tested free of harmful chemicals. The travel crib light is so well-constructed and well-designed that it is very sturdy and stable despite its light-weight and small footprint. It is also very durable and should last you through a few kids.
I really love this travel crib for its convenience. It has helped to make travelling with kids so much easier. It is extremely easy to use with no loose parts, perfect for the hectic on-the-go parents. And as I mentioned earlier, the ONLY downside of the Baby Bjorn crib is that the carrier bag needs to be checked in, which will add to the travel cost if you need to pay for checked in luggage.
To truly enjoy a vacation, both you and your child needs a good night’s sleep. And the BABYBJÖRN travel crib light is your best bet!
