Mesh window: a good travel cot should have at least one mesh window so that you can always see the baby. What we thought: The Little Life Arc 2 is not your average travel cot. It’s one of the lightest in our buying guide, coming in at just 2.5kg, so it's hands down the best travel cot to buy if you're keen to take your baby with you on camping adventures.It's probably not right for you if you're not a fan of the great outdoors, however. Five products were then awarded a Mumsnet Best badge – these are the products that we feel offer the absolute best value for most parents. We also gave honourable mentions to four others.

The main part of the cot is assembled like a tent with two colour-coded poles – one silver and one green – that correspond with the coloured webbing. The poles come folded into sections but, once put together, are fairly lengthy which means that you'll definitely need some room in the living room or garden for assembly. When inside, was the little one comfy? Did they like it and was there enough room to sleep and to play? Overall verdict: This isn’t really a travel cot for a weekend away – its features include a ventilated, anti-insect mesh, ground pegs for outdoor use, and zip-down panels. ‘This would be perfect if you're travelling in a hot country, attending a summer festival, or going on a UK camping trip,’ said our tester. ‘But for indoor use, you need to attach it to a suitable piece of furniture, which we found a bit difficult to find.’ It's good value for such a niche item - but you’ll probably still need a standard travel cot for indoor overnight trips. The Arc 2 doesn’t take up too much space, but the poles tended to get in the way in Ruth's bedroom. She also felt that it wasn’t also easy to find somewhere to put it because of it's dome shape. Some, like the Arc 2, also come with added extras like built-in mosquito nets for camping. What's the best travel cot to buy?Washable covers: it is inevitable that the cot will need washing from time to time, if the cover is easily cleaned and removable this is great. Some brands are better known for delivering great quality, and as you’re on our Littlelife Arc 2 Travel Cot review you’re probably already well aware of how good quality Littlelife Travel cots are. While lugging an extra bed around might sound like a faff, if you’re staying in a hotel, visiting friends or camping with a baby in tow and chaos reigns, once you've popped up your travel cot you will breathe a sigh of relief. Babies love routine, especially when it comes to bedtime. The safe confines of a portable crib will provide a comfortable and familiar place to put your tired infant wherever you might be in the world, so everyone can get a better night's kip.

The Lullaby Trust also advise that portable cribs aren’t placed against radiators and remain out of reach of blind cords. How much does a travel cot cost? MFM tester Candice: "Take a plastic washing up bowl to put all the shoes/wellies in when you get to the tent to keep everything from getting muddy. And a dustpan and brush - the tent gets dirty and you want to keep it as clean as possible," recommends MFM tester Candice. Now they are just over 4 and we usually find accommodation that offers at least a sofa bed as option for them. Ruth scored each product based on each criteria below, with the highest scoring coming out on top as the overall winner. Honourable mentions were then given to nine other top-performing beds. Safety and stability

If you’ve not used a travel cot before and are a little wary about how your child will cope there’s a few things you can try to get him or her used to it before setting off on your travels: Some cots have removable side panels, but if they don’t then you can always wipe them clean with warm water. 4. Extra features No, a travel cot is not suitable for your baby to sleep in every night. Designed for use when you're away from home such as on holiday or visiting friends or family overnight, travel cots are much lighter than standard cots so they're not robust enough for permanent use. The mattress supplied with a travel cot is thinner than a standard cot mattress because it's designed to fold compactly for travelling, so it's unlikely to provide sufficient support for a baby to sleep on every night. Can I change the travel cot mattress? Weight - While lighter than a traditional cot, travel cots vary in weight. The lightest come in at around 3kg, while the heaviest ones weigh as much as 11kg. These extremes offer different benefits depending on how you’re planning to use your cot. A lighter cot is more practical for travelling, but a heavier model will likely be sturdier and longer-lasting. To decide what is the best infant travel bed for you, you will have to consider two options: take one that can be used from birth up to 3/4 years, or buy a small one for the first 6 months and then change it.

With that in mind, we wanted to really explore and analyse the price of Littlelife Arc 2 Travel Cot to see how cheap you can get it, but also see how it compares to other products. To do this we looked all the products available in the “Travel cots” category, as well as looking at the products available from the brand Littlelife. So the first step is to look at the price of Littlelife Arc 2 Travel Cot. Here we run a search to find the price of products that we review. If it’s a product offered by lots of retailers then we get you the best price. If it’s only offered by one retailer then we find you the latest price. The poles are then inserted into eyelets to give the cot its dome-like shape. You will need apply some pressure to do this, but excessive force shouldn’t be used as you would risk damaging the cot. MFM tester Nina: "Take battery operated light bulbs that you can hang in various places in the tent!" After that, we worked out how many products were more expensive or cheaper. From the 31 products, 2 cost more and 28 cost less than Littlelife Arc 2 Travel Cot. Prices from LittlelifeBased on that price, when we compare it to the other options available, we’ve given it a price score of 9.9 out of 10. Travel cots category average cost Assembly - Putting a travel cot together and taking it down should take a matter of seconds. If it’s taking longer or isn’t staying up, make sure you re-read the instructions before putting your baby to sleep in it to make sure you’ve done everything correctly. Your baby can use the travel cot well into their third year, so it is worth the investment,” Motherhood Coach and Baby Expert Millie Poppins told us. Your travel cot will serve a purpose until your toddler is too big or old enough to climb out. Are travel cots safe?