Help Me Decide! Babybjörn Travel Crib Light or Guava Lotus Travel Crib
Are you a family on the go? You need a travel crib—but which one?
By Babylist Team
Ever find yourself stuck between two products and you just can’t make up your mind? Baby registry decision fatigue is real—so Babylist’s Help Me Decide! series is here to help.
If your packing list is a mile long and your suitcase count has suddenly tripled, odds are you’re traveling with a new baby in tow.
A travel crib is going to make your life away from home a whole lot easier. (Trust us.) Babybjörn’s Travel Crib Light and Guava Family’s Lotus are parent faves and top sellers and, at first glance, look pretty similar. But are they? What features do they share? What sets them apart? And which one is right for your next family adventure?
We’re talking features, design, portability and much, much more as we stack these two popular travel cribs side-by-side to help you decide.
THE SHOWDOWN
Babybjörn Travel Crib Light
Swedish brand Babybjörn makes some of the most-loved (and most popular) baby products around, including ultra-comfortable and ergonomic carriers (featured in our best baby carriers guide) and our favorite bouncer seat of all time. Their travel crib is yet another example of a thoughtfully designed piece of baby gear that makes traveling with your little one—which can be a challenge even on a good day—just a little bit easier. It’s light, sets up and breaks down in about a minute, and folds up into a carry bag that’s designed to fit within any airline baggage space.
Guava Family Lotus Travel Crib & Play Yard
Guava Family set out to make parenting life a little bit easier and to create baby gear that’s less cumbersome and easier to use than most of what’s currently on the market. We’re happy to report that they succeeded (and then some) with the Lotus Travel Crib. This popular option checks all the boxes for what you’d want in a travel crib. It’s about 13 pounds, and set up (and takedown) is a breeze. Two other standouts: backpack straps on the travel bag that help you keep your hands free when you’re on the go and a size-zip mesh door for easy access to your baby.
THE LOWDOWN
What’s the same?
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Design. Glance at the Travel Crib Light and the Lotus and you’ll notice pretty quickly that the shape, design and materials of each look very much alike. Both have breathable mesh sides, mattresses that rests directly on the ground and sturdy frames with similar shapes. (The crib frames are actually different materials—Babybjörn’s frame is made from steel, while the Guava Family frame is aluminum—but unless, like us, you’re super into the intricacies of travel cribs, you likely wouldn’t even notice.) Both travel cribs are thoughtfully designed and boast form and function, a rare combo in the world of baby gear. A+!
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Size and weight. Things you’ll do over and over again with your travel crib: lug it through airports, hotels and anywhere else you decide to adventure; take it in and out (and in and out, and in and out) of the trunk of your car; pick it up and put it down over and over… You get the idea. Size and weight are extremely important when you’re considering a travel crib, and the Travel Crib Light and the Lotus both excel in these areas. Both weighing in at 13 pounds, these cribs are about 10 pounds lighter than the majority of other travel cribs on the market. (You’re welcome, lower back.) They have similar footprints when open and are roomy enough to last you well into the toddler years but compact enough when folded to fit easily on a plane or in the trunk of your car. Win, win.
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Washability. The Travel Crib Light and the Lotus are both very easy to clean. The top fabric and mesh covers on both cribs are easily removable and machine washable. The mattresses each have waterproof covers that come clean with a quick wipe.
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Safety. Both travel cribs meet all required safety certifications and have undergone rigorous testing. The Travel Crib Light has an OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification (a third-party institute that safety tests for harmful substances and VOCs) and the Lotus is GreeguardGold certified, which means it has been independently tested to meet standards for low chemical emissions.
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Ease of setup and breakdown. The last thing you want to deal with when traveling with little ones is a sleeping situation that takes 20 minutes and six YouTube videos to set up. Although slightly different in mechanics, both the Travel Crib Light and the Lotus have very easy and very straightforward setups. With a little practice, you’ll have each of these cribs set up in about a minute. And breakdown is just as easy.
What’s different?
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Carry Bag. One of the biggest differences between these two popular travel cribs is the way you’ll transport them once they’re broken down. The Babybjörn crib packs down into a duffel-style bag (included when you purchase the crib) with two short carrying straps. The Lotus, however, packs into a bag that can be carried backpack-style with two padded straps or luggage-style with two short handles. This is a big difference if you’re someone who prefers their hands free or if you’ll be carrying your travel crib through places like airports or train stations.
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Accessibility. The Travel Crib Lite is like a standard crib in that in order to get baby in and out, you bend over the top. That will also work with the Lotus, but it has another unique feature: a zip-down door. One of the mesh sides features a zippered, lockable door flap (because no one wants a wandering toddler) that opens up the front of the crib for easy access for both you and your little one. More on why you might appreciate this below.
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Mattress. After testing out the mattresses on both travel cribs, there’s a clear difference between the two. The mattress on the Babybjörn Travel Crib Light is thicker and softer than the mattress on the Guava Family Lotus. Will your little one notice? Maybe, maybe not. (Our guess is likely no if they’re on the younger side and possibly as they get a bit older.) But it is worth a mention.
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Price. Although not too far off, there is a difference in price between these two cribs. You’ll pay a bit more for the Babybjörn Travel Crib Light than you will for the Lotus.
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Bassinet. While technically you can use both of these travel cribs from the newborn days, they’re not the most back-friendly options due to the mattress placements on ground level. The Lotus solves for this with a bassinet conversion kit (sold separately). It brings the crib’s sleeping space to bed height for better visibility and easier access to your little one. There’s even the option to switch out the stationary base for curved, rockable legs. Once your baby outgrows the bassinet, it easily converts to travel crib mode.
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Accessories. The Travel Crib Light and the Lotus both come with the crib frame, mattress and carry bag included with purchase. Crib sheets are sold separately for both brands. There aren’t any other accessories available for the Babybjörn crib, but there are several for the Guava Family. In addition to the bassinet conversion kit mentioned above, there’s also a cotton fitted sheet, an organic cotton sheet and a plush quilted sheet. There’s a Fun Shade that can be used to provide shade for the sun or for any time you need to darken your little one’s sleeping space (think naptime in a bright room) and a mosquito net to keep the bugs away.
THE VERDICT
Babybjörn’s Travel Crib Light and Guava’s Lotus are two of the best travel cribs available. Although on the pricier side, they are well worth the investment if you’re a family on the go with your little ones along for the adventure. Choosing what’s right for you in this instance is more about personal preference rather than a pro/con comparison.
You may choose the Travel Crib Light if:
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You’re planning on using this travel crib as your primary sleeping space/pretty frequently. If you’re set on using a travel crib on the regular, either for naps, overnights or both, a comfortable mattress is key. The Travel Crib Light wins out in this category and is probably the better choice for you.
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You like to road trip. Do most of your travel by car instead of plane? While the backpack style of the Lotus is certainly a huge perk, it’s the most useful when you’re schlepping your family (and your 32 tons of stuff) through an airport. If that’s not the case for you, then there’s no need to rely on a crib with a backpack-style carry.
The Lotus might be the travel crib for you if:
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You’re a frequent flyer. As mentioned above, it’s a lot easier to get through an airport with a travel crib on your back rather than in your hands. If you plan on lots of air (or even train) travel with your family, then the backpack-style carry of the Lotus can’t be beaten.
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You want easier access to your baby. If you want a few extra cuddles before bed or if you feed your baby to sleep, the zippered side door of the Lotus sets it apart as the best travel crib option for you. Sure, you can climb into Babybjörn, buuuttt we can’t say we recommend it. The side door option is also a great feature if you have a bad back or a mobility issue that would make leaning over a crib tricky. And lots of parents tell us that toddlers like crawling in and out of the Lotus as a playspace, too.
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You think less is more. Looking for one piece of gear that checks the boxes as a bassinet, playard and travel crib? The Lotus is your go-to. Although the bassinet conversion kit will cost you a bit more than the standard travel crib, you’ll be able to use your Lotus from day one with your newborn and have one less piece of baby gear around to deal with as your baby grows.
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