Our MUST HAVE travel item for kids: Shrunks toddler travel bed

Getting a good night’s sleep can be a huge headache when traveling with kids. Or, rather, when the kids do NOT sleep well, traveling becomes a huge headache. Booking accommodations with the right kind of sleeping arrangement? Very probably headache inducing all around.

That is why we want to share why the Shrunks toddler travel bed has been our number one most used travel item for six years and counting. I’m excited, because this was truly a game changer for us.

I know. I know. Shrunks is a rather funny sounding name. (Though I’ve found many kids-related products are. Our car seat, for example, is Clek’s “Foonf”, that comes with Clek’s very aptly named “Drink Thingy”.) And if you’re like me, the very idea of “inflatable mattress” conjures the smell of old rubber and the feel of crinkly plastic.

We have two Shrunks travel beds, and they have been everywhere with us. Wherever the kids go, the Shrunks beds go too.

*Note: we do not have any affiliation with Shrunks – we just feel this is a particularly useful travel product!

Why it’s worth lugging the Shrunks travel bed along

We regularly take these beds to grandma’s. They’ve been on road trips, and we’ll pack them into suitcases for international travel. It has completely taken the pressure off having to plan for toddler and child-proof sleeping arrangements. This in turns significantly relaxes requirements for accommodations when traveling with young children.

At the grandparents’s house, the kids sleep in the office/guest bedroom. We blow up the two mattresses, the kids borrow a pillow, and they are good for the night. These beds would be great for camping, and great for sleepovers, too.

Most hotels and many airbnbs will have cots or pack and plays. We used these when the kids were infants, but switched over to the Shrunks travel bed at around 1.5 years. Most hotels do not accommodate well for toddlers and pre-schoolers. Some hotels will provide bedrails, but, as we learned, it is not a reliable service. And the beds are generally *very* high. We have done the dragging the pull-out sofa mattress onto the floor, as well as the surrounding-the-bed-with-pillows trick. We have also on a few occasions pushed the bed against a wall. When we bring our own beds, we don’t need to worry about macgyvering any of that. The Shrunks beds are compact enough to fit in most hotel or bedroom spaces.

Having their own bed also gives kids their own space, especially if siblings are not used to or don’t sleep well together. At home, Big S and Lil S share a room. If we are able to get a hold of bedrails, our kids will sleep together on a double bed. But having our own beds available also provides an alternative in case things fall through.

Finally, we have stayed at many places where there is only one bed. Or when the kids were really young, they wanted to sleep in the same room as us (even if there was a pull out in the living area). Provided your hotel/airbnb allows for that many guests, bringing beds for the kids can also save on the cost of needing to book a more expensive type of room.

Why we love this bed in particular

There are a number of inflatable kids beds and camping mattresses on the market. We like the inflatable design because it’s cushier and more comfortable for the kids.

The Shrunks toddler bed comes as a single piece with an inner mattress that inflates separately. This design is great, because it lets you tuck in a waterproof sheet (crib sheets fit, too) as you would a normal mattress in case of leaky diapers or accidents. We no longer bring sheets, and the inner mattress is a softer, almost micro-fibre material that is still quite comfortable.

The best thing about this mattress is the rail guards, to keep the kids from rolling off. There is a raised guard on either side, though the entire outer mattress sort of acts as a guard, since it doesn’t depress as the child rolls towards it. Rolling off the bed is not the biggest deal, since it’s so close to the ground. But it makes the kids feel comfortable, especially at the age where they are still sleeping in a crib at home. This can be used all the way from toddler-hood to early elementary years (which is pretty remarkable for a kids product). Shrunks also makes junior and youth inflatable mattresses, but the dual mattress system and rail guards really makes this toddler one stand out.

We also love the small electric pump that comes with it. It’s about the size of your fist, very compact, and works well. Set up time is maybe five minutes per bed, from unpacking to inflated. It’s so handy we even routinely use the pump to inflate other things, such as the kids giant manta-ray water float at the beach. (We plug it right into the back of our van, which has a conventional plug.)

Durability? For six years of regular use, and kids jumping on it even though they know they’re not supposed to, the beds have held up well. The outer mattress of one of our beds developed a small leak after five years or so along the bottom (likely from scraping on something). Shrunks does sell a patch kit, but we patched it up with a generic patch.

Shrunks travel bed in relatable dimensions

The Shrunks travel bed is recommended for 2-6 year olds. We started using the bed at around 1.5 years for both kids. The max weight capacity of the bed is 150 lbs, and the inner mattress has a length of 120cm, which will realistically be your limiting dimension. The average 6 year old is about 115cm, and looking at our almost 7 year old, we can probably get another good year’s use out of his bed.

Can you really travel with it?

Yes! The Shrunks travel bed is about 40cm when rolled up. It will fit (snugly) into a 26 inch suitcase, and very comfortablely into one that is larger. It weighs 8.5 lbs, according to the product details. We’ve packed our two beds for a one-month trip to Asia. On that occasion, we brought along a 30 inch and a 26 inch suitcase, and packed one bed in each. At no point were we over the weight limit for any flight, although we came close with the bed in a fully packed larger suitcase. I think we used the Shrunks beds in almost every place we stayed that trip (besides Hong Kong Disneyland, who provided bed rails.)

We like to travel light, but the Shrunks travel bed has absolutely been worth it for us. Shrunks also makes an inflatable bed rail (think pool noodle, which goes under the fitted sheets). It would be handy to have, but it’s nowhere near as multi-functional as the bed.

Have questions? Drop us a note!