This thing is awesome. Seriously. It's probably not for everyone, but I think it's perfect for our purposes. I haven't actually put DD in it yet (I assembled and disassembled it after she was in bed), and that's sort of the key. But here is what I like about it so far:
1. It was really easy to assemble. Once you slip the elastic band off the frame, it pretty much explodes and instantly unfolds itself. This gives you a pretty substantial (if not entirely justified) sense of satisfaction--one second you have this round, folded thing, the next second you have a tent. The mattress inflated pretty easily, only a few minutes of work with the included hand pump. Unfortunately, it looks like you're giving the pump a hand job, but DH wasn't exactly complaining.
2. When assembled, it's BIG. On a dare (DH again), I crawled inside, and I could fit in there easily in a loose fetal position. We got the Peapod Plus, which is longer than the PeaPod, because DD is so freakishly tall and we didn't want her to outgrow it in a year. So this might not work in the original PeaPod, I don't know.
3. It has a lot of nice, thoughtful little features. There are toggles and loops to secure the various flaps or keep them raised. The sleeping bag (which I don't think we'll use until she's older) can be buckled to make it shorter for smaller kids, or extended for bigger kids. Little things like that.
4. It feels sturdy. This was one of my major concerns about something portable that basically pops up. But once it's up, it's solid enough that I'm not worried about it collapsing on DD or tipping over.
5. I actually managed to disassemble it and get everything back in the carrying case. This was probably what I was most worried about, because I'm not great at stuff like that--I can never seem to repack anything back to its original state. Especially after the thing basically exploded out of my hands--it's not like I could just retrace my steps backward. But the instructions had both written and pictoral folding directions, and between the two of them, I folded it up pretty easily.
The only drawback is that the case is about 19" across, which is kind of bulky. It beats a PNP, for sure, and I know the original PeaPod is a few inches smaller in diameter. We decided to trade a little bit of portabilityfor the bigger sleeping area, and overall, I think it was a fair trade. But by the time DD can carry it (as advertised), I think she'll probably be ready for a real bed.
I'm letting it air out to get rid of that new-vinyl smell from the air mattress, and then I'm going to see if DD will sleep in it. I'll keep you posted.
