Micralite Sleep & Go Travel Cot review

Created by luxe brand Micralite, founded by two engineers turned dads, the brand is known for its innovation and contemporary design and the Sleep & Go Travel Cot is a great example of this.

With an RRP of £150 it’s a pricey travel cot but it has a premium feel. Nice features include decent padding around the frame, two thick mattresses that form together, and a zip down hatch at one end for playtime, all of which awarded it silver in the MFM 2020 Awards in the travel cot category.

Tested by:

Vita tested the Micralite Sleep & Go Travel Cot with her baby daughter who slept in it several times, first in the newborn insert, then later on in the main cot and she also played in the playpen. MadeForMums Consumer & Reviews Editor Gemma also tested the cot with her 2 year old to see how it performed for toddlers.

What are your first impressions of the Micralite Sleep & Go Travel Cot?

I really liked the look of the carry bag it comes in, it’s a lovely thick fabric that won’t damage easily. The simple Micralite logo and stitching is stylish and implies quality. The four different parts of the product – comprising of the frame, newborn insert (sold separately £25, or as part of a bundle £157.50), and two mattresses that fit together to form the larger mattress – were packed in beautifully, and not in a way that you wouldn’t be able to easily recreate.

How does it compare to other travel cots you have looked at or used?

This definitely feels sturdier than some of the cheaper brands on the market. The most inexpensive travel cots can start at around £45, but they are generally not as robust and more of an ordeal to assemble.

I felt reassured by the base of the Micralite Sleep & Go Travel Cot lying directly on the floor instead of raised like many models including the Joie Baby Kubbie Sleep Travel Cot, £99. However, other brands say they do this for ventilation in hot weather and to be draft-proof when it’s colder, so it’s possible the Micralite could be less comfortable temperature-wise, though we never noticed this as an issue.

It’s also a relief that the frame is all in one part with no tent poles, unlike a model like the LittleLife Featherlite Travel Cot, which while cheaper at £149.99, is more difficult to assemble and doesn’t have a newborn insert or playpen option. That said, the LittleLife is only 3kg to the Micralite’s 7kg, and it can even fit into a large suitcase, so it is much easier to travel with.

Other significant competition comes from the Nuna Sena Aire Travel Cot. Slightly more expensive at £180, it can do everything the Micralite Sleep & Go can, but its mattress boasts two different levels of ventilation with a triple layered mesh, though it’s slightly heavier at 9.9kg and its zigzag legs are more conventionally designed.

How was the Micralite Sleep & Go Travel Cot to assemble and how long did it take?

I found the Micralite cot super easy to put up, it’s simply a case of bringing out the four legs of the frame until you hear the soft but satisfying click. The newborn insert is slightly fiddlier; the zip needs to be lined up and attached to the mattress with four toggles in the corners, but this doesn’t take long once you know how they fit together.

Similarly, the mattresses zip together easily and I like that the newborn mattress can be attached to the other part of the mattress for the bigger cot. The instructions are a series of pictures that are easy to follow, although I didn’t really need them. That said, one of the MFM 2020 Awards home testers commented that it would be useful to have some written instructions alongside the images as further guidance would have been useful.

I timed myself and managed to put up the frame, zip in the insert, and fit the baby mattress in two minutes.

What is the mattress like?

At just under 3cm, the mattress is definitely thicker than you would get with cheaper brands. Although it felt firm to me, my little one had no problem falling (and staying) asleep on it, in the newborn insert. It is wipe-clean polyester and does not come with a sheet, so I chose to put a thin blanket under the baby.

Many online shoppers have commented on the thickness of the Micralite’s mattress, highly rating its firm yet comfy feel and remarking just how well their baby slept on it.

What are the standout features of the Micralite Sleep & Go Travel Cot?

The pure ease and speed at which you can assemble the travel cot it is excellent. Additionally, the top of the frame and mattress provide decent padding to cushion any falls for use as a playpen.

I also like the hatch that unzips at the end for the playpen. This opinion was mirrored by an Amazon reviewer, who said her child enjoyed crawling into the cot before going to sleep, that she was able to cuddle him and save her back from bending over to place him inside.

My little one enjoyed exploring the inside when it was a playpen, although at 8 months, she kept trying to crawl through the mesh instead of going for the open hatch. Also, as a playpen I would have liked the mesh sides to be a different colour, as the whole thing is rather dark.

How portable is it?

The bag is not small (88x34x17cm) but given the robust all-in-one frame, it actually feels quite compact. At 7kg, it is about mid-range for weight, and the shape and handles make it comfortable to carry. Only the LittleLife Featherlite Travel Cot is significantly lighter at 3kg, which many online reviews even said was lighter than their baby bag!

I put it on my back and had no problem taking it a short distance while also pushing a buggy. There are also handy loops on the bag for attaching a longer, over-the-shoulder strap. When up, the cot is 67cm high, 112cm long and 80cm wide. This is almost identical in size to the LittleLife Featherlite Travel Cot, and slightly bigger than the Nuna Sena Aire and the Bugaboo Stardust.

The Micralite Sleep & Go compacts down nicely and being a relatively flat bag, is easy to store.

Would you use the Micralite Sleep & Go Travel Cot from newborn?

Yes absolutely, the height and size of the insert is perfect for a newborn and with struts running against it, it feels very sturdy. I would be happy to use this instead of a bassinet for a small baby as it serves the same purpose.

The insert includes mesh panels so you can see your baby from the side if the cot is next to the bed. However, it does not clip on to the bed nor does it include a drop-down panel for night feeds that some other models do, such as the Hauck Sleep’n Care Plus (£79.99 on Amazon).

One of the MFM 2020 Awards home testers also had a few small issues with the Micralite as a bedside cot, commenting that the tapered shape meant it didn’t hug close to the bed.

How does the Micralite Sleep & Go perform for older toddlers?

Consumer & Reviews Editor Gemma says, "my son, at 2 and a half, exceeds the 15kg weight limit of most travel cots, but hasn't yet moved to a toddler bed, so I was struggling to find a travel cot that was safe for use beyond that weight. Because the Sleep & Go mattress sits on the floor rather than being raised on plastic legs, there is no weight limit. Micralite advises that you stop using it when your child shows signs of climbing out. My son doesn't seem to be interested in doing this yet so this provides a really great travel option for us, lasting beyond most rival products but at a competitive price.

It is smaller than a regular cot, but still plenty long enough for my son (who is about 93cm tall). He immediately loved the cot and called it 'cosy' and he actually gets quite excited about sleeping in it. When he stands up it's clear he probably could climb out if he tried, but a sleep sack / sleeping bag restricts his legs enough that he doesn't even try. We used the cot for a week on a trip to see family and he slept well in it and never complained."

Do you think it is made to last?

Yes, I would expect this product to take a lot of use before showing signs of wear and tear, certainly more than budget brands. The fabric both for the bag and the mattresses is thick and the frame is robust. As such, I can see myself using it for two babies and potentially being able to pass it on to another family after that, with no concerns about its safety or appearance.

How easy is the Micralite Sleep & Go Travel Cot to clean?

The polyester fabric is wipe-clean but cannot be immersed in water, which could be an issue if you were using it a lot. This is the story with many travel cots, which are not machine washable, although the Bugaboo Stardust is the exception to this, which states it’s machine washable at 30C.

How easy is it to fold and get into the carry bag?

Disassembling the Micralite is slightly fiddlier than putting it up. There is a bit of a knack to pushing the corner buttons to collapse down the legs, as I couldn’t always push them in hard enough first time. However, now that I’ve done it several times I can get the whole thing down and into the bag in under 3 minutes. I especially like the little feature of a fingerprint icon where you need to press to dismantle the frame.

The four parts go back in the bag fine as long as you put the large frame in first, then everything else fits around it comfortably.

Many online reviews praise the Micralite Sleep & Go for just how easy it is to put up and take down and it certainly seems much simpler than many cheaper travel cots, renowned for being a nightmare to do either.

Is the Micralite Sleep & Go good value for money?

It’s certainly at the higher end of the travel cot market, but you get what you pay for in terms of ease of assembly, fabric and mattress quality, and robustness. It is also a stylish, if uniformly dark, design. It would be great if it was slightly more colourful and eye-catching for little ones.

However, I would say, it’s only great value if you use all three configurations of this product – as a travel cot, newborn sleep solution and playpen. If you don’t need this much versatility or you’re not planning on travelling a lot with your baby, there are other less expensive models that do a similar job.

Where can I buy the Micralite Sleep & Go travel cot?

It’s available from Micralite, Amazon and John Lewis.

MadeForMums verdict:

For quality, versatility, comfort and ease of use, the Micralite Sleep & Go takes some beating as a higher-end travel cot. It’s strong, light, it looks stylish and it can be put up in no time at all, even in compact spaces. Perfect for families who are always on the go, this clever product will withstand many years of family trips.

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