3 Great SlumberPod Alternatives And My Experience

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My wife and I have been major supporters of SlumberPod (check my complete SlumberPod reviews), but when we had our 4th daughter, we wanted to buy a SlumberPod alternative.

Here’s a little backstory. We had 3 daughters living in a small 2 bedroom duplex in the bay area, which meant that our youngest was in our room. She wasn’t a great sleeper due to the light in the room, so we borrowed a friend’s SlumberPod, and it worked like magic.

That said, that magic quickly died down when I saw the price tag for the SlumberPod.

What did we do? The story doesn’t end there, but we ended up buying the SlumberPod. It was expensive, but worth it for travel and sleeping in a small area. After spending the money, I wanted to see whether I could get a discount for others. Voila, the SlumberPod gave me the code savedbythecents that gets you $9.99 off the actual SlumberPod with fan combo. It might be slightly less if you choose not to opt for the fan as it’s 5% off, but it could be more if you purchase additional accessories on top of the SlumberPod with the fan.. I actually track SlumberPod coupons and it seems like 5% off may be one of the best or is the best deal.

Why We Wanted A SlumberPod Alternative

When we had daughter #4 in September, 2021, I did not want to purchase another SlumberPod (and if you are wondering, we were able to move into a slightly bigger place) as let’s be honest, I like to “save my cents”, so we got searching for alternatives.

Since we purchased our SlumberPod, it appears there have been multiple alternatives that popped up.

Let’s cover the 3 alternatives that I liked from my Amazon research. And just for reference, for Amazon research, I do the following:

1. Deep dive into the reviews and ratings.
2. Filter the negative reviews descending. That’s the only ones I care about.
3. Check CamelCamelCamel for pricing generally if in the $50 or over amount. It’s a great free tool you can just copy and paste Amazon URLs, and it shows pricing history.
4. If it’s a big purchase over $100, I generally check FakeSpot to see if the reviews may be fake.

Spoiler alert: We decided on alternative #1.

SlumberPod Alternative #1: Minnebaby Darkening Cover

One of the biggest complaints I have is setting up the SlumberPod is a small room. It’s literally a tent with what seems to be 10 foot poles, so it was horrendous setting it up in our small room at the duplex. I don’t usually use curse words, but I may have used them when I setup the SlumberPod (and also when setting up the Christmas tree before getting the Tree Genie which I swear by (not anymore), but it was a gift as I couldn’t get myself to spend that). Okay, sorry, long side note.

So, what I like about the Minnebaby Darkening Cover is the following:

1. Price. I believe it’s only around the $40 mark.
2. Setup. It is not a tent, so it takes maybe 2 minutes to setup.
3. Breathability. It has some interesting ways to increase ventilation/breathability while remaining dark.
4. It covered our pack and play perfectly, believe it should cover the Guava and Lotus (may need to double check)

What I don’t love about the Minnebaby.

1. It’s not great for older toddlers as you can’t stand in it.
2. It’s not completely dark.

While it’s a great alternative, it doesn’t get completely dark. Check the image below that shows the darkness level.

Regardless, it’s been a great fit for us, and our baby slept much better with the Minnebaby.

Alternative #2: SnoozeShade Pack N Play

The SnoozeShade is probably the most common alternative to the SlumberPod. It boasts a breathable net sleep shade that blocks 94% of light. The SnoozeShade also claims a British award winning design. It also states that it’s easy to use as it does not appear to be the tent design of the SlumberPod.

That said, I wasn’t fond of the price as if I am going to spend almost $100, then I figured I might just buy another SlumberPod.

What I like about the SnoozeShade

1. Appears to be easier to set up. Not a tent like SlumberPod.
2. Appears to be breathable
3. One reviewer said that it fits the 4 moms pack and play.

What I don’t like about the SnoozeShade

1. The cost. The cost didn’t make sense in comparison to the alternative we ended up deciding upon.
2. One reviewer stated that it’s not meant to fit over the wheels.
3. Some reviews mentioned that it’s poorly made with the velcro strap ripping off or the zipper falling off.

Alternative #3: Least Expensive Option with Decent Reviews

This Amazon pack and play black out option was the cheapest that I could find that also has at least a 4.5 rating. This blackout cover boasts that it gets rid of 90% of light (although how do they measure that?), the breathability, it’s compatibility, and that it’s easy to wash.

What I like about this Blackout Cover

1. The cost. At the time of this writing, it was less expensive than the one we decided upon.
2. Many of the reviews are quite good. It maintains a 4.5 rating based on 107 reviews at the time of this writing.

What I don’t like about this Blackout Cover

1. I don’t love that a toddler can’t stand up in it. A clear benefit of the SlumberPod.
2. This may be the reason we didn’t get this option, but light may come in. Two reviewers on Amazon added pictures. One reviewer add a picture that shows light coming in from the bottom and the other reviewer showed light coming in through higher on the shade.

Let’s Wrap It Up

While SlumberPod has been awesome for our family, I wanted an alternative that would serve our family well without breaking our wallet.

Thankfully, there are SlumberPod alternatives that don’t break your wallet and still work well. If you are set on a SlumberPod, you can get a 5% discount ($9.99 discount if you get the SlumberPod with the fan) using this code: savedbythecents.

And finally, I am planning to comprise a list of the 4 parent’s must haves from having 4 daughters, so if you are interested, please write me at savedbythecents@gmail.com.