Pregnancy essentials… Travel essentials… Sun safety essentials…

When you become a parent, suddenly everything becomes “essential” and you’ll end up in a right flap if you accidentally leave it at home. Of course, this is complete nonsense and it is possible to leave the house without a change bag or zillion gadgets and actually survive to tell the tale. However, there are some nifty bits out there that will make the job easier, and this is most definitely one of them…

What is it?

The NSA Travel Centre Deluxe is a really versatile bit of kit. Not simply a travel cot for overnight stays, it’s great for outdoor adventures too. When the sun is out and your kids are driving you to complete distraction at home, head to the park with this slung over your shoulder and you have the perfect shelter to shade from the sun. The best bit is that your kids will be so excited at the prospect of an outdoor den that they won’t run off and leave you sobbing in a field from the stress of it all. The same goes for your garden… the beach… a festival.

When erected it’s some 135cm (53″) long x 85cm (33″) wide x 60cm (24″) high, so plenty of room for housing two playmates, and a very generous travel cot for one little one at night.

Setting up

But let’s face it, as useful as it is, if you’re going to have to faff about with a million poles, it’ll frustrate you just as much as your kids. So let’s address this head on - the NSA Travel Centre Deluxe is a joy to set up.

It arrives in a lightweight circular carry case. To set it up, just unzip the case and it’ll spring to life. You’ll want to do this with the kiddies stood well back as it might bop them on the head if curiosity gets the better of them. You then simply attach the sleeping mat inside the Travel Centre along the velcro seams in the base. Then take the air mattress and tuck it away in the zipped section under the Travel Centre.There are also ground fixing pegs included should you need to tie it down.

Simple. The whole thing takes around 1 minute so is perfect when you have an overtired or excitable child threatening to go into tantrum-mode.

There are no poles, no dodgy seams or fiddly frames - meaning there’s nothing for your little guys to beat, pummel or terrorise each other with.

Packing it away

Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy. Having had something similar before (albeit not as good) I already knew how to collapse it. For those new to pole-free tents, you will stand there like a fool for a good 5 minutes trying to stuff it back into the carry case. The trick is to grab each end and bring your arms together - it will feel unnatural but you’ll find it works.

Portability

I alluded to a carry case above. The whole tent/travel centre weighs a tiny 3.4kg (that’s less than my handbag) and the case is a mini 46cm in diameter so not much bigger than a dinner plate. This makes it perfectly sized for air travel, shoving in the car boot or hanging from your buggy. There’s enough room to also pop in a pair of PJs or a favourite toy if you’re one of those irritating super-organised parent-types.

Comparing this to a cumbersome standard travel cot, already you’ve saved yourself a few tantrums at the airport. It’s perfectly possible to bung this in your hand luggage and it won’t need to be declared as excess. Slung across your back, you’ll also still fit through doors without knocking out someone coming the other way.

Additional features

It offers UV protection equivalent to UPF 25+ from the sun’s harmful rays, so is spot on for afternoon play when the sun is at it’s hottest. It also includes an self-inflating air mattress, and a washable sleep mat to provide a comfy surface for baby to get his/her head down.

It’s also super-secure. As the zips can only be opened from the outside, you won’t have a little person crawling around your hotel room at night. It has a zip open door with a separate fine insect mesh so makes a great little spot for a secret picnic. No worries that your food will get covered in sand or flies.

There are also insect-mesh windows so mum and dad have a 360degree view of the inside of the cot from the outside, and your kids won’t be constantly ducking out to find you (- of course you have the option of closing these completely up to black out the light at nighttime). I can’t guarantee this means you can relax on a nearby sun longer and enjoy an uninterrupted glass of Pinot, but it certainly increases the possibility.

Want one?

Thought so. It was the wine right?

So, it comes in two sizes – the standard version, which is suitable for ages 0-2, and the deluxe version, which is 0-4 years (this is the one reviewed above). Our is priced at £84.99 although you’ll deals available from a number of retailers including Amazon and Safe Tots. In my opinion this makes it incredibly reasonably priced - I have reviewed a Magic Bed before which has a similar mechanism and is a fab travel cot, but it can’t compete on the playtent score so this one wins. I guess it all depends on your child’s sleeping preference.

Take a closer look at www.NSAUK.com, or check out more NSA Travel Centre Deluxe reviews on:

Twitter: @TravelEssUK / Facebook: @Travel-Essentials-UK

The Travel Essentials UV tent is a gold award winner at the Mother and Baby Awards and is highly commended at Practical Parenting Awards as well as having the Best Value Award Winner in the Mother and Baby Magazine.