Overall: 

We bought this product a few years ago when I was pregnant with our oldest and we saw it on sale in a climbing store here in Utah. We call it a baby cage and love it. How much your baby or toddler will love it also depends on them. Our first had to  be held 24-7 and thus she wasn’t a fan. Our other two loved it and used it all the time. Now all three of our kids like getting in there together (Ages 4, 2 and 9 months). We’ve actually had 5 kids and a dog in there once because they thought it was so much fun and wanted to see if they could all fit.

For some reason  they don’t manufacture the Arc-3 anymore (perhaps due to low demand for being more expensive and an unnecessary advancement of the Arc 2, I don’t know) but I hope this product review can still help you find something similar. We didn’t even know about the Arc 2 when we bought it. The Arc-2 is still out there  but seems to be a hard find in the US. These cots are all over the UK so if your traveling there or if you see a used one for sale here than I recommend buying fast!

This isn’t just for climbing, its for camping, hiking, picnics, beaches, travels, playing – any indoor and outdoor activity really. Its for playing and sleeping.

There is a sun shade that you can buy for it. We’ve used other things to block the sun when necessary but the sun shade for this one is only like $8 so I plan on getting one and you should too. Why not?

Comfort:

The padded bottom is perfect. It allows you to set up basically anywhere outside, rocks included, and have your little one safe and willing to nap. The cushion is what fills up the bag, everything else is tiny.

Practical:

It packs into its own easy to carry and super light weight bag. Because it is so light, anyone can carry it in addition to a back pack that they might already be carrying. Really, you’ll be shocked at how light it is. The poles are aluminum so they are super light.

Its durable – we’ve used it for three kids over the past 5 years and its still going strong, nothing broken as of yet.

We call it a baby cage because the zippers only open and close from the outside which believe me is a must. It might be the best feature. The reason is because it keeps your little one safe as well as keeps you from having to put them back into the tent every two seconds.

Its all mesh screen so you can see your baby, they still feel like they are outside, and they don’t feel like they are far from you so its not just for sleeping but for playing.

You can zip up the top for extra protection or leave it open so they can stand and stick their head out which my 9-month old currently loves. Its a game.

You can stake in the sides for extra stability. When stakes won’t go into the ground, I’ve used large rocks over the straps so that I can know it won’t accidentally topple from my very daring and adventurous kids – it hasn’t happened yet and I’ve had older kids climb out and in the top.

Cost:

We were conflicted because of the price when we first bought it, it was about a $150 at the time, but it has held up for years for multiple kids and has proved in indispensable item. Everyone who has ever seen us with it fall in love. Worth it. For sure.