Steelcraft Sonnet

Fantastic Sturdy Portable Cot – From doing road tests across multiple baby stores I settled on buying this Steelcraft Sonnet (and I assembled and disassembled alot in stores scaring salespeople and embarrassing the wife). Its not too the quality as my parents one (as it has no extras and a bit heavier), or the one I got overseas (which has a porthole at one end and bug net)… Read more ·  1

but its the best I found within many stores in Australia for the purpose I had. To cage a kid on holidays, or some where for her to sleep.

My daughter was already 8 months. I found most places didnt have a cot, or if they did it was questionable one from a safety perspective). I found it more reassuring to then just bring what I could trust, for my daughters safety. I didnt need or want extras, like the change pad, attachment for two levels, wheels (like parents portable cot model), or bug net (like overseas one had).

This is one of the easiest to set up, disassemble and store (I dont know why others are complaining), and its the heaviest and sturdiest. Its sides are flexible with the breathable mesh, so its to the highest safety measures. Simple strap-able base (if you chose to use), and since there are no extras, you dont have those safety issues of gaps on the change mat or higher level setting (that some have), where arms and heads can get stuck.

Given it only goes into the car, into the hotel/unit and then back in the car, weight is not an issue. Im a 6 foot guy, who works in IT and can lift a 200 gram keyboard (so you other guys complaining need to man up). It comes with a carry bag, so its easy to carry and only a kg or two heavier than the light ones. The extra weight gives the cot stability, so I can still use it as a cage as my daughter gets older (or it will last longer for more kids), particularly when they are heavier and lean on the sides from inside the cot.

You can get it for $100 on sale, RRP is around $120. Instead of paying for the unnecessary extras with the cot (e.g. change mat), I got a few fold-able plastic portable change mats for the pram/car, and a fitted padded sheet for the portable cot for $30 so she wasnt sleeping on the base (also good for soaking up mess and keeping the cot clean).

To assemble (for those that are complaining), its really easy.

1. Unzip the bag (top part). 2. Tip that to the floor and let it fall out, pulling the cover up upwards (it will be upside down). 3. Turn it over to its feet. 4. Push the corners out, so its like 2 x 4 feet in size but make sure the center floor handle is still up. 5. Lift up the center of the short sides (like bending an elbow backwards), until it clicks. 6. Lift up the long sides in the middle, until they click, but ensure the center handle in the base is still up (and base is not flat). 7. Push the base center handle down and twist to lock in place. 8. Put the fitted sheet on the base, and put the base in the cot (no need to strap it in). 9. Put the kid in the cot. Throw in a toy. 10. Find the iced coffee, relax and enjoy.

Takes less than a minute.

Absolute rubbish! – Be warned -don't waste your time and money with this product Heavy and not really "portable". It was hard to assemble and even harder to disassemble. The instruction manual might has well been in Russian as it did not clearly show the steps to work this thing. The mattress is difficult to attach through awkward-to-access slits in the base. The protective padding ripped on the first use. Save your money and buy a better baby cot.

Get What you Pay For – Easy to assemble, Sturdy, tricky to fold and pack, but hey its a cot for the odd night for my daughter. As i said you get what you pay for, and i cant really find fault with the value for money, or the quality. They key thing is the little one sleeps like a log !!  Show reply

I need a wig as I have no hair left – We bought this cot as we have other items in the steelcraft range like our awesome pram. The cot is reasonably heavy when folded away, very deceiving. To set the cot up is a breeze but like others have mentioned packing it away is an absolute nightmare, hence the no hair business. The buttons are hidden behind the cot padding which make it… Read more

impossible to see what you doing. The padding can't be removed so it's all done by feel. Very very frustrating! I ended up snipping a 1cm hole on all the button locations to make it easier to disassemble, cot now comes down in 2 minutes flat but have to live with the little cuts. well priced and very sturdy cot. Wouldn't recommend to others for a portable coz as it's not user friendly but ok if set up and left.

Ok but would probably not buy again – This cot is nice and sturdy, easy to assemble but packing it away is another story. Drives me insane, I usually give up and it doesn't go back in the bag after use!!! My husband can after about fifteen minutes of readjusting things! Surely other portacots are easier than this!!!

Traditional portacot- heavy but works – Bought this from baby land $85. Read lotsa review was contemplating between the light phil&teds portacot and heavy traditional ones. The reason we chose a traditional one was bcos its elevated off the ground ESP when u go camping or wet moist ground. This cot is easy to set up and take apart, I had used a portacot before. Don't mind the weight cos we will only be using it few times a year- just chuck it on to the car or plane!

Packing away the cot – Make sure the centre base is lifted up as high as possible. The buttons for releasing the top rail locks are on the outside and can be more easily pushed in if you lie the cot on its side and press from the inside with your foot. Do each one separately by turning the cot. Make sure the upper rail locks don't relock whilst you are folding up from the base. Good Luck!

Not so Perfect – This steelcraft porta cot assembled really easily and is very sturdy, it looks nice. How ever it is a nightmare to pack up for travel and we have yet to discover how to put it back in to the carry bag. The price was really affordable. Bought a separate mattress as we felt the one supplied was not soft enough. Easy to assemble and is very sturdy. Price is also very affordable Hard to fold back in to the carrier bag.

Excellent – the Steelcract Sonnet has been a lifesaver when we have to travel to our family's place for school holidays. Our little one slept just fine in this porta-cot and, as far as we could tell, it was as good as his proper cot at home in terms of comfort. Easy to pack up and put away and very quick to set up for use. Amazingly easy to fit back into… Read more ·  1

original bag. Nice sides that can't cause obstruction of breathing and a firm but cushioned base (which we laid a cot matress over but is adequate to sleep directly on with bedding).

Easy to use and sturdy – This portacot worked well on our holidays. We went a road trip where we moved everyday for 8 days so we had to put up and take down the portcot everyday. It is easy to use and can fit back nicely in the portacot bag when we were done. Got it on sale at Bubs Baby Shop for $85. Reliable, sturdy, easy to put up and take down Could use a bit more padding but when I compared to others it had the avg amt of padding.