When I first heard of the Kid-O-Bunk, the portable kids bunk bed system by Disc-O-Bed, I was taken back to childhood camping trips, and thought this would have made them even better. Check out this review of Kid-O-Bunk to find out why I am excited about my next camping trip.
I am sure many of us had camp beds as kids. If yours were like mine, then they would have been difficult to put together, unstable if you sat on the edges, not great for ground sheets and not very space efficient.
On the plus side, traditional camp beds are comfortable, easy to transport and store and get you up off the ground away from cold and damp. Plus my little sisters favourite thing about them was it kept her away from crawling things, although it didn’t stop me putting slugs in her sleeping bag.
In coming up with Kid-O-Bunk, their portable kids bunk bed system, Disc-O-Bed have looked at all the traditional plus points of camp beds, and thought about how they can address the negatives. I am pleased they have, and that they asked me to conduct a review of Kid-O-Bunk.
When I first heard the name Disc-O-Bed, I have to admit I was mildly disappointed to find it was not a bed you could take to a disco, or a disco system for a bed. I can’t see how I would have any use for either, but both ideas had me strangely excited.
Instead of bed partying (or party beds) the name comes from the big patented disks that are used to attached the mattress part of their beds to the frame. It’s an innovative idea that is practical, secure and easy to use. It also makes the bed much more stable than traditional cmp beds.
The disks are also used to turn the individual beds into a portable kids bunk bed. An adapter pushes into the base of one beds legs, which clips into the other beds disk. By using a simple strap the two beds are attached together for additional support.
Disc-O-Bed are a German-South African family company, with offices based in Germany, South Africa and USA, and have been around since 1988. They work closely with the Red Cross and Red Crescent their beds have been used in disaster relief, and in refugee camps all over the world.
I was planning to take the kids camping to test Kid-O-Bunk, but winter arrived sooner than the camp beds – refugee beds obviously take priority over press reviews. Being wet, windy and cold my wife was adamant we were not going camping.
So I conducted this review of Kid-O-Bunk at home. It was a good job I did, as my kids loved it so much it would have been a nightmare getting them to sleep in them that night.
I should add my boys are two and four so a little too young to be using Kid-O-Bunk properly as it’s recommended for seven to twelve year olds. For safety the manual says no children under six should be left unattended on the top bunk.
My kids sleep on full size bunk beds anyway so our four year old was on the top Kid-O-Bed bunk before I could say ‘be careful’. They’ve both slept on traditional camp beds in the past, so I was not worried about them using them as single beds. But the level of excitement Kid-O-Bunk generated meant it would not be that first night.
Using the disc system to erect this portable kids bunk bed was quick and easy. Even as a first timer I did not have to look at the instructions, although I did to ensure I was doing everything correct and safely.
Converting the single beds to bunks was also easy, although one of the connecting legs was stiffer than the others to fit, but I am sure this will loosen with use and WD40. Once up and secured with the straps they make a sturdy set of bunk beds – not a climbing frame as I kept telling the kids.
A nice little touch is that each bed comes with a side organiser. There are plenty of pockets and pouches for water, torch, book and much more. The boys filled them with dinosaurs!
As an added bonus the bunk beds also convert into a sofa, giving kids somewhere comfortable to sit. I can see this being very useful when camping, or for use in the garden and even in the house when we have lot of guests.
The Kid-O-Bunk comes with useful bags, for carrying and storage. Each part of the bed is secured within it’s own spot in the bag, making it a compact storage solution. The bag is slightly padded so if you bump something while moving it nothing gets damaged.
The only negative is they are pretty heavy. At 18kg for a pair you will not want to be camping too far from the car. However the weight is also reassuring, it is why they are stable, comfortable and suitable for long term sleeping rather than just a night.
Overall the beds are far more stable than traditional camp beds, you can sit in the edge with no tipping. You can also store more underneath as there are not multiple legs in the way. They were also far easier to erect and save space with the bunk option.