Review: Antipodes Merino Sleeping Bag

We’re not a bath, book, bed family. We’re a whatever we can fit into one evening kinda household. Which is pretty hectic when your child is lethal if he’s not in bed by 6pm. Some nights we manage a full pre-bedtime routine. Other times he’s racing around the landing with no clothes on moments before we grab him and declare it bedtime. Our nightly routine is him being slipped into his sleeping bag; a sign that tells him it’s time for calm, time for milk and time for sleep. But as we come into the warmer weather (a girl can dream) I’ve worried about what to put him in, do we have to buy another sleeping bag or worse, live without one? Then I heard about the Antipodes Merino sleeping bag and thankfully, we were lucky enough to be sent one to test. Here’s how we got on…

Why Merino?

Antipodes Merino was founded to convert people like you and I over to the benefits of merino wool. As a material, it’s rapidly increasing in popularity due to it’s incredible properties; it’s lightweight, breathable and great for regulating temperature, three properties that make it perfectly suited for babies and toddlers. During cool weather, merino wool traps air against the skin to add a thermal layer yet in warmer weather, it’s been shown to release excess heat and moisture. It’s hypoallergenic, antibacterial and even anti-odour, something every baby could do with! Finally, it’s machine washable, will happily go in the tumble drier and dries quickly naturally. Pretty impressive stuff, eh?

The Facts

Antipodes Merino sleeping bag is made from 100% natural merino wool and organic cotton; there’s a thick layer of wool lining the entire bag, a unique double layer of wool on the chest to keep your little one’s core temperature regulated and the outer layer is organic cotton. Due to the unique properties of the wool, the Antipodes Merino sleeping bag is suitable year round, meaning you no longer have to worry about buying different TOG value bags dependent on the weather. If the temperature is between 15 and 27°C, this bag’s got it covered.

The bags are designed to fit your child from roughly three months up until the age of two, depending on their size. There are underarm poppers to prevent the bag from riding up when your little one is still tiny and plenty of leg room (90cm infact!) for them to grow into over the years. There are a few features which whilst not essential are nice to know; the shoulder snaps are reinforced for durability, the zip opening runs from the bottom up for easy night changes and there’s a seat belt slot making it suitable for travel.

Available in three colours; aqua, blue and pink, the bag retails for a slightly eye-watering £59.99 at Amazon, with a 15% reduction if you buy two.

How Does It Perform?

I was surprised as the thinness of the Antipodes Merino sleeping bag when it first arrived. In my mind, I expected it to be bulky and relatively thick, similar to the winter sleeping bags that we currently own. Instead, it’s similar to a sweatshirt, meaning it really is lightweight. Over the last few weeks, we’ve had a variety of temperatures yet I’ve been pleased to find that my son remains a fairly constant temperature inside the bag even on the sweatiest of nights. How do I know that? That handy seatbelt hole doubles up as a wonderful checking hole should the mood take you!

It’s reassuringly sturdy; the zip is smooth running and the poppers properly ‘pop’, everything about it feels durable and well made. We’ve tested the blue stripe sleeping bag and I have to say, I love the simple and classic design. The blue is a muted dark blue and against the off-white stripes, it looks gorgeous. I may be a little biased on that point though, it fits perfectly with the colour scheme in our nursery so it suits us to a tee!

Our son is on the 50th centile for one year olds and it’s a good fit on him. The underarm poppers aren’t necessary for him, if he was smaller they’d do the job well. Lengthwise, he still has plenty of room to grow. The sleeping bag seems huge on him but it’s allowed him to move in the night without restriction, something that happened often in his smaller bags.

We’ve long since forgotten night nappy changes so using the zipper to open it flat hasn’t really applied to us. However, I like the option of being able to change him without removing the bag if I wanted to. I don’t, there’s no way I’m disturbing him more than I need to at night! On that note, the seatbelt hole is a great addition. We’ve been out many times and have had to wake him to put him into the car seat. The chances are he would still wake anyway, what with being a light sleeper but at least this way he’s kept cosy and doesn’t have to be woken too much when we get home.

Finally, washing, the most important factor when it comes to baby items. Now for full disclosure, I should admit that we actually don’t wash his sleeping bags often. He’s always in pjs when he goes to bed and I think of it similarly to our bedding. So we’re talking a wash every couple of weeks which is perfect for merino wool as it’s naturally antibacterial. Yes, it’s a delicates wash which is restrictive. I haven’t found it too bad, I’ve set the machine to a half load setting and off we go. If I wash it first thing in the morning, it’s dry by the time bedtime rolls back around. Two nights in my son managed to throw up blueberry puree all over it but it washed out a dream and still remains as soft as ever. You can’t ask for much more than that now, can you?

Is It Worth The Money?

It’s not cheap. Let’s face it, sleeping bags vary in price and quality and this is at the upper end of those available. I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable putting a three month old in it due to the sheer size of it but regardless, it’s going to last your child a long time. Far longer than other sleeping bags. It’s helped lessen that worry that I’m overheating him and allows me to continue our sleeping bag routine in the Summer. That combined with covering such a wide range of temperatures means it really will last all year.

Would I Buy It?

I really love this sleeping bag. That’s a strong statement for a bag but I do think it’s a great example of something simple, done well. I love the classic styling, the feel of the merino wool and genuinely believe it will last a long time. Because of this, I’d recommend it to any parent. Yes it’s expensive but your baby is (hopefully) going to be in 10 – 12 hours a night, 365 nights of the year for up to 21 months. That works out as less than a penny an hour! Sometimes it pays to invest wisely and that’s certainly the case with the Antipodes Merino sleeping bag.

You can purchase an Antipodes Merino sleeping bag from Amazon or directly via the Antipodes Merino website.