“Let our rigorous testing and reviews be your guidelines to A/V equipment – not marketing slogans”
Facebook Youtube Twitter instagram pinterest

Cuddlebag Kiddie Bag Review

by July 07, 2006
Cuddlebag Kiddie Bag

Cuddlebag Kiddie Bag

  • Product Name: Kiddie Bag
  • Manufacturer: Cuddlebag
  • Performance Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Value Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Review Date: July 07, 2006 20:00
  • MSRP: $ 379

Multiple size options:
8’ Great Biggie, 6’ Biggie, 5’ Middie, 4’ Kiddie,
4’ Players, 3’ Gamers


Cover Choices: Black, Tan, Burgundy,
Orange, Khaki, Olive, Purple, Stone, and
Brown microfiber and Hot Pink fur; Machine
washable

Stuffing: Special blend of polyurethane
memory foam. Won’t permanently crush
and requires no refills. Meets flammability
requirements of CA bureau of home
furnishings technical bulletin 117.

Warranty: 1 year, limited

Dimensions & Weight

8’ Great Biggie Bag: 96” x 54" x 36" (85 lbs)
6’ Biggie Bag: 72” x 54” x 36” (61 lbs)
5’ Middie Bag: 60” x 48” x 30” (48 lbs)
4’ Kiddie Bag: 48” x 36” x 26” (35 lbs)
4’ Players Bag: 48” diameter (17 lbs)
3’ Gamers Bag: 36” diameter (10 lbs)
Ottoman: 48” x 18” (12 lbs)
Mini Ottoman: 30” x 18” (7 lbs)

Accessories: Square pillow, Neck pillow,
Ottoman

Pros

  • Easy to “Assemble”
  • Kid-magnet
  • Excellent selection of fabrics and sizes
  • Can replace more expensive theater chairs

Cons

  • Dealer-targeted pricing
  • Kiddie bag was much larger than website depiction

 

Cuddlebag Opening the Package

clip_image004_180.jpgWe did a First Look article on Cuddlebag's products earlier this year but were finally able to take a more in-depth look at one of their Kiddie Bags along with some of their pillow selections. Our prior article covered the technical details of the product, so this piece will focus primarily on actual use of the product and our experience as a whole. The Kiddie Bag is Cuddlebag's smallest Cuddlebag, measuring in at a stated 4' - half the size of their largest bag. In truth, the relaxed state of the bag takes up about 4.5 feet in width, not bad, but something that should be considered if you have specific or restricted space requirements.

Beginning the Fun: Opening the Package

Opening the Cuddlebag is a fun process in and of itself. The package ships as a tightly-packed, densely wrapped pack of foam. It is wrapped in a burlap-esque wrapping that needs to be cut away (use a scissors for best results). This tightly wrapped package keeps the shipping container small.

Air and space are the only required elements to allow the Cuddlebag to expand to its full size - which is actually quite large, even for this 4' Kiddie Bag. Cut away the outer packing and the real magic begins.

We decided to bring the kids in for this part of the review. After all, this IS the Kiddie Bag, right? Be sure to not accidentally cut into the porous inner bag with the scissors, but gently remove the entire black outer wrapping by cutting all the way down along one side.

As the kids looked on, my wife dutifully cut away the outer wrap. My nephew, niece and son anxiously looked on - biding their time until they could find out what kind of fun lay underneath. The inner bag showed a vacuum-packed Cuddlebag which immediately started to expand as fresh air rushed in, filling the polyurethane memory foam.

Cuddlebag Break It Up and Conclusion

clip_image004_181.jpgThe real fun began once the inner bag was released. We instructed the kids to get in and break up the large clumps of memory foam. This proved to be a very fun activity which everyone greatly enjoyed. After a few moments most of the bigger clumps were "atomized" back into their individual pieces.

As the kids quickly lost interest (hey, they're kids) my wife and I jumped in to make sure everything was loose and expanding. It took a total of only a few minutes to go from fully compacted to ready for expansion.

Once the memory foam within the bag has been broken up, you can begin to insert the Kiddie Bag into the  washable cover. This was a fairly easy process and you want to stuff the bag into the cover prior to full expansion for easiest insertion.

clip_image002_323.jpgThe cover, ours was a Tan microfiber, is also available in 12 microfiber colors:

  • Black
  • Tan
  • Burgundy
  • Orange
  • Khaki
  • Olive
  • Purple
  • Stone
  • Brown

And three "fur" colors:

  • Black
  • Brown
  • Hot PInk

Cuddlebag claims that it can often take 7-10 days for the bags to reach nominal size, and up to 30 days in rare instances for full expansion. For the Kiddie Bag, I'd have to say that the final expansion was less than expected, with the bag appearing a bit saggy and limp compared to photos on the website. Regardless, it sure looked to be extremely comfortable and the kids promptly began "breaking in" the new piece of furniture - All the time giggling and enjoying themselves fully.

A couple adults also tried the bag and found the Kiddie Bag to be soft, pliable and noiseless in actual use. This bag is perfect for one adult, or two if you don't mind, well, cuddling real close. If you're looking for a true loveseat, you'll want to grab a Middie or Biggie bag.

Conclusion

The Kiddie bag performed better than expected. It now serves as a great place for my three year-old son to read his books - and he likes to "cannonball" onto it by running and jumping full speed into the center of the bag. As an overall product, the Cuddlebag is an excellent alterative to traditional seating. In fact, I could really see someone filling a home theater with Biggie or Great Biggie bags in lieu of the expected leather recliners. There is something to be said about being able to lounge out in a relaxed style, with a seat that conforms fully to your body and supports you in ways that a regular seat may never be able to do. And when you factor in your significant other, the Cuddlebag might perhaps be the greatest thing to hit movie nights since the home theater!

Cuddlebag Kiddie Bag & Pillows
MSRP: $379.99
http://www.cuddlebag.com

About Cuddlebag
The Cuddlebag Corporation had its origins in 2002 when CEO and Founder Ryan Gorham, discovered that the existing bean bags were not meeting his comfort needs. That was when the idea was born to make them a more functional and comfortable shape. Ryan made the first Cuddlebag by cutting up foam with household scissors and stuffing it into the first inner cover sewn by his sister-in-law. The cylindrical design offered the flexibility to sit on it side-by-side without squishing into the middle or falling off the side, or just lay on it lengthwise like a bed. The first Cuddlebag store opened October 11, 2003. The company now has 3 dedicated Cuddlebag stores, over 54 stores or dealers who carry their products nationwide, one in Canada and now 2 in Australia.

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

  • StarStarStarStarStar — Excellent
  • StarStarStarStar — Very Good
  • StarStarStar — Good
  • StarStar — Fair
  • Star — Poor
MetricRating
Ease of SetupStarStarStarStar
Build QualityStarStarStarStar
FeaturesStarStarStarStar
PerformanceStarStarStarStar
ValueStarStarStarStar
About the author:
author portrait

Clint Deboer was terminated from Audioholics for misconduct on April 4th, 2014. He no longer represents Audioholics in any fashion.

View full profile