PRODUCT REVIEWED ON: JULY 1, 2016
PRICE WHEN REVIEWED: $59.99
I know there is an element of surprise whenever you travel and I was ok when it was just myself. If I hated something, I would fix it and make adjustments. Once I started to travel with my baby, now toddler, I realized the things that annoyed me could be preventable and just don’t have the luxury of time to find a solution to fix it when I am in an unfamiliar place.
When I travel with my daughter, the most important thing for me is her naps and a good night’s rest. If she doesn’t sleep well, I know that the following day will be a complete bust. One of the must have things when I travel is for her to have her own room to sleep in. A one bedroom hotel room is a deal breaker. After I got this down, I realized that the rooms are not always that dark when she needs to nap. I had blackout curtains in the past so I thought this is a good idea. I just needed the flexibility to move it with me.
During my online search, I came across the Gro Anywhere blind curtain, made by the Gro Company. I have other products by them so I knew they had some credibility. I bought this product about two months before we were going to go on our next trip. I wanted to see it, try it, and test it out before we headed out with it for real.
My first impression of the product was good. The curtain came in a tote bag with a handle. This would be super convenient to bring the curtain with me. The tote bag also isn’t super small where you can never fit the curtain back into. The actual curtain itself had two layers sewn together. The cover had little stars and moons on it which is super cute. The inside layer was the actual blackout curtain. Both layers are black. Around the entire perimeter were suction cups you would use to put the curtain up on the window. In between the cups are thick Velcro sections that can be used to pinch the curtain together to keep more light out or to fit to the size of the window. The actual product is sturdy and well sewn. It does not look like a cheap product and actually looks like it is worth the price paid.
HOW WE TESTED
First up, I tested the product at home. I used this curtain in my daughter’s room right before naptime. I knew this should be an easy test because her window isn’t really big. What I didn’t expect was how big it actually was. I read the measurements before I bought it but honestly numbers don’t mean anything to me. The curtain was easy to put up even with my daughter staring and tugging at me. She slept wonderfully and had a full three hour nap. She hadn’t napped for this long in days because of how bright her room was.
(This blind worked 100 times better than the grey pull down screen that I had and pictured.)
Second up, I took the product to an Airbnb we went to in Kelowna. Although I had seen pictures of the place online, I didn’t truly believe them because I know how deceiving they can be with angles and filters. Once I got to her room, I was a little taken back by the size of the window in her room. I had an “ah crap” moment and then put it up without a problem. The curtain covered the window so perfectly that my daughter got scared the first night and I had to go out to buy a night light for her the following nights. Slept beautifully after that.
(Excuse all the weird patterns in the picture. It was from the light in the room. )
MILK AND CONFETTI MOM VERDICT
I think this is a great product for moms like me that like to control an environment to the best of our ability for the sake of our kids having a good nap or nights rest.
PROS:
The curtains are really easy to use and put up. You just start with the corners and then work your way in. If it is too big for your curtain, you can just use the Velcro sections together.
The curtains work really well in blocking out light in a room.
Easy to bring along with your travels with you.
CONS:
The curtains works best with on a clean surface. (Meaning clean windows.) If it doesn’t have a clean surface, the suction cups might not stick and if it does, only a while.
The price might put off some consumers since it is a black rectangle with some suction cups.
You really need to take the time to do a good job with installing it the first time. If you don’t, you will find yourself fixing certain sections for days.