Our family loves the Pop ‘n Play Ultimate Playard! We love that this playard is larger than other popular playards and travel pack and plays out there.

The Pop n Play measures 14 square feet, 48 inches wide and 26 inches tall, and comes fully assembled right out of the box. At 12 lbs it is considerably lightweight given it has a very sturdy metal framework. It only takes about one or two minutes, if that, to set up – just take it out of the convenient travel bag that comes with it, unfold it, and pull the six nylon loops at the bottom of the playard down and under the metal framework. The nylon loops is one of the key features we like about the Pop n Play. However, we did end up missing a step, so it’s important to note that the bottom pulls more taut than shown in these photos.

Unlike our Graco Pack n Play that we have, there are no locking mechanisms on the framework to hassle with and worry about – this is truly a very user friendly product. When you are done using the playard, disassembly is just as quick and easy – remove the nylon loops from under the metal framing, fold it up and put it back into its travel bag!

The instructions provided are short and simple, or if you are like me and still have challenges with even the simplest of written instructions, you can do one quick search on your computer and find several video demonstrations online as well.

The Pop n Play also comes with a removable canopy that provides shade to half of the playard, and which is also easy to attach. I love that the canopy only covers half the playard, unlike a full dome tent covering the whole playard, which can trap in heat and make the playard uncomfortable at best, or dangerous at worst, for an infant. The canopy is great when we have the Pop n Play set up in our backyard, at the beach or at the park. The playard also has mesh sides, which keeps it well ventilated and is also great because our child is always visible from every angle. The canvas floor is also weather resistant, waterproof and easy to wipe and clean.

The Pop n Play is also great not only for outdoor use but for indoor use as well! We use the playard in our living room as a safe, contained area for our five month old to play and even nap in. And again, given its generous size, we have placed our five month old in the playard with many of her favorite items such as various toys, her boppy pillow, her blanket, etc and there is still plenty of room to spare. The Pop n Play is large enough that when we have family gatherings we can easily place our daughter in the playard with her two baby cousins where they can all happily and safely play with each other.

The Summer Infant Pop n Play is also a great playard to take on the go with us when we visit the grandparents and when we spend the weekends out of town. It packs nicely into our compact car and only takes up a small portion of our trunk space. However, I would most likely not take the Pop n Play with us if our travels include a flight on an airplane, because the travel bag is not padded and only has a drawstring closure (no zippers) and one shoulder strap. And although very lightweight and compact, it is slightly longer than our Graco Pack n Play.

We would probably use the Graco travel pack n play for any trips where we would have to fly, just because it is slightly smaller and easier to transport with its zippered, padded travel case and two straps allowing you to wear it as a backpack. However, the Summer Infant Pop n Pla will be used as our “go-to” playard for all other occasions and excursions. We use this playard all the time and plan to keep using it for a long time to come!

You can find the Summer Infant Pop ‘n Play Ultimate Playard with and without the canopy ($56.99 without, $99.99 with) on Amazon.