Kooshy Kids Kooshion – Travel Sleep Product Review

A great new entrant to the plane-sleep travel gadgets line up – Kooshy Kids!

Once our babies outgrew aeroplane bassinets I was at a real loss on how to get them comfortable on long-haul flights.  As we mention in our top flying strategies, we always try to take our long-haul flights overnight, but as they get bigger, getting them to sleep comfortably on a plane can be a real issue.

Luckily, even since the days we’ve started flying as a family, there are some great new innovative products to help aid on-board sleeping.  These products have been designed by parents searching for the answers just like we were.

The latest, portable and easy to use solution we’ve come across is Kooshy Kids! 

This post is part of our Tried & Tested product review series

The Kooshy Kids Kushion is an inflatable foot pillow product that sits in the footwell between your seat and the seat in front.  This extends the size of the sleeping surface for young children, up to approximately 6 years of age.  For older children and adults it can be used to stretch your legs into a more comfortable, outstretched position.

The Kooshy Kids Kooshion put to the test

We couldn’t wait until our next long-haul flight to give it a shot so asked one of our lovely readers if they could take it for a trial run. 

In our first product test of the year, Stacey and her tots took the Kooshy Kids Kushion from Abu Dhabi to Manila on Etihad, in both business class and economy.

Over to Stacey now for her thoughts on the product and whether it’s something she’d recommend.

The Kooshy Kids Packaging

When we first received the Kooshy Kids package from Keri one of the things that struck me was the size. It is very small and fits in a swim style type backpack. On opening the backpack I was impressed to find that there was a selection of 3 different bags to choose from, one pink, one blue and one grey, this is great as it can be used for either a boy or a girl or a parent can carry. Also within the rucksack is hand / foot pump and the Kooshy Kids inflatable cushion. The bag is also very light so can easily be carried by a child and my 2 year old even carried it some of the way herself. We first tried the cushion at home so we knew what we needed to do on the plane and it is a simple design where you pump up the lower chamber first and then the upper chamber so that the cushion is fully inflated.

Are Kooshy Kids Kooshins allowed on the plane?

We flew with Etihad and we had absolutely no issue at all using this on the flight or taking it on board. I was lucky enough to be able to try Kooshy Kids on both a business class seat and an economy class seat so I will review both.

You can see here the full list of 50+ airlines that have now provided the tick of approval for the products use onboard. 

If using this product in economy class the staff asked me to reiterate for readers that it should only be used in a mid-row seat or window (not at the aisle end) to ensure that if you need to evacuate in an emergency that there would be an evacuation route that was not blocked (this is also specified in the manufacturer’s instructions and applies to all plane sleep devices).

Kooshy Kids Kooshion in Business Class

The Kooshy Kids really comes into its own when being used in business class and I found that it was fantastic for use here.

When pumping up its easy as the aisles are wide, you do have to be careful when removing the pump though as there are 2 seals and you can easily remove both which results in deflating the cushion and then you have to reinflate it (I did this a couple of times the first time I used it in the plane).

The space in business class is large and I found it easily fitted into the gap and then I reclined the seat slightly to ensure the gap was completely filled. The bonus with using it in business class is that you can also use your child’s car seat and have that strapped into the actual seat but they can also sleep as there is enough room created by the Kooshy Kids cushion to allow for this.

In economy you have to remove the car seat to allow your child to fully recline so in economy you would probably need to make a choice whether or not to take your car seat. The deflation of this product is quick and easy, you just open both seals and the cushion deflates in about 30 seconds, it is easy to fold and place back in the rucksack.

Kooshy Kids Kooshin in Economy Class

We also used the Kooshy Kids Kooshion in economy class, whilst still good and helped with sleep comfort, a few things I would note for other users.

• I tried blowing it up in the aisle as I felt there wasn’t enough room between the seats to use the foot pump.   If another passenger wants to come down the aisle it’s a bit awkward. (You can also blow the cushion up by mouth but it takes a little more puff!)
• If you are using the foot pump, it has a tendency to squeak when being used and the cushion takes a good couple of minutes to pump up fully so in a fully booked plane at nighttime it may be a small annoyance to other passengers.
• I found on this particular flight that the cushion seemed to be slightly bigger than the gap between the booked seat and the seat in front on the Etihad economy class and therefore I could not fully pump up the cushion.

Unfortunately, I was unable to get any pictures from economy as it was a fully booked flight and the staff asked me to refrain from taking pictures as passengers were trying to sleep.

Product Specs – Kooshy Kids Kooshion

• Fully inflated, the Kooshy Kids Kooshion measures:  60cm x 38cm x 44cm and weighs 800 grams.
• The waterproof drawstring backpack that comes with the Kooshion measures 30cm x 40cm.
• The 2lt foot pump measures 24cm x 16cm x 14cm and weighs 350 grams.
• The battery operated air pump weighs 300 grams or 700 grams with batteries inserted (Batteries not included).
• The product is made of PVC and covered in soft flocking material

The product is shipped from Australia and costs $59.95 RRP (But do check out our giveaway and discount code below!) 

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Comparision to other sleep products

Still trying to decide what the perfect sleeping aid is to fit your family’s needs?

• Pop over here for our comprehensive plane products review page
• Another design to consider is the Flyaway Kids Bed
• We also have a detailed review of the Jet Kids Bed Box, a different style of sleeping product that doubles as a kid’s ride-on suitcase
• Heading on along road trip? We have this guide to other travel comfort products for kids

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Globetrotters Recommend

So would our Globetrotter mum recommend this product to other flying families?

Small, compact and light little product. Helped my little girl sleep for longer and would recommend if you want a few extra hours sleep

Thanks so much to Stacey and her family for testing the Kooshy Kids.

Kooshy Kids Giveaway!

Now over to you!  How would you like to get your hands on a Kooshy Kids before your next flight?  All you have to do is tell us:

“where are you flying to next?”

This Giveaway is now CLOSED! As a wonderful consolation prize though, we’re delighted to partner with Kooshy Kids to give Globetrotters readers a 20% discount on their next purchase. 

Please use the code GLOBE20 at the checkout to make your saving today.

There you have it – another great leap forward for the travelling parent community! Have you used a Kooshy Kids or similar product, what did you think? 

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Disclosures:  We were provided with the Kooshy Kids Kooshion for the purpose of conducting an honest review.  We do not make any sales commission on recommending this product but are delighted to offer readers a discount on their purchase as we value a good nights sleep as much as you do! 

Images courtesy of Stacey Turnbull and Kooshy Kids

© Our Globetrotters

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